Nor are such efforts required to get a reasonable estimate as to whether or not a bullet will be effective for a particular purpose.
You can get a reasonable estimate that it will be affective because the manufacturers (generally) have already tested it. Every major manufacturer designs and tests their bullets in properaly calibrated ballistic gel.
"Maximum destructive capability" isn't actual. And people who actually kill things care about actual, not potential.
So a 60g Partition will be as effective as a 500g (or even a 150g or whatever) Partition at the same velocity because the manufacturer tested them in "properly calibrated ballistic gel" and both expanded at 1800fps?
Actual destruction caused by the bullet will ALWAYS be less than its maximum destructive capability as determined by the energy it carries. It cannot and never will be more. Energy only defines the upper limit. Efficient hunting bullets use a good percentage of that energy to do their destructive work.
That said, anyone that chooses a hunting bullet based on energy alone is as ignorant or foolish as someone that does it on velocity alone. Bullet construction and target type and amount play a huge role in how efficiently energy is transferred to a target.
The comparison of the 60g Partition to the 500g Partition is admittedly and intentionally extreme but it makes a point. Much less extreme is the comparison between a 110g AccuBond from my .257 Roberts at 3163fps (my load) and a 140g AccuBond at 2990fps from my .280 Rem (also one of my loads). A very reasonable question is "How do they compare at 400 and 500 yards?" Another is "What are their effective ranges?"
To answer the first question, the Roberts has 2440fpe at the muzzle, 1482fpe at 400 yards and 1297fpe at 500. The .280 Rem has 2776fpe at the muzzle, 1818 at 400 and 1616 at 500. Many people suggest 1500fpe as a reasonable minimum for elk. Accepting that would rule out the Roberts for ranges greater than 390 yards while the .280 Rem would be appropriate just past 560 yards.
(If you are reading this and planning to blast me for using the admittedly arbitrary 1500fpe, you may as well stop. 1500fpe is a common and convenient rule of thumb, nothing more.)
If you use Nosler's minimum “Optimum Performance Velocity” of 1800fps as the yardstick, the .257”/110g AB could be expected to perform “optimally” at ranges out to 845 yards, where its energy has dropped to 793 ft-lbs. The same logic would suggest the .284”/140g AB would be effective out to 890 yards where its energy would be 1008fpe. I won’t be choosing either for elk at those ranges.
Rather than use Nosler’s “Optimum Performance Velocity” as a primary gauge, I’ll stick with retained energy. It is more appropriate for my needs.
