ORIGINAL: txhunter58
You also didn't say how far your shot were likely to be. If they were not much over 100 yards, a bigger conical (such as the 460 grain No Excuses bullet) would also be a good choice.
If you compared the nosler to the NE, then you have a real delima.
And as far as comparing energy, I firmly believe that foot lbs don't give muzzleloading bullets their fair share. Here is another way to look at "knockdown":
http://www.loadammo.com/Topics/July02.htm
All this is great paper exercising and fun, but you current load with the NP is a great load. At this point I wouldn't mess with a known successful formula.
Good luck!
That is a good article on KE and terminal performance, along these same lines please read these:
http://www.garrettcartridges.com/reviews2.asp
and this, which is a comparison of fast pointed bullets (high BC bullets like the Dead Center) vs big large meplate bullet and a lotslower:
http://www.barnesbullets.com/information/product-news/publication-mentions/battlin-bullets/
Chap