wildcatter
Silver $$ Contributor
That sir is why they call it Wildcatting!Lol.. you're ignoring the point. There is no magic shape of brass that is going to let that round hang with a Weatherby Mag without excessive pressure. Do I doubt you're getting that kind of performance from an A.I Bob? No... Do I believe you're doing it anywhere south of 65,000 psi? Also no... Ask the 22 Creedmoor shooters what pressure their 88 grain/3500 fps loads are pushing. They'll give an answer similar to yours.
The 257 Weatherby never found a great following because it is an extremely overcome cartridge in my opinion!
The Weatherby cannot reach 60,000 psi plus with full cases of magnum powders. It can reach max pressure with less than full cases of some medium burn rate powders.
In fact it needs less than full cases with suitable powders to reach 62,000. Hogdons data displays this. Anything slower than 4831 can't reach 60,000 psi or higher with full cases and the 85 grain bullet I use in my 10 twist for optimum terminal performance down range!
What your missing is the 85 or 100 grain bullets I used in my 1-10 twist, could do the same thing at 62,000 psi. The only differance was I only needed about 15 grains less of the same powder to do the same job.
I'm sorry, but if you use the same powder, at the same pressure, to push the same wieght bullet, in the same length and bore barrel, you are going to get nearly the same velocity! But you now have enough pressure in both to get optimum velocity and accuracy!
SLOWER BURNING POWDER DOES NOT BURN CONSISTENT AT LESS THAN HIGHER PRESSURES! 60,000 plus!
Once you have more case than you can completely fill, you are overcome, and any smaller case that can use the same powder to reach the same pressure with the same bullets will out perform the overcome case!!
No I was not over 65,000 psi, I unsure you R-P brass would not hold up to those pressures for 4 or 5 loadings, let alone not encounter stiffer bolt lift. Primer pockets would be weak after one or 2 firings. But now that I have 8x57 Lapua brass to work with, I have other signs of to much pressure I will have to watch for.
Again, variables are many, and understanding as many as possible is requiered to understand total performance, as well as safe and successful WILDCATTING, or just plain efficient safe and best performance when reloading!