Most for the least?
About a decade ago, you can look it up, I got hold of a software package at work. It was a super-duper Optimizer add-on for Excel called Evolver. They wanted me to test it out. I got the bright idea of downloading a large part of Hodgdon's reloading database and then asked the Optimizer to basically find the best bang for the least amount of recoil.
One of the problems was what measurement of "bang" was best for my needs. I used a version of the Taylor TKO that favored sectional density called the Bekker KOV, The important feature of this experiment was that I took all the MAX load and then let the Optimizer take up to 8% of the MAX in doing its calculations, much like any reloader would.
The results were interesting:
Eeeets Alive Pt I Eeeets Alive Pt II Based on what I found, I did not mean to send everyone out to buy a .280 REM, or for that matter the 6.5X55 Swede. Rather, it suggested to me:
There is something to be said for 260, 280, 308, 358 and 458 as a caliber for deer. However, each has its own set of provisos that make them preferable.
It also bolstered my belief that slightly-off-MAX loads deliver a lot of punch with much less recoil.
