Moose Bullets/Loads

[jhibbs]

I will be hunting moose this fall in Maine and was wondering what load combinations others use for larger animals. I plan on keeping the shot to 100 yards or less. My rifle is a TC Black Diamond.

I have shot several deer with it using 245g PB's and some of the plastic sabot 240g 44 cal bullets, but would like to find something a little heavier for moose.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I like the way the powerbelts shoot and was wondering if the heavier weights are more solid, since I've had some of the 245s decintergrate on deer and not exit the far side.

Thanks,
Jody

 

[Rem308]

I would go to the 348 Powerbelts,have taken 4 elk with this bullet.

 

[greatbasin]

285 gr. Barnes Spitfire MZ is the bullet i would use, without even thinking twice about it. Good luck.

 

[APBT]

No, Use a big bullet like the 405 grain Aerotip Powerbelt. They Also make the 444 grain Flatnose, I am currently pushing powerbelt for a new lighter weight flatnose powerbelt and eliminate the Hollow Points.
Read the link below, its an email from Powerbelt bullets and also talks about the bullet weight for certain game and the powdercharge/bullet/distance.
http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID14/1769.html





www.GandersPowerbeltForu.Powerguild.net

 

[greatbasin]

APBT,
I guess I'm just not a fan of Powerbelt bullets and your e-mail link really does nothing to convince me otherwise...sorry. Having once had a copper clad 348 blow up on an antelopes' elbow just turned me off.
Regardless of that, I can't think of a bullet more deadly than what is basically a Barnes TSX for muzzleloaders. I've killed 12 animals up to 700 lbs. and only recovered 3 bullets from the most extreme of those shot angles. Those recovered slugs all had a 100% weight retention and perfectly expanded sharp copper pedals that will cut thought everything in their path.
Not to mention, I used real black powder for most of those kills, so those bullets were only moving at about 1500fps. at the muzzle and my longest kill shot was 110yds...now that's terminal performance!
That bullet is DRT killer worthy of both moose and bison. In fact, the 285 gr. Barnes Spitfire MZ would be my go-to bullet for eland and cape buffalo...if I ever get that lucky.

 

[APBT]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-24-08 AT 04:20PM (MST)[p]I'd like to see that bullet u recovered.


www.GandersPowerbeltForu.Powerguild.net

 

[Idahoron]

Here is a bullet I came up with for my 50 cal TC Green Mountain hybred. This bullet is a Lee C-501-440-RF
It is for a 500 S&W pistol. I make them out of pure lead and they weigh 456 grains. I paper patch them and size them again to .501

I use 80 gr of Pyrodex P with this bullet. This is a 50 yard group using Peep sights.

This is a 100 yard group with Peep sights.

This load is getting 1310 feet per second. I have over 1400 foot pounds of energy at 100 yards. Ron

 

[greatbasin]

50 cal. 348 gr copper clad HP Powerbelt pushed by 100 gr. of Pyrodex FFG. The distance to the antelope was 125 yards.

 

[APBT]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-24-08 AT 08:16PM (MST)[p]Boy, thats something else. 'lopes must be tough! I'll have to buy some and test that weight out.

www.GandersPowerbeltForu.Powerguild.net

 

[APBT]

Heres a 405g Aerotip with 80 pyrodex select into a bucket filled with wet sand @ 58 yards. For bone/shoulder shots, The Aerotip is a must as the AT helps control over expansion.

www.GandersPowerbeltForu.Powerguild.net

 

[mainer]

Not appropriate for your rifle, but as devastating a kill as I've witnessed, spine shots notwithstanding, was with a .58 cal round ball. Another good but not overly impressive muzzleloader kill on a big bull was with a Barnes "X" in a sabot, in a .50 cal gun. For your gun I'd stick with the big, as in around 400 grain, flat meplated conical if it were me. Nothing fancy, but I've never seen any discussion regarding the killing power of one of them. They don't come with any fancy ballistic reports, they don't have to, but they don't blow up either. I used to get them from the outfit in idaho that designed the PB, but I don't know if they still have them. 405 grains, flat meplat, copper plated lead.

 

[jhibbs]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. It sounds like I should stick to the heaviest bullet that my gun will shoot well. I have used the barnes expanders in the 12 ga. shotgun loadings and they seem to shoot well and devistate deer. I guess its time to get out and start experimenting.

Thanks,
Jody

 

[APBT]

After talking with powerbelt bullets, the 405 and 444g powerbelt will do the job. The 444 is a flatnose so it will go through just about any kind of bone you can find in a moose.


www.GandersPowerbeltForu.Powerguild.net

 

[hntbambi]

Match your bullet to the game. Don't use a light weight pistol bullet designed for deer hunting for the very big critters. I would lean towards something that is at least 340 grains. Moose are big critters and you will need a lot of penetration. I am leaning towards the 340 gr Dead Centers from Precision Rifle. I have been shooting their sabots for 9 years now and have nothing but good to say about them. Cecil is a great guy and a wealth of information.

I have tried a few of the Powebelts and I am not a fan. In my TC Black Diamond, Rem 700 ML, Knight Disc Elite, Encore, and my buddies Knight Wolverine, and Disc Elite, we were unable to get an acceptable group from them. I will not waste my money on them again when there are so many great bullets that work on the market.

 

[APBT]

>I have tried a few of
>the Powebelts and I am
>not a fan. In
>my TC Black Diamond, Rem
>700 ML, Knight Disc Elite,
>Encore, and my buddies Knight
>Wolverine, and Disc Elite, we
>were unable to get an
>acceptable group from them.
>I will not waste my
>money on them again when
>there are so many great
>bullets that work on the
>market.

Yep thats TC and Knight for you. TC due to the QLA will not accurately shoot conicals and knight, they have a slight over bore if i am not mistaken. TC told me that the omega,triump are designed for only sabots. Im sure thats the same with all of their rifles with QLA's


www.GandersPowerbeltForu.Powerguild.net

 

[hntbambi]

Actually no, that is not correct. My TC guns do not have the QLA. I don't like them and I removed it and replaced it with a 11? target crown. Each gun likes its own pet load. This makes it a pain to own many different guns. One concoction that I found to shoot great was 250 XTP and 3 Pyrodex 50 gr pellets. This shoots grat in a few of my guns but I do not like the performance of the XTP on game. Go figure.

 

[APBT]

Really? whats happened with the XTP? I dont shoot sabots or modern pistols/rifles so im what you'd say, Not up to par with the new stuff.

www.GandersPowerbeltForu.Powerguild.net

 

[hntbambi]

Not to sidetrack this thread. While they shot very accurately, they did not give much of a blood trail. I was hunting dense woods for whitetails where you can loose them if you can't trail them. Double lung shots would leave a sparse trail and it made recovery very tough. I shot a half dozen deer with them and that was the last year I used them. The next year I switched to PR's QT40 and was much happier. I killed a couple dozen whitetails with the QT40 and Dead Center from 5 yards to 200 yards and they are my number one choice now. I would have no reservations about shooting anything on this continent with the proper weight Dead Center bullet.

 

[APBT]

I hear the same thing about the shockwaves too.





www.GandersPowerbeltForu.Powerguild.net

 

[hntbambi]

I have taken 4 deer with the Shockwave/SST and had great performance...BUT these were shot from a Savage 10 ML II at 2400 fps. Your mileage may vary in a stinky shooting gun. I have not used them at lower velocities.