Powerbelt AeroTip .50 223 grain ?'s

[SitechDevelopment]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the Powerbelt AeroTip .50 223 grain projectiles?

I was thinking they might be good for paper punching, am I correct in assuming this?

Also, should I be backing off powder wise on my load as opposed to a higher grain projectile (normally use 100 grains pellets)?

Thanks for any info!

[eldeguello]

I was thinking they might be good for paper punching, am I correct in assuming this?

They would be if your rifle shoots them accurately.....

[cayugad]

I am sure it would do fine for punching holes in paper but a little expensive for my tastes to waste on paper targets. It would make a fine deer hunting projectile provided you place it in the proper spot. If the rifle shoots them best with 100 grains then leave them at 100 grains. Accuracy is most important even when it is compared to relative energy of the projectile. That is why you see so few recommendations for magnum loads. Sure the projectile has a little more speed and enery but it does you no good if you can't place your shot. As for reducing the charge, that is not always a bad idea. Just don't get the thing too low if you're using it for hunting. Go for the best groups and then practice at what distances you might encounter...

Good luck with your rifle and projectile.

[Triple Se7en]

As in almost every situation, I agree with eldeguello & cayugad. You only need a minimum of 180 grain sabot/bullet or conical with a properly-placed shot in 50-cal MLs with moderate powder charges.

[SitechDevelopment]

Thanks for the info guys!

What might be a good projectile for paper punching? I too felt the powerbelts were a little pricey for just wanting to have some fun some days. I have a CVA Magbolt and the manual seems to suggest against almost anything besides powerbelts, but I figured maybe there is another driving force behind that since there was an ad for powerbelts that came in the CVA box as well.

[cayugad]

If your going to shoot any real long range for fun, then your going to have to spend some money on the better bullets. If you just want to sit in the yard at 25, 35, 50, 75 yards and shoot cans or punch holes, then there are a lot of bullets that will do the trick.

Black Jack Shooters Bill and Judy make a number of different bullets that shoot great out of my inlines. They make a LEE 200 grain SWC .451 diameter that in a black harvester sabot will shoot amazing groups. You could actually hunt with this pure lead bullet but I target shoot with it. You might also want to try some of the 320 grain R.E.A.L. conicals. Lube them with some borebutter or even Crisco shortening and they shoot very well with 80 grains of FFg out of my rifles. The true .50 caliber conical is a great hunting load for short ranges out to 100 yards. I have never shot them further. Send Bill an email... he is great to work with and will help you any way he can.

I had terrible luck with his 230 grain bullet. No accuracy what so ever, and his big 533 grain conical is according to your manual too large for you to shoot. Although they do shoot good out of my other inlines with 80 grains of powder.....

Have fun with your rifle and happy plinking...

[SitechDevelopment]

Thanks for the link! Looks like they have some pretty decent stuff to try.....cant beat the price either!

[trac209]

Hornady sabot round balls are good for paper punching and there not too expensive.I have had some really good results with them.They are about 160gr and I shoot them with 50gr powder charge.

[SitechDevelopment]

I have heard/read that you should not use round balls with a barrel with a fast twist rate. Mine is 1:28 in my CVA. Do they say that just because of accuracy? How much of a difference would it make? I wouldnt hunt with round balls anyway, but just curious for paper.

Also, can I use round balls with pellets, or must I use loose powder?

Thanks!

[cayugad]

I have heard/read that you should not use round balls with a barrel with a fast twist rate. Mine is 1:28 in my CVA. Do they say that just because of accuracy?

Accuracy might be terrible shooting roundball out of a 1-28 twist. Then again it might surprise you. The main thing to remember is do not push the roundball too fast or it will cause the projectile to skip the rifling I was told and your accuracy will suffer. Use a low powder charge of about 50 grains is all. I see no reason why you could not use one 50 grain pellet (other then the cost) to shoot roundball. Most of the time people shoot roundball to smooth out their barrels, knocking all the burrs and ruff spots out of them. The same can be done shooting conicals like the 320 grain REALs which your rifle will shoot very good. I would not hunt with a roundball and a low powder charge.

The whole point is, sure you can shoot roundball. Just do not go cranking your sights because you can not get them accurate. They are supposed to be fun. If all you want to do is accurate plink, then get some conicals and plink with them. Or some of the 200 grain SWC in an harvester sabot are excellent shooting projectiles.

Actually my Wolverine II with a low powder charge would surprise people how accurate it shoots the patched roundball. My CVA Staghorn on the other hand shoots the conicals excellent but the roundballs are not the thing to shoot if you want to shoot for great groups...