Actually more important to the well being of your vintage shotgun is to keep the recoil within a reasonable range which is often equated to low pressures. In many cases you are shooting a gun that is well over one hundred years old and during that time wood drys out and become brittle, solder on ribs and forend hangers ages and become brittle. It is true that Sherman Bell found that damascus barrels could withstand a tremendous amount of pressure but why push the odds when low to moderate pressure and recoil loads are available.
