One of the old respected writers, wish I could remember the author and magazine , years ago did a bullet deflection test involving various calibers and bullet weights shooting into angled sheets of 1/4" plywood with targets spaced behind to provide a deflection track. His conclusion was the so called brush busters of yesteryear were nothing of the sort. Stuff tending to smaller caliber, higher velocity tracked noticeably straighter after the initial penetration of the angled sheet of plywood. Unfortunately, nobody paid much attention, and you still see references to brush cartridges.
Most of us, if asked, would favor mass and momentum for minimum deflection...but in his test that didn't prove out. But, plywood and meat are two totally different mediums, but I always thought some testing, if a little flawed, is better than no testing.
