The 6.5 isn't very forgiving on elk with anything other than a boiler room shot, which is certainly possible with kids and field shooting conditions. The 7mm-08 with 140 ABs is a solid elk setup, kid or adult, and we usually get exit holes.
How does that work? 140s will come out of both at similar speeds, +/- 100 fps.
Elk won’t tell. Dead elk don’t talk much anyway.
Statistically it takes a huge cohort (sampling) to establish confidence when measuring subtle differences. Less the difference, larger the required sampling.
So, what we mostly see in these situations are anecdotal conclusions that are not statistically sustainable.
And then throw in variables of bullet construction and type used, range, where hit, etc.
But, I do appreciate opinions and first hand experiences.
IMO.
DF
