ORIGINAL: coyote#68
I shot a deer last year with a 295 grain aerotip powerbelt bullet.The shot was broadside 130 yards.I hit high and shattered the bucks spine,but the bullit didn't expand much or leave an incredible exit,the exit was no bigger than the entrance.I shot it out of a 28inch barrel with three triple seven 50 grain pellets so I was at maximum velocity for my guns pressure limits.Have any of you experienced this or did I just not hit enough bone for good expansion.I haven't shot any others with this bullet but it makes me wonder if I would have had a long tracking job had I hit the deer in the rib cage with no expansion,though the 50 caliber hole would cause it to bleed out pretty fast I guess,but still expansion is good.Or was velocity to low at 130 yards for good expansion to occur.I'm thinking about going back to 240grain hornady's with a sabot but it doesn't shoot as accurate as the powerbelt's in my gun,any advice is appreciated.thanks.
The PB has over expansion problems (called fagmenting), when shot at high velocity. There are lots of folks that have fragmentation problems, you can find some of theme here:
http://www.the-gleasons.com/powerbelt_page.htm
If you go to Midway and Cabelas product reviews, you will also see some reality on the bullet. My recommendation based on shooting this bullet for 3 years and having issues (unrecoved deer)is to shoot a strong bullet thatshoots thru the deer:
1) Nosler Partition
2) Barnes MZ or TMZ or one of their rifle bullets with a .458 sabot
3) Speer Gold Dot
4) Bonded Shockwave
All these bullets hold togeter well at high speeds, expand and will penetrate bone into the vitals. One of these with the proper sabot will work in your gun. You may have to try a different sabot to get a good fit. That is no big deal though since you can buy different sabot pretty cheaply.
Best Wishes,
Chap Gleason