after ML hunting last year and being disappointed with the powerbelts i figured i'd try them 1 more year. i also went from a 245gr to a 295gr powerbelt in hopes i would get better penetration and projectile retention. last year both of the 245gr powerbelts (150 grains of pyrodex) i shot deer with fragmented and had little penetration. both shots were ranged at approximately 75 yards.

this year i went with 295gr powerbelts in hopes of better bullet performance. i shot a 10 point at 45 yards in the neck and the powerbelt once again fragmented into nothing and did not exit the neck. before i get the "use less powder" lectures, my groups with the 3 pellets are phenominal(sp?). i use the pellets for the convienance and am happy with the accuracy. my friend also uses the pyrodex pellets but he only shoots 100gr (2 pellets) with the 245gr powerbelt.

last sunday he shot an 8 point in the butt (by accident, he was aiming for the neck) that was walking straight away from him at 45 yards. not arguing the ethical shot placement, the powerbelt only had about 5 inches of penetration and once again fragmented into nothing. the bullet did not even hit bone and left VERY little blood trail. we did end up giving the buck a couple hours to bed down and hopefully die inwhich he did not.

after approximately 1 hour of tracking, we jumped him up in palmetto's and he ran about 50 yards, stopped and looked back at us. the 8 point was shot again, this time in the neck (standing in tall palmetto's and the only shot we had was a neck shot to try and finish the animal off). the powerbelt did not completely penetrate the bucks neck but did drop him in his tracks.

with these scenario's in mind, shooting powerbelts with magnum loads and standard loads with the same results. i have one more muzzle load hunt this year and no time to re sight my muzzle loader in with another load. after this year, my remaining powerbelts will be thrown in the trash and i will be shooting something different. the ONLY good thing about the powerbelts, is they seem to be extremely accurate (which is needed due to their poor bullet performance).