I'm following with the idea that QuickLoad and GRT are math model estimates, but how did we make the jump back to reading primers? If you are interested in learning to do load development off the charts, get the education and instrumentation first.
You can start with math models like QL and GRT while working in parallel with published safe recipes. You can then compare the predictions to your measured velocities. Nothing about those math models should be taken as a way to get into high pressure or run right up to the edges of the safety margins.
The study of thermodynamics, chemistry, metallurgy, and engineering are not like going to McDonalds and ordering up a fast answer. Some very accomplished ballisticians have no formal education credentials, but that doesn't mean they are not highly educated or unqualified. Their corporate lawyers cover their publications with liability insurance, so in the end they are ready for what comes.
David, learning to strain gage isn't for everyone, but it also isn't as inconvenient as a hospital visit.
Pressure vessels, bombs, strain gages, boiler codes, high pressure seals, guns, etc., are not topics for half baked answers because they often lead to really bad accidents, the kind where we end up searching for all the missing parts of people to return to their families.
