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

Ya, well ain't logging in any hours sittin on your butt. I log enough miles and time. Of course if you had a better job you wouldn't loose your sick leave. In fact I get damn near 2 months off.....ha......Oh look I said it all in one post instead of 3.

Back to the point. Are you saying T/C is using the FTX in their 250 shockwave, and Hornady is using the FTX in it's 250's as well? Then what are they using in their bonded 250 shockwave then????

At first I thought I was nuts because I went through 2 packs of them, then I went back to buy more from a different location and they were flat based. In fact I even tried to use the Spit-Fire bases with them and matched them up considering the Barns factory was close to me and I could buy them in bulk. Anyway, long story short I've seen about 5 or 6 different sabots that they've played around with. I've even opened packages and found different sabots for the same bullets and part numbers that should have came on the same lot.

Oh i don't looe it, i just get paid for them on my last check of the year. The paid days off just don't roll over from year to year. They did at one time but upper management felt some people were abusing it.

What i am saying is Hornady makes the bullets for T/C to their specs. Thats no secret. What changes in Hornady's lineup is not always reflected in T/Cs lineup. UNLESS a product is no longer available to Hornady. Then it would effect T/C as well.

The bonded Shockwave is a T/C exclusive made by Hornady ONLY for T/C. Hornady sells the SST to other vendors as well such as Tradition's Smackdowns and UF's Whitetail Medicine bullets. Rumor is that the UF bullet is made to UF specs also and its a harder alloy.

I am also saying i can find no proof there is any difference between the .452 250gr FTX and 250gr SST. I have bulk boxes of both and they appear identical. I dont have a lead hardness tester so i can't be 100% sure but cross sectioned bullets look the same. I also see no noticeable difference in POI or accuracy.

Yes it's no secret.

Have you checked the diameter as the FTX is supposed to have a longer bearing surface which to me correlates to overall length/ or measurement at the shoulder?

It was my understanding that the only difference was the tip. The SST tip was hard enough that it could set of a primer (or so they thought) so they went to a softer tip but used the same SST bullet. Then again they could swap a tip if they were short that production day and nobody would be the wiser.

Hornady's FTX (red soft tip) is trademarked and registered and is exclusive Hornady technology. Look at the FTX box posted earlier in the thread.

I don't believe Hornady is making ML bullets for TC with soft tips because of this.

I called Hornady to find out about the differences between a FTX and an SST (250 gr) and the rep said they were identical. I would assume that Hornady is using the same tip in both just to simplify production.

Does this make sense?

Yes it does

Here's something else I've been thinking about. The rumor that SSTs don't expand.

The deer I've double lunged with an SST had a complete pass through with just a slightly larger hole on the offside. This is very different from an animal shot with a CF where you expect to see a big hole on the offside.

Here's the deal.

A high velocity CF shooting cup and core bullets will make a mess and especially if it's a magnum. You expect to see a big hole on the offside. There's the old adage if you want to reduce meat damage go with a heavy for caliber bullet at modest velocities.

A ML shoots heavy bullets at modest velocities.

I can only guess but not seeing the meat damage/big hole might lead someone to believe the bullet didn't expand even though the deer is dead with two holes in it.

Sound reasonable?

You should have asked him why, if they are identical, one costs $5 more for a box of 50 than the other............

Yes ive checked them with a micrometer but not lately. Hornady listed the BC as the same. Any ogive, length difference or change should reflect a difference in BC if Hornady is being honest.

They shoot to the same for me upto 2250fps and 200 yards. I never really tested them much more than that once i changed to shooting mostly smokeless and sabotless in the 45. I just shoot them for fun now. They ring the gong and make water jugs disappear.

I looked into it to try and figure out if I could some $$$ by buying bullets and sabots in bulk. The shipping cost on each killed that idea though. It's about the same cost to just buy Hornady SST HSLDs with the red sabot included in the box.

I believe that they are indeed the same bullet. Both being FTXs and neither being a real SST. It is all in the marketing.....

Yikes! What happened to this thread? Anyway, I got to the range today and shot a few groups. WOW, this thing shoots accurate! I used 110gr bh209, winchester 209 primer and 295gr powerbelt aero tip. My first and best three shot group went .32" @ 100 yards. I shot five three shot groups and the avg was .66". I had an interesting thing happen though. Like many have suggested I didn't clean the barrel between shots but I did give it time to cool. My groups remained tight but the point of impact slowly shifted up and to the right the more I shot. Before shooting the last group I thoroughly cleaned the barrel and that group landed about where the first one did. I don't know how this bullet will perform on game but it performed well in the accuracy category.

It's all your fault. You didn't maintain control.


Good shootin' and good luck huntin'.

It is now a ball of yarn.....

Make sure you clean your breech plugs flash channel. Allowing it to foul up with carbon will KILL accuracy with as little as 20-25 shots through it.

I was just pass'in through...

killed a 7pt at 100yds and a doe about 75yds 3 weeks ago with 100grns of blackhorn and the 295 powerbelt. complete pass thru on both shots. gota know how to make a powerbelt penetrate,right bigblock.

I hear if you wipe a booger on the tip, it helps them penetrate.

yep,thats what i been using

Question: If they are the same then how can you be so sure that in fact it's a FTX and not an SST?

When I look at the cut away view of the bullets (not even the same size of course) but it almost appears that just above the shoulder the jacket slightly narrows on the FTX. I'm thinking just maybe they add that minuscule to the bearing surface creating just a oh so very slight lengthened bearing surface that they claim is the difference of the FTX bullet. In other words take some from the top and add it to the sides?

Thinner jacket on the nose would help expand it on impact.