In damascus barreled or older steel barreled guns as well I keep the shot weight & velocity down to protect the stock as well as general welfare of the gun. For the desired shot load & velocity I use the fasted powder that will keep pressures around the 8K mark & figure I am giving the gun the best load possible for it.
This is based on two factors, first cold weather Squibs soured be on low pressure loads with slow powder years ago. (This was with 7625)
2nd The faster powders hit their peak just a bit quicker than slower powders so the peak occurs where the walls are thickest, just makes sense to me.
What "Shoots a Gun Loose" is heavy loads @ high velocities, not pressure per se as long as the barrel walls are compatible with that pressure level.
A 1Ľ oz load @ 1300+ FPS will pit a lot more stress on a gun than 1oz @ 1200 FPS even if both produce 10K PSI
