Depends on the gun of course. My 7RM hasnt fired 162 AMAX but its pet load is the 160 NAB right at 3200. book load 1.5grs under max. In your rifle it very well may be perfectly safe. My whole point is in the guessing that a guy is pushing a rifle too far that one has never personally handled.
When I developed my loads in my rifle I spoke to a Nosler ballistic technician, even sent pics of the fired brass and he said my loads were absolutely fine. During deer season this year I happened to stop into CCI/Blount as they are but 45 minutes from our hunting ground. Got talking rifles to one of their techs and he looked at my fired brass and said it looks fine.
7 loads into the brass with no bulging, thinning of the brass, primer pockets are right and no appreciable growth. So what If any indication do you have that I am over pressure?
Steve Timm who you admit probably has more trigger time then anyone on a .280 AI, Nosler tech, Barnes tech, CCI tech all say I'm NOT pushing the gun to the hairy edge but you claim I am? Interesting that the people who get paid to know this chit and likely have college degrees in it say its all good.
So yeah it's irritating that you propose folks like me are risking chit when actual ballistic techs who make their living doing this say I'm not pushing the Saami max very hard.
The thinly veiled claims and bkanket statements that those of us getting 3300 from a 140 or 3000 from a 162 are pushing the envelope of safety is plain asinine and your better then that.
Not all rifles or barrels are equal, I shoot 3 groove PacNors and tend to get 50-75 fps more then book speed with 1-1.5 grs less and work up and stop at the first even indication of pressure as I'm not dumb.
