ORIGINAL: CamoCop
i have been ML hunting these last 2 weeks. i shot a 6 point last week and my dad shot a 6 point the week before. we both had the same results with powerbelt bullets. the bullets put the deer down but did not stay together and expand like they should, instead they exploded and fragmented throughout the vital area. we could not find any piece of his or my bullet when cleaning the deer (there was no exit holes). his deer was shot at 15 yards using 150 grains of pyrodex and mine was shot at 67 yards with 150 grains of pyrodex. has anyone else experienced this? i like using powerbelts because of their accuracy, ease of loading and simplicity.
Obviously the bullet was moving faster than its design parameters were intended for. Maybe if you dropped back to two pellets instead of three, it would perform better. Of course, if you do that, you will get a steeper trajectory, making long-range hitting more difficult. So you have to ask yourself whatMAX RANGEdo you need to be prepared for. Another option, which you mentioned, would be to go to a heavier bullet. IMO, the 295-grain is about the lightest Power Belt to use in a .50. Lighter ones are too big around for their length. This will very definitely affect penetration! I have heard that the ArrowTip style penetrates much better than the hollowpoints. The plug in the hole tends to delay mushrooming.
In addition, IF you get really good accuracy at 150 grains, (MANY DON"T), you will need to check out how your rifles shoot with just 100 grains.