chris,
i agree with all you say except about the cartridges.
with regards killing anuimals we have a moral resposibility to minimize suffering, and self education is an important aspect of this.
putting 1000yd ballistics on an ammo packet is absolutely irresponsible.
i still stand by my statement re observed killing power of calibres..
at the risk of offending bob, i feel that 6.5/06 is a better killer than 25/06, 270 better than 6.5, and 280 rem better than 270 win.
when culling sometimes this comes down to tally vs rounds fired, but it also comes down to bangflops.
this is not theorizing, but rather in the field experience.
i cannot say it is energy related or bullet diameter related, or other.
using the wrong bullet in the 7mm is far less critical than doing it in 25 cal.
also the bigger calibres mentioned here have the benefit of the same bullet working better for a greater span of distances.
of course the 30/06 is better than them all in some ways, but when compared to the trajectory of the 25/06 at the other extreme starts to suffer trajectory issues if you hunt in certain conditions.
with all these rounds mentioned, i am talking purely shots at point blank rage and no more.
bruce.