Thanks Daryl,
are you suggesting that the 338 Win mag could, if fired in a blue-printed chamber and reloaded with precision, achieve velocities well above factory and manual levels, despite its SAAMI max average pressure of 64,000psi?

As one who only reloads when the ammo runs short or a different bullet is needed, I don't like to push my luck. I'm happy to say I've never had a split show through at the web or traced an incipient one with a wire, though at least some of my cases have been loaded more than three times.

As you say, some chambers are loose; my Sako L61's is one of them, pushing the shoulder forward visibly, and then your point about short necks really becomes valid.

My efforts at neck sizing have led to cases a fraction neat for the close-in world of sambar hunting, and now tend to a partial FL sizing that pushes the shoulder back a bit - obviously a bad idea in your eyes. So why have I not blown the rifle up somewhere in the past 30 years? Possibly because I always use the newest cases I can and never go near the red line. Like Taylor in Africa, I prefer bullet weight over velocity.

I'm coming to a point where I wonder if life is too short for reloading and, in the light of your wisdom, maybe even shorter with it.

Cheers
- Paul