...If you or anyone else has a burnin need to load a cartridge to the point of a grenade, an publicise it, then expect somebody to wave a red flag.
...the real value of leverguns an traditional cartridges today is their low muzzle blast, handy dimensions, fast aquisition, an effective-yep effective cartridges at what seems like crawling speeds in todays world.
Its the nature of man to always work to improve, but its also the nature of man to recall whats valuable, what works, an stick to it.
I would have to reread the thread, but I don't think anyone was recommending loading a cartridge to the point of a grenade.
Is it reasonable to shoot a .375 Marlin or a Marlin in .356 Win, both of which have the exact same receiver as a .30-30 made in the same era - per Marlin's own parts lists for the respective models? Yes.
Would Marlin would have released rifles for the 52,000 CUP .375 or .356 cartridges if they were grenades waiting to explode? Not at all likely.
Did Marlin do enough research to know if these loads would be safe or not? Almost certainly.
Is the margin of safety less than for a 38,000 CUP .30-30 built on the same receiver? Of course. But that does not mean they are unsafe.
Is a person a lunatic if they take a modern Marlin in .38-55 and load it beyond the 30,000 CUP SAAMI spec? I guess that depends on how high they take the pressures.
SAAMI MAPs
30,000 CUP .38-55
38,000 CUP .30-30
43,500 PSI .450 Marlin
44,000 CUP .444 Marlin
52,000 CUP .356 Win
52,000 CUP .375 Win
Then there are the 40,000 CUP .45-70 loads offered by various powder manufacturers that are specifically for Marlins, with Marlin's tacit approval. And the new .308 Marlin is expected to be in the mid-40's KPSI.
Seeems to me the modern Marlins can handle well above 30,000 CUP.
Does it make sense to shoot .375's in a .38-55? Not to me, for several reasons. Is it dangerous? Given the .375 bullet in an oversize .377-.378 bore, I'd say probably not.
The real value of leverguns varies depending on who is doing the valuing. I enjoy my .375 and .45-70 a lot, in spite of the additional blast and recoil compared to a .30-30 or .38-55, and I load 130's to 2500fps in the .30-30 for plinking clay pigeons at 200 yards and beyond - hardly a "crawling speed". They all have scopes, which is heresy to some folks. Not that I give a rip what others think about my levers or how they should look or what loads should be used in them. So far they have been 100% effective on game, from antelope to elk, with loads and acoutrements of my choosing.
