Honest question with no agenda when I ask this. I wonder what is better for killing a lesser recoiling rifle running on all 8 cylinders or a larger chambering throttled down?
I guess it depends on the bullet you have in mind. I've been present when several deer and hogs have been shot with 120-140gr 7mm bullets at muzzle velocities from 2200 to 2650 fps. Stuff bled and died just fine, without any unusually long death runs or such. A 100yd impact with such a load is likely not much different than a 250-300yd impact with the same bullet loaded to full power in a .280Rem, and most of us would say that the .280 is plenty of gun for such a shot. Next to placement, bullet choice and impact velocity matter most. I've also shot full power stuff with comparable recoil, mostly being 6mm and .257 chamberings, and I really can't say I saw a ton of difference on meat versus the reduced 7mm-08 loads. Trajectory might be a different issue, of course, should that factor in.
I think if you can develop your own throttled down load, that's the best way to approach reducing the power of a larger chambering. My experience with factory-made "reduced recoil" loads has not been good. Remington's version for a 300WM literally tumbled from a Rem 700 and Hornady's version (I think it was called Hornady Lite?) was all over the place in a 7mm-08 that grouped multiple, full-power loads well. A sample size of two might not be the best way to decide, but the reduced stuff is generally scarce and thus very expensive... I'd want to know for sure how it was going to group before investing in multiple boxes.
