Interesting results you had with the powerbelt aerotips. I did about the same experiment a couple weeks ago, but added a piece of 3/8" plywood about 2" deep in the newspaper to simulate bone. Shot at 30 yards. The 348g .54 aerotip penetrated 8.5", weighed 211 grains upon recovery. A 430g TC maxi-ball penetrated 18" (That's all the paper I had, just barely stopped it), and weighedabout 426 grains. Both expanded to the same .75" diameter, but the powerbelt came apart somewhat. Both would have killed game if placed correctly.

As far as a poor man's ballistic material, I guess wet newsprint is about as close as one can get of anything I know of.

You didn't say what game your hunting, elk or deer? I'd see what bullet shot most accurately and lean hard toward that, the heavier the better for elk IMO.Bullet performance differencesbetweenthe relatively limited number of bulletchoices we have inCOis secondary to putting them in the right spot to start with.

I'd be curious to see the results as you do more tests. Good luck this fall.