Jaybe wrote:

To pglasgow: - It's pretty obvious that you are sold on heavy conicals. We've seen the charts and thank you for the info. Please just don't get too militant with your posts

Hope the chart helps if you use it. But honestly,it doesn't matter to me whether you use a 444 grain powerbelt or a 300 grain XTP or 250 grain shockwave. You seemed to like powerbelts, almost seemed to need them in order to load your rifle. I just wanted to offer you an alternative which would let you use them without having to pass on shots or worry if the kill would be clean.

It saddens me thatyou have interpreted my posts as militant. If there is one thing I do care about when I go hunting, it is this, I want to have a safe, successful hunt, with a clean kill and a steaming gut pile . I really can't share much information about using sabots, i don't have enough experience with them. If this is being interpretedas though i am promoting the use of heavy conicals over sabots then it is most certainly being misinterpreted.

Honestly, ifmyposts are unwelcome, i really don't mind refraining from posting.

Happy hunting, Phil

You have beat me to it once again! I have wondered what material is used in the powerbelts. To get a .50 cal projectile to weigh in at a mear 245 grains, the lead must be very light or not dense. I think this may be the cause for all of the stories of the powerbelts fragmenting on impact. The copper plating is only there to reduce lead fouling and not strength. According to Powerbelt, the lead is soft enough that the charge pressure deforms the round and forces it into the rifling.

Pglasgow: Truce! Sorry that I saddened you. Please don't refrain from posting on my account - that wasn't my intention.
I was on another forum where the "debate" got so intense that a section was closed and many members had to go elsewhere to discuss BP issues and concerns. I thought I saw a hint of that beginning in your post and just wanted to put forth a casual warning. Again - sorry for any offense. [&o]

I have often wondered if the Powerbelts in fact do actually
obturate (expand) into the rifling or not. Has anyone ever
recovered one in good enough condition to see the rifling marks?
I assume they do because they make a perfect hole in the
paper at 100 yards out of my gun. If they did come out without
hitting the rifling I would think they will tumble at 100 yards. Must
be soft stuff.

No question about the obturation. If you remove the plastic skirt, a powerbelt bullet will drop down the barrel of most muzzleloaders. Yet when they are recovered from expansion medium or game, they have upset enough to have deeply engraved the rifling. The issue with this system is that there is a window of heat and pressure where this upset occurs as designed. At squib load levels, it doesn't happen. And at magnum loads, it happens to the degree that the stem at the base of the bullet deforms and doesn't release the plastic skirt. The latter scenario is not good for long range accuracy. BTW, I think the plastic skirt is only on there to prevent the bullet from falling back out the muzzle after being seated

Roskoe, I didn't think of that but it is a very good point. Powerbelt claims it is a gas check but without it, the bullet would definately fall out.

I completely disagree with your opinion of effectiveness of rounballs for hunting, but cayugad has already posted an excellent rebuttal so i won't rehash it. My point was not to turn this into a roundball vs all else argument, but to correct a glaring falsehood in your original post. Let me refresh your memory:



Now, as far as I, and many others,are concerned, using traditional rifles, propellants and projectiles is still classified as muzzleloading and whether you you use roundballs, or not, it is still a choice for some.

I was so concerned about the loose bullet fit that I seated one
and turned the gun and tapped the muzzle on the ground to
see if the bullet would come out of the base and fall out. I gave
it several good hits, what I thought were more than anything
that would happen in the field, and it stayed put. I was surprised.

sabinajiles

And all others - I am probably no less guilty than Pglasgow and I honestly do not think either he or I would infer that shooting or using RB's is not muzzleloading, not is not a hunting tool. This is one of the best boards going and I certainly want to keep the animosity off this board.

I would be the first to admit also that I am not the best politician in the world - please do not rean into any of my posts that I would infer that shooting flintlocks, matchlocks, underhammers, or round balls is not an active and great sport.

I have been shooting Powerbelts for 4 years now, and have killed every deer I shot. The farthest one deer went was 50 yrds!! I shoot a CVA Magbolt, .50 caliber, 295 aero or hollow point,and 80 grains of Triple 777 fffg. I have every one of these, what I call, a "POISON" mushroom. The bullet penetrated through the shoulder, and lodged just under the skin on the other side. There was no bullet weight loss.I don't like sabot's because of plastic fouling. The powerbelts just work for me.........

Just my 2.5 cents...........