DB Bill--
As I noted earlier in this thread, these days it's entirely possible to shoot ammo way above 65,000 psi with no obvious "pressure signs." Almost all brass is consierably better than it was a generation ago, and the rifles are so much more precise that sticky bolt lift, ejector markings on heads, and even cratered primers often don't occur until we're above the red line.
The reason Lazzeroni cartridges and factory ammo (and, as Ken points out, Weatherby ammo) push bullets faster than other cartridges of similar capacity is higher pressures. There is no way to get away from basic physics.
I have a custom .300 Winchester Magnum by Charlie Sisk, made on a tang-safety Ruger 77 action. It has had all the modern tricks done to it: blueprinted action, 25" Hart barrel custom-chambered, etc. While working up loads I discovered it easily (and accurately) digested 180-grain handloads chronographing well over 3200 fps, with nary a "pressure sign," using several powders and Federal's discontinued Gold Medal brass.
Is it just one of those rifles with a "fast" barrel? No, the loads are too much, which is one reason I settled on accepted maximums of about 3100 fps for 180's and 2900 for 200's. The other reason is that an extra 100 fps is completely irrelevant in the field. It may be good for bragging purposes, but it only gains about an inch flatter trajectory at 400 yards, and no trace of extra "killing power."
If shot enough, most "magic" rifles eventually come apart, no matter how well their extra-heavy brass holds up. Sometimes the shooter gets lucky and the rifle just develops excessive headspace, but sometimes the rifle goes all at once, due to metal fatigue. Despite advances in brass and steel in the past few decades, 65,000 is still about the maximum pressure any rifle can withstand over the long term.
I have acquaintances who've doubted that. One blew a custom rifle apart so completely that the scope clanged off a metal building 50 feet behind him. He was lucky, but didn't appear to think so. His only comment was, "I've shot that load hundreds of times with no problem!"
According to all the pressure testing done on the short mags, there is no extra-velocity magic in their cases, just as there is none in the trick shoulder on Weatherby rounds. If you load them up hot enough to "beat" larger cartridges, you're playing a dangerous game.
JB
