Many of us have been reloading, hunting, shooting, and craving rifles for 40+ years. We have read/learned ballistic coefficients/sectional densities/ft pounds,wind drift, drop, MOA. The only really big advancement in my 40yrs seems to me is twist rate. Most of us probably already have enough ballistic knowledge to not have to consult much of anything to determine whether a particular cartridge is viable. In the end I guess it is necessary to know some data (even from trial and error experience). In the end it is just for fun.
I agree completely. While I started out in 1982 knowing next to nothing about external ballistics, I've learned a lot about bullet weights, B.C. values and relative velocities for a lot of bullets and cartridges since then. It would be impossible for me not to apply that knowledge, even if subliminally, when evaluating a cartridge. It's in my head and I can't really turn it off. When Hornady announced the 6.5PRC all I was interested in was the M.V. as I know from experience what 6.5mm bullets can do. Turns out the M.V is basically the same as my heavy-barrel 6.5-06AI with similar weight bullets - which is why I was immediately interested in the 6.5PRC in a sporter-weight.
