ORIGINAL: okelkhunter
I will be going black powder hunting for elk in Colorado next fall and I have had more conflicting information on what bullet size to use on my elk hunt. I have had people tell me the powerbelt 295 is big enough and some tell me to go to the 405 gr powerbelt. What bullet have you used on elk hunts and what grain.
IF you are going to use PowerBelts, (which should be just fine), use the 405 or 444grain flatpoint, NOT hollowpoint! You want the deepest penetration you can get, and the 295 grain is a little short on sectional density for big, heavily built animals! I consider it a deer bullet.
In my Traditions .50 Lightning Liteweight, I have used the White flatbased 420-grain bullet with 90 grains of Pyrodex "P" with perfect satisfaction. I put a WonderWad under it.It loads just as slick in that barrel as a Power Belt, and hits like a freight train!