ORIGINAL: DM
Many years ago when i bought my first chronograph i figured out that MANY times even the max load in a load book (especially the older books) actually gave NO improvement in gained fps.. over a load that was 1/2 grain less powder!! And, in many cases the extra powder actually caused the velocity to go down, with VERY erratic velocity from shot to shot!!! Loading over MAX, "even if" you gained 50 fps, (wich i doupt you will) what would you ACTUALLY gain at 100 or 200 yards?????????????? All you will "really gain" is more stress on the gun and brass, for for pretty much ZERO gain!!!! To be blunt, it's a STUPID idea!! Drilling Man
This is all very true, but I must point out that there are MAX loads and then there are MAX loads!
Just because some book says "X" amount of "Y" powder with "Z" bullets is a MAX load, does NOT mean it is MAX in your particular rifle! It could be very much OVER MAX in your rifle, or considerably UNDER what your gun thinks is MAX! The only way one ever finds out which situation pertains to his/her gun is by starting low, and working up a load a small amount at a time. In a cartridge like .308-size cases, 57mm Mauser cases, or those in the .30/'06 class, increments of half a grain can be safely used. Smaller cases require smaller increments! You might get away with full 1-grain increments in the larger Magnum-sized cases.
In my mis-spent youth, I did stretch a primer pocket or two doing this. These days, I stop increasing charges when I get the accuracy I want, which in a hunting rifle is anything at or below 1 MOA. My goal for pressures is that my cases need to last at least ten reloadings AFTER the first shot to fireform the brass to individual chambers.
ANY load that permits your brass to last for ten reloads in a given rifle is plenty safe enough for continued use IN THAT RIFLE!