I try to get sufficient velocity for a flat trajectory over the ranges I expect to shoot and to ensure expansion and hopefully enough penetration for two holes, while producing good enough accuracy for precision shot placement. With all the bullets we have to choose from, all that can be accomplished without too much trouble, especially in the calibers from 6.5 up. I generally keep my .270 and .30 cal loads solidly in the middle range and have gotten excellent results so far, and hopefully am taking it easy on my barrels. Because of its smaller diameter and lighter bullets, I push my .243 a bit harder.
If you look back a bit, the original loads for the .30/06, 7x57, and the various other rounds that originated 100 years or so ago did very well, even with the simple bullets available, at 2200-2700 fps. No reason why we can't do the same now.
Obviously, those who shoot way out there need all the speed they can get to achieve the same results.
