This is where I read it. It seems savage doesn't recommend any conicals. It's explained in the letter from Savage.
http://www.gunblast.com/Savage-10MLII.htmUPDATE October 17th, 2005
I just received an email from the engineering department at Savage strongly recommending AGAINST the use of the PowerBelt bullet with smokeless powder. They certainly know more than I about this, so I am including their message here:
"PowerBelts are just undersized conicals, measuring .499 dropping down the bore of the .501" land to land 10ML-II. Not truly "jacketed," they have a thin copper cladding. Some Powerbelts remain pure lead.
"Encouraging the use of Powerbelts has several detrimental consequences. While there may be no misfires with the double-based, 20% nitro AA5744-- misfires and unhappy customers are likely with Savage recommended N110 and SR4759, a certainty with the long recommended 4227.
"There is the 295 grain PowerBelt Jeff was using, but the better PowerBelts on game are the 348, 405, and 444 Flat Nose versions. These far heavier bullets will send pressures through the roof with smokeless.
"As the copper cladding is thin, it is torn up by the rifling-- not the case in a saboted projectile. Use of the old, unplated Powerbelts (sold as BlackBelts) will coat the bore with lead. A big problem to remove, the classic method being to use liquid mercury. After the still-sold unplated PowerBelts came the first "copper clad" PowerBelts that are still around - the plating is a light copper wash, just like in .22 rimfire ammo. It is so thin you can see the lead through the copper, making bore leading a certainty.
"Harvester makes a competitive bullet to the PowerBelt, the Sabretooth. It is a very thin copper wash that promises lead fouling. If the PowerBelt is okay, why not the Sabertooth?
"PowerBelts generally do not move off the charge with filthy Pyrodex or Black powder fouling. With the use of ultra clean smokeless, movement of the bullet off of the powder charge is a good possibility-- possibly creating a bore obstruction.
"The Savage 10ML-II manual has long suggested only bullets in sabots by MMP with smokeless. To encourage or allow the use of bore-sized conicals may create some or all of the problems listed above-- bore leading, dramatically increased pressures, bore obstruction, and use of other conicals that are lubed lead also creating misfires due to powder contamination from that lube and also bore leading.
"With a PowerBelt, all of these problems can easily manifest themselves.
"Saboted pistol bullets, while not a true 'pressure valve', are at least an accuracy pressure valve. Those that choose to break the rules and just add more powder destroy the sabot seal, and accuracy is gone. No such deterrent is present in Powerbelts and other conicals.
"As a practical matter, a 295 grain PowerBelt, bore sized, cannot fly as flat or hit as hard as a .452 diameter Hornady XTP. The ballistic coefficient of the larger caliber bullet is correspondingly poor.
"Misfires, bore leading, and bore obstructions-- as well as the dramatically increased pressure from heavier (348, 4405, 444 gr.) Powerbelts are all problematic.
"Right in the Savage 'recommended powder loads' appears this statement, which I believe is also in all the manuals: "Use smokeless powder loads with saboted bullets only. When loading and shooting bore-sized lead conical bullets, Savage Arms, Inc. recommends loading with "Pyrodex� RS", "Select", "Pyrodex� Pellets", or "Triple Seven". Maximum recommended charge is 150 grains." That should be enough right there to dissuade people from Powerbelts and other conicals-- the manual clearly does not allow their use with smokeless."
Jeff