cherokee_outfitters.... I am wondering if they were using the hollow point type of powerbelt or the aero tip. I could see the powerbelts doing exactly as you described. I think they are intended to fragment on contact with any hard object. The aero tips from all that I have read seem to be the ticket for the thick skinned critters like elk and moose. I have never used the aero tips on them. I have only shot them. I figure when I book my elk hunt I would use the 348 grain aero tips or my hand cast conicals in the 320-360 grain range. I feel the big conicals should hold up real well.