I'm not too new to reloading but only really getting serious into rifle this year. If I were to read the forums, here and elsewhere, it would seem that the method to work up a load is to start in the middle of the data and then work up until your gun starts doing fucked up things to your brass. What's the deal with this advice? It clearly ignores the measured pressure limits, it's likely not going to blow up your gun but it will reduce brass and barrel life and likely reduce your precision. Is it just the natural tendency for monkeys to max things out to the point that they break? Why don't people just go to a larger cartridge if they want to stuff too much powder in? What am I missing?
If your goal is to make your barrel and brass last forever, then stop shooting. You barrel and brass will last forever, problem solved.
If you have other goals, then you balance costs and benefits. A fast bullet shoots flatter and gets down range quicker so it is more tolerant of a not-so-good range call and wind. You might say, "so get a better range and spend more time on your wind call". That's a reasonable position unless working slowly costs you points in a match or if your target is shooting at you. If the cost to purchase, chamber, and fit a barrel is significant to you then you want to reduce the load to a point where it shoots well but wears the barrel throat more slowly. For some people barrel and brass cost is not important and they can tolerate the recoil, rapid barrel wear, and short case life. People who shoot dangerous pressure are taking a risk - most don't understand the risk but that is separate issue, I have observed two people blowing up guns with hot loads. Many reloading manuals publish numbers that were reviewed by lawyers so the manual author doesn't get sued if someone blows up a gun - their max load is not my max load, mine could be higher or lower.
I pay for my own barrels, reamer, chamber, and fit and the cost is significant to me. I do what one of the guys above suggests: I find the pressure point (I know how) and back down from there and choose a charge/velocity that gives me good precision. Starting from the pressure point, if the first precision point is close to pressure, I will probably go to the next lower one. I will probably pick the hottest precision point that is safe even if the ammo has been sitting in the sun and the gun is hot. I rarely shoot matches so I CAN take more time but I normally shoot fast (and may operate with a hot gun) because that is a skill worth having and must be practiced.
Ignorant people may do things that are dangerous because they don't understand. Some people have different values, capabilities, and requirements than you do. "Different" doesn't always mean "stupid", in their reality "different" might be smart - it depends.
