powerbelts

[Smith & Wesson Man]

I have read a lot of mixed reviews over these bullets. I have used the 245gr 50cal (100gr american pionner) in my omega and they group very well. My friend used it and took a nice doe at about 85 yards. Anyone use them? The biggest problem I have read is that they don't leave a good blood trail and sometimes they don't expand well. Comments? Thanks!

 

[frosty]

Powerbelt bullets

I have used Powerbelts in my in-line, but have had greater sucsess with the Barnes X M.L. With its much larger hollow point& tiny serations in the bullet nose, I got noticably better expansion on Whitetail Deer...Great shooter also!

 

[Manyirons]

Oh! My mistake, thought it was one of those electric gut buster weight loss things.

 

[Duncaninfrance]

Me too, Thom!
Anyway I am in good shape - ROUND is a good shape you know
Duncan

 

[Manyirons]

Nah! PEAR is tha shape i'm in! Not like HERR Bigiron on his hip lean mean supermann boss sir yes i know ya can read this now sir!

 

[arcticap]

Trade offs

I shoot mostly lead bullets with sabots. But there's often trade offs with bullets, either they have better penetration, accuracy or expansion.
I once recovered an hourglass shaped 20 gauge BRI saboted shotgun slug from the far side of a deer after a frontal quartering shot, and the .40 caliber lead slug expanded to about .64 caliber. Blood trailing was still difficult with just one entry hole.
One might need to actually recover a bullet to see how well it expands, or at least compared the exit wound to the entry wound.
I'm sort of curious about how well the expanding plastic base keeps the bullet seated on the powder while carrying the gun during extended hunting. Do you think that it's tight enough to keep it stationary without having to check on it with a rammer (while decapped) once in a while?

 

[Mercerlake]

If you are concerned about the PowerBelt slipping while hunting, try tapping the muzzle downward on a block of wood (Muzzle down) then check to see if the slug moved with the ramrod. Uncapped of course! If it moved, try dental floss across the muzzle under the slug as you seat it. This will tighten it without interfering with the gas seal.

 

[MCgunner]

I'd rather cast my own. Too, I don't really understand how a .50 cal bullet would need expansion? I'd think .50 cal would be about big enough and a good flat point would transfer enough energy while assuring full penetration. Of course, I've never shot anything with the .50, yet, but paper, but I've shot game with hard cast .357 magnum bullets that didn't expand and they worked great! Didn't drop 'em in their tracks, but they left a good blood trail and didn't go far. I think, too, that a 250 grain .50, especially that expands, would lack penetration. I have confidence that a flat nose 360 grain minie will penetrate to get the job done.

That bullet sounds a little light for my gun, anyway, with its 1:24 twist. It doesn't like light conicals, prefers the heavy stuff. The Hornady 385 grain pill works really well in it, and minies from my new Lee 360 grain mold. I tried a .250 grain conical and weren't too good, figuring it'd be a lot better out of a 1:48 twist.

 

[Smith & Wesson Man]

Thanks for your comments. One a forum I use in Michigan we have a lot of powerbelt haters! I was talking to a guy that works at my local shop and he has used them and have taken two deer with them. He likes to tinker with different things (bullets, powder, primers) plus he has his muzzleloaders shooting up to 200 yards He made comments about the powerbelt haters, did they make good kill shots? How far away were their shots? A 50cal bullet should do the job on any deer if you hit the sweetspot. The doe that was shot with my omega went down and didn't move more than five feet. I guess it can become personal preference. You just get wondering when you here people loosing deer just because of a "crappy bullet" using their words I want to make sure what I shot I get. I don't want something to suffer for hours or days, plus a waste of good meat. I have even thought of trying roundballs or the TC cast bullets, have any of you tried those in your 50cals?

 

[arcticap]

It's fun to keep trying out bullets!

Even though my inlines are .54's, I've been shooting lighter weight .45 bullets for accuracy, less recoil and higher velocity (225 grain Buffalo Bullets shoot very accurately).
I liked shooting saboted TC MaxiHunters (255 grain) in a 1 in 48" twist, and I wasn't concerned about their expansion ability at all.
In some guns, I feel the recoil more when using 300 grain and heavier bullets so I try to avoid the "flinch".
I think their weight is the reason why the .44 (245 grain) Hornady XTP's are so popular for use in so many different caliber rifles, and they are proven to expand at handgun velocities.
The plastic base bullets/ballistic tips are the newest improvements for long range accuracy and aerodynamics. But I'm not really a long range hunter anyway, just an eastern woods hunter.
I do think a .54 PRB (225 grain ball) would be really effective for deer too!

 

[frosty]

Powerbelt bullets

I've been hunt'in whitetails and shoot'in charcoal burners for darn near 30 years. There have been 3 occasions in the past 5 or six seasons to where I was offered what I would call a "long range shot", or at least by Ohio standards. Most of my deer were killed within 70 yds or so, and with a pure lead ball. Gentalmen, it is a known fact that if a round ball strikes a critter like a deer with good high velocity, it will literally turn itself inside out, causing a nice heavily bleeding wound...This is exeptionally true with larger balls, 54 cal and up. The only catch is that you gotta get close to'em, because they loose velocity much quicker than bullets with more mass. Isnt that the whole point of black powder? Dont get me wrong, because I took a beautiful 8 pnt last year on a 350 acre farm, at about 145 yds with a barns x bullet. I mainlly bought the inline to hunt Indiana& Pennsyvainia, where I'd be offered longer shots and could still hunt black powder. Most of these bullet/sabot combos are good, but none seem to expand very well. I've heard many people say on this forum, shot placement, thats what is important...Indead it is

 

[Smith & Wesson Man]

I picked up some new bullets for my omega. I picked up some TC maxi-hunter 275gr pre-lubed bullets. I thought I try something different. I am thinking about starting out with 100gr of american pioneer. I still haven't given up on powerbelts.

 

[arcticap]

Bore Buttons

If you're trying out conical bullets alone without a sabot, and aren't getting consistent accuracy, sometimes placing a Wonder Wad Bore Button in between the bullet and the powder will help provide more consistent results.
Also, since conicals can be a little bit looser once rammed down into the bore, I try not to angle the muzzle down so that the conical will not slip foward before shooting it off.
When I hunt with or without a tight fitting projectile, I keep my muzzle up by using a buddy holster (rifle butt holster) to help keep my muzzle elevated upwards. There's other ways to carry a rifle while hunting to accomplish this, but I found that doing it this way gives me the confidence of knowing that the bullet won't slip forward once loaded into the bore.
Let us know how they shoot.

 

[Dave in VA]

I don't like Power Belts. 348gr HP's with a TC Encore 100gr 777. I've shot 5 deer with them and got an exit wound ONCE. Not big deer (<100lb does) and not that far away (25-75 yards).

 

[codoug]

Powerbelt experience

I've had both good and bad experience with Powerbelts. I've been shooting a Cabelas .50 cal , 348 grain hollow point, with Pyrodex and had fairly good accuracy. I've shot several elk with that load and found that many times the bullets fragmented too much for me. I prefer a good mushroom and I heard the arrow tips would be a better choice. My bad experience with Powerbelts is that I haven't found a good load/bullet combo for my .50 Knight Revolution when sighting in last week. I talked to a Knight rep and they said they had problems with them. He speculated that since it's a slightly smaller dia, it may not be getting a good twist thru the barrel. He also said that at 50 yds they may not be too far off but you should also try 100 yds to see how it might vary at greater distances. So, I've found for me, they have done the job hunting as long as you feel comfortable with the accuracy you can obtain.

 

[nico]

I have a bunch of powerbelts that I haven't used yet. I plan on using them, but, there are a few reasons why I won't be buying them again. Whether or not they're "good," the controversy over them tells me that they're probably not enough better (if they are at all) than a typical sabot with a premium bullet to justify their significantly higher price than any pre-packaged sabots I've seen (let alone buying those same sabots/ pistol bullets separately).

Furthermore, they are extremely delicate. I dented one by tapping it on my knuckle and noticed dents on a couple others after dropping them on the ground. I know muzzleloader projectiles are probably less dependent on aerodynamics than centerfire bullets, but a big dent in the nose of a bullet can't be good for it.

I have a box of Hornady SST sabots that aren't nearly as delicate as the powerbelts. After the info I've gathered from various message boards, I think the next batch of projectiles for my muzzleloader will be MMP sabots and .45 cal. Hornady XTPs