Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Anybody shooting 270 - 290 grain 50 Cal Powerbelts and 777?

Saddlesore,
They, 348 Aerotips, shoot O.K. in my T.C. Hawken in the replacement Green mountain 1:48 twist barrel, about like the 350gr. maxi-hunters over 100 grains pyrodex. Others tried it with swiss FF and liked them. Unfortunately, I am only shooting them with the standard fibre optic open sights. I can stay inside 5 inches or so at 100 off of the bench. We hunt in such tight cover that it is a moot point, ie. 20 yard minute of deer would work!! But they seem to shoot well enough. What combo did you try?

Might be just the lighter bullets then.

Then I'd be shooting patched round balls. They stay put.

Well dont you know round balls will roll outta the barrel cuz they are round and dont hold in place like a good ol conical? Plus they lack energy

Powerbelts shoot great in 1:48 twists. Our cabelas hawken, cva hawken, cva mountain stalker "1:32" twist all love the 295 + powerbelts.

The patch keeps them from moving off the powder.

yeah but that patch can cause a forest fire you know.

Swampmann,

We have been shooting the Powebelts since they became available in our area. Never had one move "off the powder". They stay in place just like standard conicals, atleast till you pull the trigger

Where did you hear/experience this?

The comments in the Savage 10ML-II owner's manual lead me to believe it's pretty easy for them to move. I won't be testing them.

Same here, I've backpack hunted with 'em to hell and gone, abused the rifle, fallen down, and in the process taken 8 or 10 elk/mule deer, and never had a problem.

I guess you need to read the Savage Manual to really know though.

Maybe the Savage is overbored?....

Or they have shares in, or sponser, another bullet company.

No there's just nothing to hold them in place.

Power Belts were at one time called Black Belts,developed by Bob Kearns.. He told me that they would come off the powder if the gun was pointed down and bumped around.. He told me to fire a couple of rounds to dirty the barrel before loading them for a hunt..Also he told me to lay some dental floss across the bore and then seat the bullet .. This he said will keep them from comming of the powder.. Also,,they may have been improved buy now, but the plastic gas check, will crack, and give you some serious fliers.. I took 4-5 packages of Black Belts and pick through them and found the ones with the cracked plastic checks, and shot them at 100 yards.. At 100 yards ,some didnt hit the target at all, and some did.. The ones with no cracks in them shot very well..at 100 yards.. When shooting these bullets at 200 yards, they have no BC,S and start to tumble at this range.. Most of you so called muzzleloader shooters like the Power Belts cause they are easy to load down the barrel..Yes they will kill an elk or deer, But when i only have ONE shot , i prefer a much better bullet.

I guess mos tof us are just neophytes stumbling around the timber with bullets moved half way down the barel. Only the true experts can expound on the good bullets. I hope the hell the elk don't read this thread before next week

Go back and read the 1st dad gum post Brucie.He ain't asking you what bullets you use.He ASKED if any one is using the Power Belts

Brucie,
Glad you "know someone". You actually tried to use a bullet that you had to keep in place with dental floss? You sorted out 4-5 packs of bullets to get past the cracked ones to find some you could use? WTH, would you use that product? Whether you know the guy or not, Junk is Junk.

I tried the Blackbelts when they came out as well. After shooting about half of the first pack I gave the rest away. Standard conicals outshot even the good ones. Hell, the patched round balls outshot the good blackbelts. The Powerbelts have a more plieable tighter fitting base and are much better made. And being that this thread was about Powerbelts, not Blackbelts I answered accordingly.

As far as your "so called muzzleloader shooters" comment. You do not know any of us. Save your judgements for yourself. The only thing you are accomplishing by spouting off is "removing all doubt". P.S. I built my first muzzleloader 28 years ago and have hunted with, and competed with, them ever since, taking @ 60 big game animals with them along the way. I use Powerbelts because they work very well for me. I do not try to make a muzzleloader into a high power rifle, they are not. Shooting a full caliber heavy weight, easier loading bullet, that does not lead the barrel too badly appeals to me, call me crazy.

Powerbelts shoot under three minutes of angle in the rifles I shoot them in, leave big blood trails with two holes, and drop big game animals as well as any muzzleloader bullets I have used. That is why I continue to use them, you know, actual field experience. What a novel concept, actualy trying something, before, you become an expert about it.

I knew i would get bash here,,,just wanted to let him and others know of this problem.. Hope they fixed this problem,,Good luck hunting..

I'm trying to decide if people are saying cracked skirts on PB"s affect flight. As far as I can tell on my shots,the skirts fall off and I find them at about the same distance out as I do patches when I shoot round balls in other rifles. I have no idea if they crack or not, butI have never encountered one on the green skirted PB"S. I would assume the skirts lag behind the bullet in the barrel when fired, or shortly thereafter.

I check the seat on my loads every once in awhile as I carry in a scabbard and the rifle gets bounced around.I have never had a PB move forward that I could discern.

wow out of the thousands of rounds i fire each year with powerbelts, i never once found a cracked skirt. beautiful 1 1/2 - 2" groups @ 200 yards.

Powerbelts stay planted on the charge if you dont have an over sized bore like some of the knights and white rifles. It is a good idea though with any projectile to use some common sense and check your load after a rough ride on an atv/horse back. Even when i am not using powerbelts for hunting, i still check it after a rough ride to make sure its on the powder.

Powerbelts can be shot in a savage but savage does not recommend it with smokeless powder due to them being pure soft lead and can melt when fired. Not completely melt but you get the point. With a black powder sub, im sure it would be just fine.

If you do have a rifle with an over sized bore, the Powerbelt Platinums have a thicker skirt for those rifles. I believe i measured them a couple years back and they measured .506 or .507 i forget the exact measurements.

It has nothing to do with the lead alloy. They can move off the powder and create an obstructed bore situation.....scarry!

http://www.chuckhawks.com/powerbelt_bullets.htm

that can happen with any projectile. The lead is soft and savage doesnt recommend conicals PERIOD with smokeless powder.

And that's why I shoot sabots. Unlike conicals they don't move.