Rocketman, thanks. Thought maybe the additional comments were yours, but wanted to be sure.
SAAMI lists available loads for the various gauges, including shot charge and velocity (which are the most important elements in recoil). However, if we look at what's happened in the shotshell world over the last few years, we can see that recoil has increased significantly--especially because there are now much higher MV lead loads out there than in the past. (I pattern tested some 12ga, 1 1/4 oz 1500 fps loads. Ouch.) In spite of those increases in recoil, the standard established by SAAMI remains focused on pressure. That is to say, as long as those loads fall within the acceptable service pressure ceiling of 11,500 psi, they're good to go with SAAMI. Seems to me that, assuming recoil threatens the integrity of a gun--even cumulatively, over time--SAAMI would establish some sort of recoil ceiling as well, limiting maximum shot charge and velocity. The fact that they have not done so indicates to me that they consider recoil of any load that falls under their service pressure ceiling to be a non-issue for any shotgun that passes current SAAMI proof (19,000 psi, for 12 and 16ga). Yet obviously, since the standard they set is one of pressure and not recoil, they don't consider pressure to be a non-issue.
