Mossie
I don't think it expanded much and the performance left me thinking about a bullet that would expand a little more not less;
I would agree with you a lot... .452/300 grain XTP, XTP Mag and .430/300 grain XTP might be a bit much for the slender whitetail. The bullet is in and out before it has much chance to do any thing... The .430/240 and the .452/250 (regular 250 not the mag version) should work a lot better...
But;
I would bet the bank that the .452/250 Gold Dot and even the 300 Grain Gold dot would do the job + you are assured that the bullet will stay together at any range. Chap and Semisane both have chosen to use the 300 GD both for ballistic reasons... I still would use the 250 on white... with that deep hollow point cavity it has got to open and open fast but yet still get retain weight to drive the bullet through.