Ok, Got it, thanks. So, is it a significant advantage, as far as effects on wood, to use the lower psi load? Or, is it insignificant? One oz. seems to be a suitable standard for shot amount, especially for shooting trap at the longer distances. Would the higher psi load be more effective for that purpose, with it's higher FPS? Given that both loads are at or below the 8,000 PSI pressures of the black powder loads that the guns were designed for? I get a little "Anal" about this stuff, especially when I show up at the range and someone sees my guns and begins preaching "Anti Damascus" mythology to me. I like to have very specific information for my response.
Guns are proof tested to a certain psi level. Stock is not attached. So pressure, in and of itself, isn't the real culprit where wood is concerned. Moderate recoil is best for wood, and you get moderate recoil by keeping the velocity moderate and using lighter shot charges. Pressure comes into play where barrels are concerned. Too much pressure and a thin spot in the barrel, not too far from the chambers where the pressure is still high, can do bad things. That being said, most catastrophic failures (burst barrels) are due to obstructions and not pressure. If you have good barrel wall thickness, you're not very likely to blow a barrel even with a shell that approaches proof load pressure. And that is significantly higher than standard service pressure for the loads we shoot. If you somehow manage to double charge a load, that could do it. There's also the possibility of accelerating gun wear by shooting loads which, while not high enough to burst the barrels, exceed the service pressure for which the gun was designed. But as long as you stay within the pressure parameters for which the gun was designed, you should be in good shape as far as pressure goes. Assuming, of course, a gun in appropriate shootable condition.
