Cayugad, Its hard to say. My 225g powerbelt i recoverd from my deer mushroomed like the 80g load i shot into a log. The wood holds the bullet together and doesnt allow it to expand. I prefer the sand so i can get better knowledge of how the bullet is actually performing.

The guy on Modernmuzzleloader shot that wild hog with 100g pellets and a 348g HP Powerbelt at i believe 30 yards and he said the recoverd bullet looked like my posted picture of a 295g HP with 90g PS.

So the sandtrap is actually pretty accurate. He was shooting the HP'S which often form thick pedals and a thin center so his bullet like my 295g HP lost a small bit of corner. The pedals actually just tear.


"Just got back from my hog hunt. Took my ( first time out with a muzzleloader) Wolf 50cal, 348gr HP Powerbelt bullet, 100gr of Pyrodex pellets, and Winchester 209 primer. Had a 30yrd shot and she dropped like a sack of flour. My shot (I was trying for the head ) hit her in the upper left shoulder near the jaw, so I hit alot of bone. I was able to find the bullet, and (frontier gander) it looked just like the bullet in the middle of your second set of photos you sent. The sow dressed out at round 225 so I'm pleased as heck. Probably will go with the aerotip platinum 225 gr. bullets for my Colorado deer hunt in Sept. Cheers."

Middle bullet is the 295g HP with 90g PS