THE handloader’s goal is to gain all the performance possible from their rifle while steering clear of excessive pressures. In order to do this safely it is necessary to avoid increasing the load until the obvious danger signals appear — sticky extraction or leaking primer pockets, all warning you to reduce your loads.
Indeed, why take the risk when there are safer ways of working up to what many call a safe maximum load? Of course, this is a misnomer because common sense should tell you there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ maximum load.
Pressure developed by a cartridge is the result of internal chamber pressure generated behind the bullet when the powder charge is ignited. It is what provides the projectile with its velocity and energy.
When I started reloading my own ammunition, 50,000 and 55,000psi were regarded as bordering on the safe limit in regard to working pressures. In modern high-intensity rifles, peak pressures routinely run as high as 65,000psi, which boosts bullet speeds and energy levels to previously undreamed of levels. For these reasons, increased pressure is not only beneficial to the shooter, it is a prerequisite in gaining increased performance.
Most handloaders are aware that the strength of the firearm to some degree is the strength of the cases fired in it, since the brass case is the weakest link in the mechanical structure of the gun. At
