Now were're getting somewhere. Case shape may have more effect on accuracy due to static alignment than it ever did with powder burn. It's a fact that some case shapes are more "efficient" than others when burning smokeless powder, but I submit that efficiency alone has little to do with accuracy or consistency, provided the correct powder burn rate for they system is utilized. By the same token, cartridge cases for very specific jobs (like 200 yard benchrest competition) are invented to deliver a certain pre-determined, ideal payload (not a hunting bullet) to the paper with a certain volume of propellant at a pre-understood ideal velocity, so that may be more a case of chicken before egg because external ballistic requirements of the game at hand are the whole driving force behind the design of the internal requirements. Also on the topic of short and stout, I might add my thoughts that action length (more importantly bolt throw distance), terminal performance on game, and to a lesser extent weight, are the marketing reasons for pushing out new "efficient" hunting cartridges because they will deliver more with less.
So, why don't all long-range hunters use the 7mm TCU or whatever instead of a 7x57 Mauser, or 7mm-08? Well, try to find a good hunting load on the shelf at your local sporting goods store. I'm not sure 6mm PPC (most accurate cartridge ever invented, so much so it's cliche') or PPC USA is even loaded commercially. Why not? Well...there's no money in it because no sporting rifles exist and competitors load for the conditions of the hour, right at the range. It's only supremely accurate because one person spends years loading the same lot of primped cases for one particular rifle, and cries when he finally shoots his favorite barrel out. The kind of tolerances those people work with would not tolerate a piece of pocket lint on a case neck, nor would the tolerate a sudden 30-degree temperature drop.
Next time B.G. Lott stops by the shop I'm going to ask him what he hunts with, should be an interesting discussion.