In my youth, I pored over and probably memorized every chart provided in the Remington, Winchester-Western, and Federal catalogs. Surely, the load with the highest velocity, giving the highest energy, was the best load for me to use, no?

Reality was something different. My Remington 600 had an 18" barrel. While I knew that I'd lose (by published "rule-of-thumb") 50 fps per inch of barrel less than tested length (typically 24"), I had no idea what kinds of velocities I was achieving. Consequently, I had no idea I was even close to what the catalogs suggested.

If you really want to evaluate the performance of factory ammunition, I suggest you purchase a chronograph and some kind of ballistics software. A simple ShootingChrony still runs about $100, while basic software like Sierra's will run you around $40. By measuring the velocities you achieve from each factory load and plugging them into the software along with bullet characteristics like the BC, you're going to have a far better picture of what those load will do trajectory-wise, and with accurate velocities you'll also have a reliable basis to suggest other performance indicators (although I don't find them all that important now) like "energy."

And, if you start reloading, both will give you a basis to evaluate load you develop on your own.