I have to go with the "doesn't matter as long as it dies quickly group". Here's my experiences.
A few years ago I shot a doe @ about 30 yds with a 165 gr Core Lokt. She bounded out of sight. I waited several minutes and walked down by where she was. No blood. I started to walk the direction she went and saw a bit of hair but no blood. Long story short I walked the direction she went and found her about 25 yds away in a thicket. It was a through the ribs shot just behind the shoulder and there was a 30 cal entrance and a gaping exit wound but no real blood trail to follow.
A couple of years later I shot a buck at 95 yards with the 50 cal muzzleloader. He bounded off and before the smoke cleared I heard him crash. When I walked over there was a blood river showing the direction of his 25-30 sprint before the crash. There was NO exit wound as I shot him between the front legs straight on. Never did find the bullet.
Last year I shot a button buck at about 60 yds with 130 gr. 270 sierra game king boat tail spitzer. For the first time I had a deer drop in his tracks but within a minute he jumped up and ran. Now he only went about 30 yds before crashing. He was shot through the right shoulder and there was NO exit wound but there was a very good blood trail to where he dropped. When I field dressed him, he looked like he had been gut shot. That spitzer must have literally exploded and sprayed shrapnel througout his body cavity.
My last story was an Impala Ram at about 65 yds in South Africa this August. He was shot with a 180 gr Hornady 30-06 right through the point of the left front shoulder quartering to me. The guide's response was "GOOD SHOT" you really shocked him. He staggered about a yd and was dead on the spot. Again no exit wound and we found a good portion of the bullet under the skin on the right side behind the shoulder when we skinned him.
So, that's why I have to side with the guys who select dead is dead
That's also why I think the bullet and bullet placement have a lot more to do with blood trails than whether or not you get a pass through.
As another aside, I love to hear the arguments between my gunsmith friend who set me up with my outfitter in Africa over the best bullets to use. Because of the gunsmith I bought the Siera spitzers (which my personal jury is still out on) and the Hornady soft points that my African outfitter uses.