Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders First time muzzleloader owner. Blackhorn 209 / Powerbelt

I bought my first muzzleloader yesterday and I'm looking for some tips and advice for loads and some equipment recommendations. I went into the store knowing very little about muzzleloading so I basicly just bought whatever the store owner recommended. I bought a CVA optima v2, the cva blackhorn breech plug, Blackhorn 209 powder, a volume power measure, winchester 209 primers, and powerbelt aero tip 295gr bullets. I did a little research last night and I saw the reviews on the gun and powder were mostly very favorable but the powerbelt reviews are all over the place. What are your thoughts on powerbelts? I see the hornady 250 and 300 SST's seem to get great reviews. Would the sst's be a better option if so what weight do you recommend? What other equipment do you recommend I get? Thanks.

I can't like PB bullets and won't buy them. They do nothing a lead conical won't do, except load easier because of the thin plating and cost more money. Other than that, they are nothing more than a dressed up lead conical, with zero performance gain.

I do not feel they form a very good/consistent gas seal. And this will vary from barrel to barrel, expecially on the cheaper muzzleloaders IMO. If you take the base off, guess what? They fly the same. We did it. I would even venture to say they would expand the same without the tip, but never tried it.

I use saboted 250gr Barnes now...

SST's are like powerbelts, you either love them for hate them. They are known to either flat out explode or not expand at all.

The 300gr Powerbelt Aerolite is a hell of a bullet. My dad used one this year on his medium size doe at 30 yards this past September and she didnt go but 10-15 yards after the shot with a lung shot that did in fact exit. Along the way the bullet broke multiple ribs on the exit side and they added 3 extra exit holes as you can see. 100 grains Blackhorn209.

i ude hornady xtp and barnes in my 45

Medium sized? I'd hate to see what small looks like in your part of the woods.........

I have to disagree about the bullet comment. A PB that does not expand would be rare. What it would do is expand easily at nearly any range/velocity out of a ML IMO. What it will not do is penetrate deeply.....

I've the "reports" about SSTs exploding but I really question whether it's more hype than reality. I'm not saying it can't happen, bullets can do strange things inside an animal, but in most cases of bullet failure the bullets are recovered inside a dead animal. It seems as though you can read 20 plus reports of no problems to one where someone had an issue. It seems to be a rare occurrence where an SST "exploded".


Whether or not they reliably expand is a different story and I don't believe it's a big issue. A 250 gr .45 cal bullet that passes through an animal, IMHO, doesn't need to expand to be lethal. If you're shooting a .243 that expands to .45 that's good expansion and a definite plus.

FWIW, SSTs and shockwaves are interlock bullets. I asked a Hornady rep about this.

If you're going to hunt now, I wouldn't sweat it. My son killed two nice bucks in one week using 295gr. PBs over 90gr. of some powder or other in my Renegade. Big holes, dead deer.

PBs get a lot of grief, but they load easy, shoot okay, and certainly will kill deer.

You can fiddle with stuff next year.

Try them buy them get some SST try them an u make up your mine .I try them all an shoot them an 200 grain 44 Bullets Green Sabot works great in mine 50"s

I didn't get much time to shoot today but I was able to get the rifle roughly sighted in at 100 yards. I was using 100gr by volume of bh 209 and the 295gr powerbelts. I'm hoping to find time tomorrow to shoot some 3 shot groups and fine tune the scope. The season opens in two weeks so if the powerbelts shoot well I'll probably give them a try this season.

An SST was made for hand gun. I use the 250 grain .452 in my .50 cal with great results shooting 120 grains BH209 by volume and MMP HPH/12. The gun is a CVA Elkhorn Pro which has a .503 bore which is larger than most. I haven't read about the SST ever "exploding" but I do know about one that pin holed backed with 100 grains of Pyrodex in the neck of a mule deer.

If anything is going to "explode" from pushing it too hard it's going to be lead, not a jacketed pistol bullet. Last I talked with Hornady this is one the reason they came up with the "Monoflex ML" muzzle loading bullet, as well as green states. Solid copper with low and high expansion rates. My gun doesn't use their sabots though. http://www.hornady.com/store/50-Cal-Sabot-Low-Drag-with-45-Cal-250-MFX-Bullet/

Which handgun would that be? The 450 Bushmaster? That is what the 250gr SST/FTX was designed to be shot in.

http://www.hornady.com/store/450-Bushmaster-250-gr-FTX-LEVERevolution/




Test Barrel (20") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
2200/2686

Maybe you should look at the cross section pics on the web and compare them to a XTP. The 250gr and 300gr SST have quite a bit thicker jackets than a NON MAG XTP.

LOL.....How about the 460 S&W for one or the Colt. Both made in the 1870's, last I heard that was before AR platforms were constructed.

Non-expansion is the problem, not bullet explosion on the SST.

FTX is a rifle bullet formulated with a different tip, the SST is originally a pistol bullet. Of course the SST has a thicker jacket made for higher velocities, that is why Hornady went to the new Monoflex instead. Too many hunters were complaining because they weren't made for ML in the first place.

The SST's were designed to open at a higher velocities then the average ML is going to deliver under regular loads. Even if you are using 120 grains of BH209 you still going to get what, 2120 FPS? Your barely coming close to what the SST was designed for. Again, I have heard more issues with SST's not opening then I've ever heard of MAGs having any problem.

The SST ML is nothing but a SST without the cannelure, they just call it a ML bullet. Whether they get better performance using a non cannelured bullet in a AR platform, well who knows.....Guess that will be for the end consumer to figure out.

The fact of the matter as most bullets that we use they are made for hand guns or rifles, NOT for muzzle loading. The MAG is a better option because of the thinner jacket. Last I heard was able to expand down to 800/1600 fps.

The problem here is if you push the MAG past 1600 fps which magnum loads do then what???? Hornady decided to take on 3 main issues; (1.)traditional FPS (2.) Magnum FPS, (3.) green state regs. The result? This is where the new Monoflex ML is supposed to shine.

SSTs were not made for handguns..........

460S&W clocked over 2100fps It was designed in 2005.

454Casull will send a 240gr down range at a good 1900fps. It was designed in 1958.

The 240gr XTP MAG has an even thicker jacket than a 250 or 300gr SST. According to Hornady it is made for upto 2100fps.



BTW there are plenty of FTXs made for pistol calibers. 45Colt, 357mag and 500S&W to name few.

I agree that an SST is not a pistol bullet and not to be picky but which came first?

The SST-ML bullet that's used in the 450 Bushmaster or the SST/FTX?

The SST is NOT a handgun bullet. Not now, nor was it EVER......

I guess you did not read the link and the 450B does not use or need a cannelure either. Ive bought both the 250gr FTX and 250gr SST in bulk. Neither one had a cannelure. Hornady does not list any other .452 250gr SSTs or FTXs. There are just two.

2muchgun<---- Really???? The .452 SST was a pistol bullet well before it was a ML bullet. And the FTX has a larger bearing surface and harder tip for lever action guns which are what??? Oh yea, rifles.

Awe yes, the XTP and XTP Mag; You are correct the MAG has a thicker jacket over the regular XTP, but the SST still is designed to open at 2200 fps whereas the MAG is designed to open at 1100 fps. These are still two completely different bullets for different ranges.

But last I heard ^^^^ up there we were talking about the "SST exploding" which is false. Now maybe the XTP but not the SST.

Wrong. That's the maximum muzzle velocity not the minimum velocity required for expansion.

If you doubt me call Hornady and ask them what the velocity parameters are for an SST.

250gr T/C Shockwave which is basically a FTX/SST with a hard tip.

2150fps+ MV 50 yard impact


250gr XTP same media and MV


While this may not be typical the test media and MV were nearly identical.