PowerBelts

shrpshtrjoe · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 2:30 pm Post subject: PowerBelts

Howdy. Has anybody had luck with the 50cal 240gr powerbelts i know i havent i would be better off throwing rocks. I use triple seven powder i have varied the charge tried different primers with no results.( imo ) they are under sized they load to easy i think the tighter the bullet the better. I went back to shooting the 45cal hornady 240gr xtp sabot and it shoots very well. Everybody says how good the powerbelts are i cant get them to shoot. Anybody else have this problem. Question

keebler624g · Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 12:45 pm Post subject: Re: PowerBelts

i had the same problem. i now use the hornady sst in 1 muzzleloader and hornady xtp in the other.neither of my inlines liked power belts..

shrpshtrjoe · Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 1:14 pm Post subject: Re: PowerBelts

Howdy. At least im not not alone i got a couple buddies that love them because they load easy ( but they never show me there targets ). I dont care how easy they load if they shoot like crap. I was getting 3 and 4 inch groups at 75 yards went back to the xtps and it shoots 1 big hole :lol:.

DallanC · Site Admin Joined: Jan 18, 2005 Posts: 3572 Location: Utah

Hard to beat XTPs. They shoot terrific out of all my rifles. I use 240grns for deer, 300grns for elk and have absolutely zero complaints. I've todate, only recovered 2 bullets and each of those were from diagnal shots that passed through around 30" of deer before stopping on the far sides. I've been meaning to scan in the picts and post them.

I use 100grns Pyro RS for deer, 120 for elk... works slick.

-DallanC

BillyBoy · Rookie Member Joined: Apr 02, 2005 Posts: 2

I shot the 405gn all lead for a few years. They shoot very well in my Rem 700 and also in my buddies Knight. We had a lot of leading to clean out though. I have since switched to a 260gn -.40cal Dead Center from Cabelas, I was shooting them before they picked them up from Precision Rifle. I have switched to 777 powder and have measured a velocity gain. I've shot two Elk now with the Dead Center 260gn. Full penetration on one and found a perfect muchroom on the off side of the other. Both were heart-lung shots w/ ribs broken. At this point I don't have a reason to use anything else, but thats half the fun is trying new loads and bullets.

droptine2004 · Rookie Member Joined: Dec 06, 2005 Posts: 2

i shot the powerbelts it i was shooting 240 gr hp and 150 gr triple 7 and my groups sucked my buddy was shooting the same thing so we went to a 100 gr of powder and got tight groups 3 shots at a 100 yards all of them will touch each other the trick to shooting them is dnt do it with a clean barrel they shoot better after u shoot your gun a couple times

RPM1031 · Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 3:50 pm Post subject: Re: PowerBelts

I've had good results with 295 hollow point powerbelt in 50 cal. over 2 pyrodex pellets. Had trouble when I tried the 295 aero tip. Perhaps I had an off day when I tried them.

Flint54 · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 2:56 am Post subject: Re: PowerBelts

I just got back from Minnesota. Had a very successfull outing that lasted all of almost 35 minutes until I had collected 2 deer just prior to listed sunrise. Both deer dropped to 295gr PowerBelts and did not move a single step after being hit.

I have found out that the PowerBelt needs to be pushed at the upper end and my minimum load for any accuracy is 110gr of loose Pyrodex RS. If using Pyrodex Pellets 110 - 130gr equivelent is needed for accuracy.

I believe that the reason for this is that by their design the actual bullet is undersized and the charge needs to develop enough pressure to upset the bullet into the lands & grooves to give you your accuracy. At lesser charges I don't believe that the bullet upsets enough to reliably engage the rifling and thus provides poor accuracy.

In all acutalaty my best accuracy was 2" at 75 yards with peep sights, some of this I know was me and my peepers, I was able to recover the bullets and they all showed deep rifling when using 110gr. When I dropped the load down to 90 and even 100gr you could observe some skidding on the bullet. Also my best accuracy was with one fowling shot and then swabbed out with Wonder Lube/Bore Butter 1000+.

The wound chanels were very large and both shots were pass throughs. I'm in the process of writing up the account of the short hunt along with some pictures and will post it soon. Stay Tuned.

IMO for me the PowerBelt is both accurate and is very devistating on Whitetails. I will be using them from now on. Cool

Crackshot · Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:55 pm Post subject: Re: PowerBelts

I agree sharpshooter, I have had shotgun groups with them in all types of rifles, and powder combinations. I actualy had the power belt blow out of the barrel while useing 777 & standerd 209 primers. the powder went off AFTER the bullet left the barrel and hit the ground 20 feet in front of the rifle. The powder went off and created a fire ball that scared the hell out of me and the other folks at the range, It happened 3 times. I will not use Power Belt bullets or 777 powder ever again.

roklok · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 6:22 pm Post subject: Re: PowerBelts

I have seen two different rifles shoot great with the 295 grain hollowpoint 50 caliber. My Renegade put 5 in a 2 inch square bulleseye at 50 yards with open sights using 100 grains of loose Pyrodex.A friend shot a 3 shot group at 50 yards with a scoped encore that measured half an inch center to center. His Encore didnt like the 240 grain though.I just bought a pack of 444 grain Powerbelts for my 54, I hope they shoot as good as they do in my 50.

popgun · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:17 pm Post subject: Re: PowerBelts

Accuracy with a muzzleloader is the same with a centerfire rifle. You have to work up an accurate load. It's not likely that you will do that with pellets unless you just get lucky with a pellet combination. So I still prefer granular Triple Se7en over pellets. Also the AeroTip Powerbelts are intended for longer shots. They will litterally blow up at close range with heavy loads and give poor terminal performance. So if your shooting 100 yds or less try the hollow Points.
I get better accuracy with the Hornady 240 gr than the 295 gr Powerbelt. I can not complain about the 295 grain Powerbelt performance though. Here is a recovered round from a couple of years back. The bullet dumped all of its energy inside the deer and I found the bullet alongside the opposite shoulder bone. The deer was litterally thrown to the ground and was dead on impact.

d_hoffman · Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 6:53 pm Post subject: Re: PowerBelts

I've posted a couple of times, I really like the Dead Center Sabots from Cabelas. I have a .45 cal. CVA Magbolt 150. 3 shots after bore sighting and I was hitting bullseyes. The bullet it's self looks like a ballistic tip boat tail, .357 dia. except it's an all lead, 195gr bullet with a polymer tip.

You're right Joe, they do seem undersized. I had no accuracy, no matter the charge. I tried Powerbelts because they (CVA) recomended them. THEY ARE JUNK!!! When I tried Dead Centers they lived up to thier name.

I use 100gr of American Pioneer. Super easy clean up.

roklok · Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 3:17 pm Post subject: Re: PowerBelts

From my experience powerbelts are the projectile to use in TC 1 in 48 twist barrels. I have gotten exceptional accuracy with the 295 grain in 50 caliber and the 444 grain in 54 caliber in my TC Renegades. Just because they dont work in all rifles dont mean that they are junk. No rifle will shoot all projectiles accurately. I have tried roundball, maxi-ball, maxi-hunter, buffalo bullets, great plains in my TC barrels and none have matched the powerbelt. Yes they are slightly undersized upon loading, they are designed to expand to fill the rifling upon ignition. Inlines using 209 primers may need a tighter fitting projectile so the force of the primer doesnt blow bullet forward before ignition.

d_hoffman · Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 5:20 pm Post subject: Re: PowerBelts

Hey Popgun, I do use granular American Pioneer powder. I did 5gr increment adjustments with my charge from 80gr to the max 150gr...still no accuracy. They bullets loaded really easy meaning they are too undersized and they wobbled slightly when fired. Therefore, no accuracy.

hunterjoe21 · Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 9:00 pm Post subject: Re: PowerBelts

We happen to have 4 ML rifles here that all shoot powerbelts VERY well. All are TC inlines (1 Blackdiamond, 1 ThunderHawk Shadow, 1 Encore 209x50, and 1 ProHunter 209x50). Every one shoots sub 2" groups @ 100 yards WITH preformed pellets (either 50/50 Pyrodex or 50/50 Triple Seven) I tried the new Powerbelt Platinum last year and was THRILLED with the results. My Encore can fire the first 4 rounds within 1.450, the fifth tends to drift, increasing the group to 1.900, using 3 (50 gr). Triple Seven pellets, and NOT swabbing the barrel. My wife's Pro-Hunter is capable of similar accuracy (1.890" groups @ 100 yds with 2 (50 gr) Pyrodex pellets. These groups are with the 270 gr Platinum bullet, and as I dont have a chronograph, I have not been able to calculate ballistics yet. But based on the terminal performance I witnessed last season (We put 5 deer in the freezer last year, all with ML rifles) I have NO reason to change anything.