Exactly so. The only systematic statistical study of hunting rifle effectiveness that I know of is the South Carolina DNR study at Cedar Knoll Club. It found no significant difference among rifle calibers for deer hunting (.24 to .30 cal) but did find significant differences among bullet types and shot placement. And very importantly, it found that just a slight increase in the average shooting distance significantly increased the chance of missing the shot or not recovering the animal. Ave shooting distance overall was only 132 yards with nearly 500 animals shot. This is highly relevant to this discussion of the putative superiority of these new cartridges at 400 yards or beyond versus the .270. It suggests there would likely be no such differences at the much shorter ranges studied in South Carolina for deer, and that the shot miss/unrecovered animal effects would be highly significant at the long ranges claimed as the realm of ballistic superiority for the new cartridge developments.
https://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/deer/articlegad.htmlAs with the ancient wisdom of Ecclesiastes, so too with rifle cartridges: there is nothing new under the sun.
