ORIGINAL: vadeer
When it comes to black powder, I was shooting Powerbelt bullets. I use them in a CVA Optima Pro - .50 cal. The accuracy is spot on; however, I have been disappointed with the lack of pass through and penetration. Having lost two deer over the prior two seasons, (they ran of w/ no blood trail), I am at the point where I lost confidence in the bullet. Towards the end of the ML season this year, I was letting deer walk, even as close as 50 yards. Time for a change.
To the point, I would like some recommendations for a bullet with good penetration and consistent accuracy for this gun. So far, I have the following four recommendations: 1) Hornady 44cal 240gr HP/XTP bullet; 2) Hornady 45cal 240gr XTP/MAG bullet; 3) Thompson center 50cal mag express sabots 240gr XTP bullets; and 4) and the Thompson center 50cal mag express sabots 230gr XTP. I appreciate your thoughts and comments.
Read this new article by RW:
http://randywakeman.com/MuzzleloadingWithBarnes.htmon what Barnes work in what rifles.
This is an old artcile by Bryce Towsley:
http://www.barnesbullets.com/information/product-news/publication-mentions/breaking-out-of-the-mold/
but still relevant.
Finally nothing gives you more satisfaction than to do your own MLer penetration tests. The PowerBelt Kid of Butch Cassity and the Sundance Kid fame(Frontieer Gander, AKA, MountainDevil54), did that for the powerbelt and got us the magic 80g rule. For various bullets shot froma Savage, the Left Hand did a whole bunch of bullets, SST/SW, XTP, Barnes, XTP/Mag, but you can see wound Channel and fragmentation in the perma gel. You of course want "large wound channel" with little or no fragmentation, that is here:
http://dougva.proboards34.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=Savage&thre ad=3370
with a whole bunch of links titled "Ballistics Gel tests By the Left Hand".
Finally for whatever bullets you decide to test, go to Cabelas, Midway and Gambrills and read ALL the posts about each bullet, making certain that you understand why a person DISLIKED a particular bullet.
Look around at what experts shoot and why? Why does Shockey shoot Nosler? Why does Bryce Towsley shootBarnes?Why does SabotLoader like Nosler partition 260 for deer and 300g rifle bullets for elk?What depth do bullets need to penetrate to kill? Why? Is a6" of penetration enough? Why or why not? Does shoot thru matter? Why? Does putting the whole energy into the deer kill it fast than shooting thru? Does fragmentation matter? Why?
Whatwill be your most likely hunting situations? Long fields up to 200 yards or most likely < 100 yards. Am I hunting where Bang Flops is needed? Am I a good trailer? Read all the product literature on a particular bullet from the manufacturer from their public web site. Use google to find out if the bullet fragments or pencils thru without expansion.
Shoot some bullets into sand, wet newspapers, or bound phone books or newspapers. Do they fragment, expand well? Are they muchroomed out, totally wrapped around themselfvess. Why does wrapping around themselves matter? Why does Garret Bullets load a 45/70 bullet to 1500 fps with a Garrett Hammerhead for Cape Bullalo? Why is a MLer a LOT like the 45/70 in FPS, bullets, loads, terminal performance? What do the 45/70 crowd use for bullets? Why are some african PH and Alaskan Bear Guidesnow using Marlin Guide lGuns in 45/70 oaded with Garrett Hammerheads for dangerous game? Why is a 45/70 going slow better than a375 H&Hgoing fast? Why is "Big and Slow is the Way to Go" a motto of Sam Fadala, the author of the Hornady MLer Reloading Manaual. Why is Fast and small the motto of he marketingblitz of TC and Greg Ritz and most of the modern day inline manufacturers? Why was SW bullets remarketed under the TC name? Why does Greg shoot them, but he doesn't require Shockey to shootthem?
Chap