Well the 8X57 scores again.
I killed a medium sized White Tail buck yesterday with the Hornady 170 Gr SST, same kind I killed the elk with.
I hit the neck of the buck as he was facing me. It was a bit to the right of center and didn't hit the spine. I cut channel through the neck meat about 2" in diameter and exited the back of the neck leaving only a hole about 3/8" around. I was surprised at how small the exit hole was in the hide, but the damage to the neck was impressive. The deer dropped at the shot.
It was still kicking a bit when I got to it (117 yards) so I put a revolver shot through it's brain to end the pain.