For Mule deer, the Hornady 154 grain Interlock in a 7x57 is what I favor. Whitetail deer, the Speer 87 grain Hot-Cor in a 250-3000 Savage gets the nod.
The Sierra .257 90 grain HPBT bullet was the sexy bullet of the day for awhile among the 250-3000 Savage 99 owners I hung out with. What started it was a Pet Load article by Ken Waters on the 250-3000 Savage where was intrigued by it when driven at better than 2900 fps. Quote: "While I realize that it has neither the sectional density of the various 100 grain bullets, nor the ballistic coefficient of either 100 or 87 grain spitzers, it may just prove capable of doing the work of both heavier and lighter bullets. I dunno, not having had an opportunity to try it on game, but will be interesting to watch the reports as they come in from the field on this relatively new bullet."
Well, I and acquaintances tried the bullet and 1) in majority of rifles it was very accurate, 2) at .908" it shot well in some 1-14" ROT rifles, 3) no reliable performance on Whitetail deer. We discontinued using the bullet on Whitetail deer.
We should have read Sierra's "fine print" found in their reloading manual. ""Realistically, the 100 grain bullets are probably the best choice for deer sized game. The 87 grain spitzer and 90 grain HPBT bullets will serve well for varmints, but are only adequate for deer and antelope even if shots are placed precisely." Current website caveat: "It will perform as a varmint bullet at high velocities, but it may also be used on medium game from smaller-capacity cartridges, such as the 250-3000 and 257 Roberts."
A redeeming quality of that bullet is it's very accurate in the majority of 25 caliber rifles I have owned and if it doesn't shoot well, look elsewhere for a problem.
Hornady "Custom" 250 Savage 100gr Interlock factory is very accurate in my Savage 99-A and have killed 6 Whitetail deer with it with no issues.
My Marlin 336-C 30-30 has shown a preference for Federal blue box 170 grain Soft Point RN and works well on Whitetail deer. Recently, I tried the Hornady factory ammo "American Whitetail" 150 grain Interlok and found it to be accurate. Killed two deer with it...no issues.
