just a few observations.
the bullet does all the lethal damage, and it must penetrate deeply and expand consistently to give good results.
the vast majority of all big game is killed at under 250-yard ranges.
after watching a couple of dozen guys hunt deer and elk successfully in our hunting club,
for over 5 decades and helping dress out a great many of those deer, and elk.
I have to point out that the majority of hunters are NOT great at precise shot placement.
they might be able to shoot 1" 100 yard groups off a bench rest at 100 yards but in the field, not so much.
it takes experience and practice to know and accept your personal limitations.
Ive also noticed a that the guys using the rifles with the bullets with about a .240 or greater sectional density
and velocities under about 3000 fps seem to have better and more consistent results
and caliber is not the deciding factor, its shot placement and a bullet designed to penetrate and expand consistently.
most bullet manufacturers produce decent quality bullets but the medium heavy for caliber to heavy for caliber designs,
tend to give more consistent results, from what Ive seen dressing out dozens of deer and elk.
example
one old geezer has used a 257 roberts with 115grain noslers and 120 grain speer grand slams, he's had 5 one shot kills on elk
one of my best friends uses a 358 win and 250 grain speers exclusively, hes had over 12 elk down with a single well placed shot in the last 40 years,
another guy I regularly hunt with has a 308 win BLR, loaded with 180grain hornady interlock bullets hes hunted successfully with that combo for 40 years plus
https://www.vcalc.com/wiki/MichaelBa...tional+Density
just from observing what works consistently,
Id suggest using a fairly heavy for caliber projectile, and not be all that concerned with max velocity.
the guys I see have the problems are generally not great field shots and many seem obsessed with high velocity and extreme range,
most of them could not consistently hit a coke can at 200 yards even once shooting from a field position if given 3 tries
