I'm "Outing" Myself: Powerbelts

[Jonathan_S]

I went to power belts a while back and I'll never return!! I shot three elk at 92 Yards in the sweet spot and ALMOST lost all three!!       Horrable penitration, although i did get pretty accurate with them. I now shoot 300gr Barnes MZ and I'm not looking back. I smacked my elk last year at 110 yards and he didnt go 30 yards. Matter of fact the only reason he went that far is because he rolled down a hill......

any way thats my  What works for me might not work for you, as long as you can retrieve them in the end is all that matters.

How in the world did you shoot three elk at the same distance?

Sounds like Barnes are definitely the preferred elk killer.  My experiences have only been with thin-skinned whitetails and black bears.

[philepe]

Im kind of a newb to ml's.....but I find it odd that for such strong feelings on this discussion not many people seem to be saying which powerbelts that they hate or like.  Are you using the copper, all lead, aerolite, or platinums.    That being said I ASSUME the people having problems with penetration are the all lead version.  Any insight to the differences would be appreciated.

[TommyGun496]

Im kind of a newb to ml's.....but I find it odd that for such strong feelings on this discussion not many people seem to be saying which powerbelts that they hate or like.  Are you using the copper, all lead, aerolite, or platinums.    That being said I ASSUME the people having problems with penetration are the all lead version.  Any insight to the differences would be appreciated.

My bad experience is with the copper.

[Z_rock01]

Im kind of a newb to ml's.....but I find it odd that for such strong feelings on this discussion not many people seem to be saying which powerbelts that they hate or like.  Are you using the copper, all lead, aerolite, or platinums.    That being said I ASSUME the people having problems with penetration are the all lead version.  Any insight to the differences would be appreciated.

Ive tried them all, The all lead bullets flat out do not perform! the copper react the same way the lead does but keeps together a little better. The only power belt that i will hunt with is the Platnum version, seem to work ok.

(How in the world did you shoot three elk at the same distance?) I meant to say out to 92 yards sorry for the confusion

[duckmen1]

Seen four deer shot with powerbelt and all have dropped right there out to a 30 yard recovery. Complete pass through from 20 to 118 yards. Excellent damage done inside to put an animal down quick. But as far as elk goes i am going to have to say that ya they probably do expand to quickly judging by the deer. Great deer bullet but elk i think there are better choices. I love the 50 cal 300 gr xtps in 45 cal bullet for my elk round.

[Mongo Hunter]

From what I'm reading I think some folks really need to look at the load they are using and for what animal. the heavy all lead bullets (350gr +/-) with a low powder charge (100gr or less) on an elk probably lest than ideal. I was using 270's with 150g of powder to kill DEER. I think some folks are forgetting ML are primitive rifles and don't have the same ballistics as a modern gun. plus the all lead rounds are soft hollow points, better suited for deer sized game. solids or jacketed rounds would be a better option for elk along with a bigger powder charge. just my 

[Jonathan_S]

 
The majority of bad experiences seem to be from elk hunters.  I haven't deflated an elk with a muzzleloader yet so I cannot comment there but I have been quite happy with their performance on deer and bear.

[Z_rock01]

From what I'm reading I think some folks really need to look at the load they are using and for what animal. the heavy all lead bullets (350gr +/-) with a low powder charge (100gr or less) on an elk probably lest than ideal. I was using 270's with 150g of powder to kill DEER. I think some folks are forgetting ML are primitive rifles and don't have the same ballistics as a modern gun. plus the all lead rounds are soft hollow points, better suited for deer sized game. solids or jacketed rounds would be a better option for elk along with a bigger powder charge. just my 

Have you done any testing on how much powder your ML will use in a shot?? 150gr is alot of powder. Dont get me wrong..... that is were i started as well. I have since gone down to 120gr powder because thats the most efficient amount of powder that will burn before leaving the barrol. Its pretty easy to tell if your just blowing un burnt powder out verses burning it all. I am a accurate junky, and i dont like wasteing powder (and my shoulder doesnt care for it)

I must say every thing has a place and a use. I have had bad luck with them so i wont use them. other people have had great luck with them. it all comes down to personal preference. 

[CP]

From what I'm reading I think some folks really need to look at the load they are using and for what animal. the heavy all lead bullets (350gr +/-) with a low powder charge (100gr or less) on an elk probably lest than ideal. I was using 270's with 150g of powder to kill DEER. I think some folks are forgetting ML are primitive rifles and don't have the same ballistics as a modern gun. plus the all lead rounds are soft hollow points, better suited for deer sized game. solids or jacketed rounds would be a better option for elk along with a bigger powder charge. just my 

Have you done any testing on how much powder your ML will use in a shot?? 150gr is alot of powder. Dont get me wrong..... that is were i started as well. I have since gone down to 120gr powder because thats the most efficient amount of powder that will burn before leaving the barrol. Its pretty easy to tell if your just blowing un burnt powder out verses burning it all. I am a accurate junky, and i dont like wasteing powder (and my shoulder doesnt care for it)

I must say every thing has a place and a use. I have had bad luck with them so i wont use them. other people have had great luck with them. it all comes down to personal preference. 

Very valid points.  I’ve found shooting through a chronograph that velocity drops off with too much powder.  Shooting various 300g bullets I found velocity peaked at about 110g of triple 7.  More powder produced more recoil, bigger smoke cloud, dirtier gun, but not more velocity.  Larger charges are also more unpredictable as they seemed to be more weather dependant.  On a hot dry day they produce higher velocities, on a cold damp day they are considerably slower.

I’ve settled on 100g.  That charge gives me consistent results with less weather induced variations.

[Salmo]

Okay so I've hunted the muzzle-loader seasons since 2010.  I've killed two bucks and a bear since then with my CVA Buckhorn.

And I am going to admit something.  I LOVE Powerbelts!!!    I don't even care who knows. 

I have killed all animals cleanly and at distances of 120 yards and less so Sabotloader don't get mad at me, I'm not claiming I can get tighter groups or better expansion or anything like that.  I'm just saying, I actually am enamored with how they've performed thus far.

Anyone else dig Powerbelts?  Admit it!   

Hey I started my career with a CVA Buckhorn!  I also started my career with 295gr Powerbelts.  That combo combined for several deer and elk!   I have since switched to a saboted lead bullet and the company claims isn't as soft and should penetrate more.  Every 295 powerbelt I put in an elk expanded to the size of a quarter and rested against the hide on the offside and killed the elk.  They if it ain't broke don't fix it.  But I'd like a better chance at punching two holes.  We shall see how it works out for me.

Best of luck this season!

[hillbilli]

Mongo made a point about these being primitive rifles, and not having the ballistics of a modern gun. I think to understand the modern BP gun you just have to compare it to a modern gun that has the same ballistics. a .44 magnum lever gun has almost the same diameter and weight bullets, and pretty close to the same velocities as most modern sabot loaded muzzleloaders. can it be used to take anything in north america? absolutely, within it's range limitations- but you would match your bullets to the species. Good 300gr bulets are matched well to elk and other heavy boned game- as many hunters on here can tell you. would you use a 240gr out of the lever gun for elk? probably not, unless it was a very well constructed bullet (or it was all you had) The powerbelts are wider (less sectional density) bullets for the same weight-which means they will penetrate less, and they are very soft. The wider wound channel is not a bad thing-If it penetrates enough. As to the comparison- if i told you I had 20ga sabot shotgun slugs (some of these loads are again very close in bullet weight and velocity to our BP loads)- that were 50 cal. soft lead 240 or 295gr.. would you think it was a great elk load? I've seem a lack of penetration with the older 240gr powerbelt, dont think i ever shot anything with the 295. The 295 I would probably trust for deer on closer shots, but I really think there are much better options for bigger animals- and I think some of the testimonials here about poor penetration bear that out.