I loaded up some Friendswood 115gr LRN bullets for my S&W Shield 9mm. I found that due to the shape of the bullets and the Shield's chamber size I had to seat them to 1.070 in order for them to properly chamber. I used 4.4 to 4.5 grs of W231. The Lee and Hogden manuals show a minimum OAL of 1.100 and loads of 4.3 to 4.8 grs. I shot a string of 11 of these bullets and measured the velocities. They ranged from 1039 to 1074 with an average of 1054. For this bullet/powder combination the Lee and Hogden manuals show a starting load velocity and a "never exceed" velocity of 1079 and 1135. Can I assume that the chamber pressures are not dangerously high and that these bullets are safe to shoot? Or could the short barrel length of the Shield result in acceptable bullet velocity even though the chamber pressure may be dangerously high? Is acceptable bullet velocity a sufficient indicator of safe chamber pressure regardless of barrel length?