On a whim I purchased a box of 300gr Federal PowerShok after reading the reviews of the Hornady 250gr not performing.

I'm now looking at the trajectory of the 300gr vs the 250gr and there's a big difference considering I'm looking at shooting 50-150 yards... 4.7" vs 12.7" at 200 yards.

I do have the option to buy the 250gr Winchester XP, but I haven't found a lot of information much less using a 1:24 twist.

16" barrel
1:24 twist
50 to 150 yards
Whitetail

Ive only shot two deer with Hornady black 250 gr, but the performance was outstanding on Whitetails.

I zeroed mine for 150 yards...5 inch drop at 200.  0 to 150 it stays within 2.5 inches so I aim dead on.  Hornady has a ballistic calculator that is pretty accurate.

Love the 450.

After shooting Hornady 250gr FTX I would never go with anything else. The accuracy is insane.

As for “failures”, they sure do a number on the hogs I’ve shot, I haven’t had any problems. Brother in law shoots one too for hogs and they plain work. I haven’t shot deer with it I’ll admit.

The round is already handicapped in the trajectory department, I could not handicap it even more with a heavier bullet and be comfortable with 150-200 yd shots. If you’re going to go that route, use a good rangefinder and practice practice practice.

If you don't like the Hornady 250gr FTX try the Winchester 250gr Extreme Points.  The Hornadys worked well in my Ruger No. 1 in 450, but I swapped to a Bergara B14 HMR and it didn't shoot as well with the Hornadys.  It did shoot better with the 250gr Extreme Points.

Last year I used the Hornadys on two deer: one at 70 yards, and one at 160 yards.  At 70 it didn't really expand and poked a hole through both lungs and left a real nice blood trail.  The one at 160 it expanded and tumbled a bit, leaving no blood at all but that deer was DRT.

This year I got a deer with the 250gr Extreme Point out of my Bergara at 100 yards.  I shot it through the lungs and it liquefied the lungs and heart before blowing out the other side.  Left a really nice blood trail too.