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Efficiency versus effectiveness is one of the easiest ways to spark a campfire argument.
One side says, "I don't care how much powder it takes, I want the most power (or velocity) I can get."
The other side says, "But I get 90% of what your ash-can-sized cartridge gets with only two-thirds the powder - and recoil."
I'm firmly in the 90% for 2/3 camp myself.
One way to rate "efficiency" is a simple formula: foot-pounds of energy per grain of powder burned. That takes in both velocity and bullet weight, so it's a valid comparison. The most efficient cartridge in existence? The .22 CB cap. It gets something like 45 foot-pounds with NO powder! (It contains only a bit more priming compound than usual.)
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