Luv2Safari:

I suspect you aren't going to get a huge amount of velocity by using a 26 inch barrel over a 24 or a 23 for a 9.3x62.

Basically, the 9.3x62 is a 35 Whelen opened up from .358 to .366. Given the greater expansion ratio, a 23 or 24 incher should be fine. I did some simulations a while back in Quickload and determined that 23 to 24 inches is the optium length for a 35 Whelen. So, clearly, 23 inches would work just fine for the 9.3x62. However, if velocity is your goal and you are counting fps, then every inch does make a difference.

I didn't find that faster powders offset velocity for a shorter barrel length, but I did find that different powders produced the highest velocity for a given bullet regardless of barrel length.

A twist rate of 1:12 or 1:14 should be fine for the 9.3x62. I personally like faster twist rates; if I had one built, I would opt for a 1:12, but that is just my opinion. If you are really into cast bullets, you might look at a 1:16 for your bullet.

If you know a lot about reloading the 35 Whelen, then you have an excellent idea of the 9.3x62, since it is only a bit bigger. You only need to learn the new bullets and their application.

RobertD