All I can say is I've found 160g .284 bullets to be boringly reliable on elk since 1982. No lost animals, no tracking jobs on any I've shot. A couple went 40 yards or so, a couple around 25, some 10 and most straight down or no more than a few feet. Put a 160g .284 in the right place and good things happen.
Didn't start hunting with .308" bullets until 2006. Have only killed one elk with a 180g .308" (.300WM) and it stumbled 25 yards, even with good placement. The one I shot with a 150g .308" (.30-06) and two with a 165g .308" (also .30-06) all went straight down. Go figure.
This is about what I have seen as well using both 7mm's and 300's.
I wanna believe that because of larger bore diameter and more bullet weight,the 30's at the same velocity are more "powerful"(this has been ddrummed into my head by others for decades
)but in actual use,and in terms of dead animals, I can't tell the difference.
