What Powerbelt

M

MBM

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I want to try Powerbelts this year out of my new CVA Accura. What ones should I try? These will be used on Mule deer at ranges under 125 yards. Any advantage of the copper over the lead? What about the aero tips? I am thinking of trying the 295 gr.

Thanks!
 
I have always had success using the 245g .50cal areo tips. this year i am using a CVA .45cal and going with the 225g areo tips. Head to the range to see the difference in bullet drop from the 295g HP to the 245g areo tip. It aint that much. 295's will keep more energy on impact....
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-02-10 AT 05:38PM (MST)[p]The 295 should do just fine, and he is right, for the distance you want, the 295 just doesn't drop that much more.

Just be sure you don't push them too hard. I would try and stay at or below 100 gr of powder. Anyway you slice them, they are a pure lead, soft bullet. They perform better at moderate velocities. Push them too hard and they will actually come apart and give you LESS penetration. If you try and push a 295 gr powerbelt with 150 gr of powder, you will probably have a bullet that breaks up on impact.

I don't think it really matters which bullet you use (HP or aerotip/lead or copper covered). But the platinum is a slightly tougher bullet not because of the platinum, but because it has a smaller hollow point.

Now that I have answered your question, I will tell you my opinion. The 300 gr Hornady FPB would be what I would choose for mule deer. Slightly tougher bullet (lead alloy) and they are cheaper.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
Well, here's another opinion, and none of them are wrong. Just telling you what worked for me. And once I find the combination I don't change it. Every gun is different but I shoot a Whites. I use 120 gr. Pyrodex powder, with 348 grain Powerbelt (green base) I use a peep sight. Tested it again just last night. I have shot 1 inch groups shooting just 3 shots. On sandbags at 100 yards. Two went through the same hole and one was just over 3/4 of an inch away. I shot it last night again after it was used by a friend two years ago on a Mossback deer hunt. It shot exactly the same as two years ago. I went through a lot of powder and a lot of combinations before finding the right one. Just keep borrowing two or three rounds from friends and keep trying different loads. When you find the right one you will know it. Good Luck!
 
I'm not shore what state you hunt in and maybe sabots are not an option. Given a choise, I use shockwave/superglide with the bonded bullet 250 or 300 gr.

I killed a cow elk in Colorado in 2004 with a 45yd lung shot
and a power belt 290gr. all lead load. No exit wound and poor & poor groups at 100yd. The shot went where I aimed but was glad to be so close. A fallow up shot was needed to end the girls suffering.Aero tips might do better.

The sabots hands down do better in my Knight bighorn.

Warning: a good friend back east has had problems with the
power belts in his CVA. He has had the load come out from the power of the 209primer, pushing the pellets and bullet out unfired! Sabots are legal where he hunts. He insisted the power belts should work and says the sabots are tough (tight) to load.
After a few phone calls, Chuck was told to fire a "fowling shot"
and not to swab the barrel? I know he rides a quad and suggested
he check the bullet for creep with a pre-marked ramrod after a ride.(befoe capping of course)

Good Luck
 
I am getting good accuracy with 90 grains of FFF Triple 7 and Powerbelt Platinums 338 grain.I hope to draw an elk tag for Colorado next year,untill then it will be Michigan whitetails. Can't wait to try it on game.So far all i have shot is paper.
 
I have shot 100's of powerbelts.

They shoot very accurate and are easy to load.

Try shooting them in some meat, wet phone books, barrel of water or whatever. They do not perform.

we have lost 4 Elk using these bullets and I wouldn't hunt with them again if you paid me.

Just my .02
 
>I have shot 100's of powerbelts.
>
>
>They shoot very accurate and are
>easy to load.
>
>Try shooting them in some meat,
>wet phone books, barrel of
>water or whatever. They do
>not perform.
>
>we have lost 4 Elk using
>these bullets and I wouldn't
>hunt with them again if
>you paid me.
>
>Just my .02

I would have quit at elk number 1. I quit using PB after 3 295gr 50 cals failed to exit on 100lb whitetail deer. It killed them just fine, but why not put a hole all the way through if you can. Somthing about a POS bullet that can't penitrate 7-10" of deer rib cage scares me a little if I was wanting to go after something bigger. I have 2 recovered 295PB in my bullet collection. Both are as big as 50ct peices and THINNER. After switching to 460gr No Excuses in both my 50 and 45cal, I have no doubt about penitration, expanded bullets are mushrooms, and weight retention is about 85%. I plan on trying to poke one through a moose next week.
 
I have noticed the Powerbelts are very accurate bullets. I have also heard horror stories of them not working, and then the next guy saying they work great. I have shot them just to shoot them, but will not shoot them on game. I have found the T/C Maxiballs and Hornady Great Plains shoot just as good, and kill very well. I have the Great Plains loaded on top of 90 grains of Goex for my upcoming deer/elk hunt next week.

If I were just hunting deer under 125 yards, I would look at some other options of bullets as well. There are the XTP's, Shockwaves, SST's, Partitions, Speers, etc that will work in a variety of sabots and kill deer just fine. And they are a lot cheaper than Powerbelts.

Later,

Marcial
 
That is exactly what we found. I have killed 2 elk with 250 shockwaves, both one shot kills.
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-25-10 AT 10:23AM (MST)[p]I use the 275's in my .45 and the 295's in my .50 they are so easy to load and shoot great.
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-25-10 AT 12:44PM (MST)[p]This conversation is going on again in another forum. Powerbelts kill, some people however are pretty darn picky. Uh my bullet didnt exit. How far did the deer run due to the bullet not exiting... Uh the deer dropped in its track. LOL.
Funny how some think you need 2 holes for blood to come out.

A bullet thats recovered on the off side under the hide simply means the bullet put ALL of its energy intot he ANIMAL rather that the dirt.
http://24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/4430777/1/Giving_up_on_PowerBelts




http://frontiermuzzleloadin.powerguild.net/
 
Funny. All I have ever shot from my CVA are powebelts and killed everything I hit well. I have missed, and made bad shots (WA state, ooen sites, etc.) but never blamed the bullet.

RE
 
I've only shot 1 deer with a Powerbelt. It was a 45 cal bullet on a muley at about 75 yards. The bullet exploded on the front shoulder and did not enter the vitals. There was a softball-sized chunk of meat missing from his shoulder. It did knock him down long enough for me to get another shot into his ribs. After that hunt I switched to a 50 cal with Barnes 250 grain sabots. They worked well on a couple of deer. Now I'm shooting Pittman bullets out of a custom gun and I'm very happy with them.
 
Agree, shooting for accuracy on the bench doesn't equate to penitration on a real critter in the feild. I've be super pleased with Thor bullets, I purchased from Muzzleloader.com.
 
rob e said:
Funny. All I have ever shot from my CVA are powebelts and killed everything I hit well. I have missed, and made bad shots (WA state, ooen sites, etc.) but never blamed the bullet.

RE
Click to expand...
Like Blue said, they are exactly the same bullet as 14 yrs ago. Other bullets have surpassed them.

Also, glad you have had good luck but read El Matador. I hear that a lot. If you hit something hard, they come apart.

They are soft, pure lead bullets. Doesn’t matter whether they cover the lead with copper or platinum, both only protects your barrel. It does nothing to make the bullet any tougher.
 
The POWERBELT 338 PLATINUM'S Are Accurate SOB's!

I Always Thought They Might Just Be A Little On The Soft Side!

Me & My Son Shoot The Same SmokePoles!

I've Seen My Son Many A Times Group 3 At 100 Yards & All 3 Are Touching!

Absolutely No Mods To The Guns!

All Fine Tuned By Powder Measurements!

We Switched To The POWERBELT ELR's In 330 Grain Because Of The Better Bullet Coefficient!

We Can Tell You This:

Just About a Week Before Hunting Season My Son Wanted To Go Shoot His SmokePole Again!

We Get To The Range & He Fires 3 Rounds!

Not Bad!

But Not Like He Normally Groups Them!

Fires 3 More & I'm Thinking Something Ain't Right!

We Tear The Gun Down Even Though He'd Just Cleaned It!

On Close Inspection The Good Ole BH 209 Was Cutting On The Breach Plug!

There Wasn't Any REMINGTON Breech Plugs For Sale Anywhere!

And This Was Right When The COVID BS had everything Stirred Up!

I Finally Got Ahold Of A Guy That Does Ignition Upgrades On The Remingtons,He Had A Couple That He'd Took Out Of Brand New Remingtons, The The Owners Were Upgrading To His Set-up!

He Didn't Really Wanna Sell Them But He Did!

Got Them Just A Day Before Hunting Season!

I Pulled My Breech Plug Out & It Wasn't Cut As Bad As My Sons But was Showing The Same Cut!

Makes Sense Because My Son Shoots about 15 More Grains Of BH209 Than I Do!

I Don't Have The Exact Round Count When This Started Happening But My Best Guesstimation is around 450-500 Rounds!

You Can Spend Alot Of F'N Money Fine Tuning SmokePoles!

What I Like Best In A Bullet Is One That Does Alot Of Damage & Almost Goes Clear Through The Other Side,The Hide Catching The Bullet On The Opposite Side Isn't A Bad Thing!

My Original Remington Inline Shoots A 600 Grain Slug!

You Wanna See Damage To The Animal & Your Shoulder?

This Is The Gun For That!
 
elkassassin said:
The POWERBELT 338 PLATINUM'S Are Accurate SOB's!

I Always Thought They Might Just Be A Little On The Soft Side!

Me & My Son Shoot The Same SmokePoles!

I've Seen My Son Many A Times Group 3 At 100 Yards & All 3 Are Touching!

Absolutely No Mods To The Guns!

All Fine Tuned By Powder Measurements!

We Switched To The POWERBELT ELR's In 330 Grain Because Of The Better Bullet Coefficient!

We Can Tell You This:

Just About a Week Before Hunting Season My Son Wanted To Go Shoot His SmokePole Again!

We Get To The Range & He Fires 3 Rounds!

Not Bad!

But Not Like He Normally Groups Them!

Fires 3 More & I'm Thinking Something Ain't Right!

We Tear The Gun Down Even Though He'd Just Cleaned It!

On Close Inspection The Good Ole BH 209 Was Cutting On The Breach Plug!

There Wasn't Any REMINGTON Breech Plugs For Sale Anywhere!

And This Was Right When The COVID BS had everything Stirred Up!

I Finally Got Ahold Of A Guy That Does Ignition Upgrades On The Remingtons,He Had A Couple That He'd Took Out Of Brand New Remingtons, The The Owners Were Upgrading To His Set-up!

He Didn't Really Wanna Sell Them But He Did!

Got Them Just A Day Before Hunting Season!

I Pulled My Breech Plug Out & It Wasn't Cut As Bad As My Sons But was Showing The Same Cut!

Makes Sense Because My Son Shoots about 15 More Grains Of BH209 Than I Do!

I Don't Have The Exact Round Count When This Started Happening But My Best Guesstimation is around 450-500 Rounds!

You Can Spend Alot Of F'N Money Fine Tuning SmokePoles!

What I Like Best In A Bullet Is One That Does Alot Of Damage & Almost Goes Clear Through The Other Side,The Hide Catching The Bullet On The Opposite Side Isn't A Bad Thing!

My Original Remington Inline Shoots A 600 Grain Slug!

You Wanna See Damage To The Animal & Your Shoulder?

This Is The Gun For That!
Click to expand...
One of the best lessons in life and muzzleloading: always carry a spare of everything. I say this not for you but for others. Cause I have been in your spot.
 
Hey tx!

It Goes For Me As Well!

One Thing Was Is I Didn't Think We'd Destroy The Breech Plugs That Quick But The BH209 Is HOT!

A Spare Of Everything Is The Way To Go!



txhunter58 said:
One of the best lessons in life and muzzleloading: always carry a spare of everything. I say this not for you but for others. Cause I have been in your spot.
Click to expand...
 
Been on 2 hunts with powerbelts. First one a cow elk, shot through the heart and ran 30yds and died. Perfect dime size hole entrance and exit.
2nd a 4point buck shot through the front shoulder. Perfect dime size hole entrance and exit. He didn’t die, a follow up shot at 100yds hit in the knee, bullet shattered the leg and didn’t exit. Both animals died, but 2/3 bullets did not perform how they should.
 
Mallardsx2 said:
You hit ANYTHING in north America with a powerbelt in the lungs and it is going to die. Know that.

Having said that, I don't shoot them.
Click to expand...
Easier said than done. The problem can be getting to the lungs. And then there’s the issue of no exit (and no blood trail).
 
One problem here with all the complainers is trying to use them for things they aren't designed for. For states like Idaho requiring round balls or full caliber conicals, they are great. Loose powder and flint or percussion ignition results in speeds of 1200-1600 fps. The pure lead does expand easily, and a lot. Use the 348 or 405 grain bullet, and be happy with your dead animal. If you want harder and faster, mix a little alloy and/or paper patch.

In a more lenient state, use whatever is legal and you like and push a tough bullet 2000+.

IMG_8102.jpeg
 

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