4600 fps? Wow-that's a movin!
Playing with the 22.250 with 35 grain Nosler Lead free bullets, which are the
length of a 50 grain bullet.... I was able to achieve 4600 fps with it in a 24 inch
barrel...round was a little hot, but the primer pocket seemed to hold together
with no issues, with a couple of shots..
I went no further, as I didn't feel like replacing a barrel real quick...
and I was using a lot less powder than that 378 Weatherby case...
I have seen several times, guys who had necked down 264 Win Mags
to 6 mm...that was cook the rifling right out of a barrel real quick....
Read an article shown to me a long time ago, by Kevin Wyatt ( of Wynatt Box Fame)
where the Philippine military had experimented with necking down a 50 cal case
to try and reach high velocity for military use...
once they got down to 338 bore, they found that with smaller caliber, they could not
achieve any faster velocity.... so there is a world of diminishing returns...
you just can't get a bigger case, and keep adding more powder and go with a smaller
bore....
like how about a 416 Weatherby necked down to 17 caliber or even 14 caliber...
but I bet there are folks that would still plunk their money on the counter for one
if it was available and someone made the ammo for it...
might as well just hunt with a lazer... no need to reload ammo...