BUM........I appreciate the vote of confidence and Slamfire I too respect your position on this matter. Without the experience and knowledge that I have gained over many years of firearm and ballistic experimentation it is absolutely prudent to follow the manuals. However I have developed and designed many wildcat cartridges that there are no manuals to follow and no concrete data upon which to base loading parameters. I have had to "wing it" and use a lot of interpolation, in doing so I have learned to evaluate loads and pressure indicators very well. As I say all loads that I use are safe within the parameters in which I use them, which is to say they do not produce any of the obvious symptoms of over pressure. As far as I am concerned any load that does not expand the primer pocket to the point that it still holds a primer snugly after 3-5 loads is in fact a safe load for that rifle and set of components. This is my criteria for a safe load. Does it fall within SAAMI spec? Probably not, but that is completely irrelevant to me, as I know it to be safe within that rifle and chamber.
Let's face facts here, the brass case is the weakest link in the development of internal ballistics. Loads which cause the brass case to fail are beyond the limits imposed by the brass case. The rifle bolt, barrel and chamber surrounding the brass case are made of the latest and best steels man knows how to make, they will endure many times the pressure it takes to destroy the brass case. Therefore if the brass case contains the pressure imposed upon it by any load, then the steel surrounding it is actually idling along at almost zero stress. Now we must also recognize that not all brass cases are equal and that some manufacturers cases fail before other do in the maximum pressure curve. Federal brass is probably the worst I have ever used and noted and I find older Winchester brass to be among the toughest. Loads that will render FC brass unusable after one firing, I have used six and seven times in W-W brass without pocket failure. The manuals make no mention of this and yet it is very germane to the conversation, I have seen FC brass fail even within the data listed in manuals and yet I have never seen a W-W fail when using loads listed in manuals and even significantly above manual maximum in most cases.
So what I am saying Slamfire is that there are far too many variables for anyone to say what is safe in any given firearm without actually doing the work up with that specific firearm. Loading manuals are general guides intended to give advice as to loads which they have worked up in their specific rifles with the given set of components that they display. It is not law nor is it the "end all, be all" authority on your given rifle and selected set of components. Look at the variances between manuals for any given bullet weight and cartridge, they can be upwards of 10%.
Then there is the fact that all loading manuals must limit their data to the lowest common denominator, in other words to the weakest POS firearm ever built in the cartridge for which they publish data. It is quite clear to me that an Enfield #4 or a 1895 Win built in 1895 will not make the most of a 303 British load but then there is the new Ruger #1 in 303 Brit. Do you honestly believe that these firearms can be loaded to the same safe pressures? And yet loading manuals do not seem to differentiate, again look at the 7X57, the 8X57, the 45-70 (which some manuals at least now recognize three loading levels)........a manual is a guideline to safe loading procedures, much like the manual which comes with a new car.......do they tell you this car will do 300 Kms/hr, not likely, but it will. Why don't they tell you this? Because the average driver is NOT qualified to take this car to it's limits.
There is a whole world out there "beyond the lines" in the coloring book, but not everyone is mentally suited to exploring these new worlds and their attendant risks. I am one such person and if I were to ever perhaps destroy a firearm with my "outside the lines" experimentations I would be the last person to blame the manufacturer. I can say however that this pursuit has given me an understanding of internal ballistics and it's limitations well above the average reloader.
Anyway Slamfire, to clarify my earlier statement, I do know for a fact that a 26" barreled 378 Weatherby will drive a 300 gn Nosler Partition above 3100 fps SAFELY, maybe it is an "outside the lines" load when compared to the existing manuals, but I KNOW for a fact it can be SAFELY achieved, and the bolt comes open just fine and the brass can be used again without having to "snug up" the primer pocket.
