wannaBelkhuntin

Is anybody on here shooting this gun with Powerbelts from 2-300 gr. I am only interested in Powerbelts because I can buy them in every Sporting goods store I have been in. I am going to Colorado this fall in pursuit of a Mulie and hopefully Mulies and Elk next year. So with that said I need to shoot a .50 cal with open sights,loose powder and no sabots. I have no interest in shooting these 4-500 grain things I read about on here,I want to be able to shoot out to 150-175 yds without holding at the top of the animals back. I currently have triple-7 ffg,APP fffg and Pyrodex for powders to play with. I also have Powerbelts in 245-270-and 295 aerotips and 245 hollowpoints. I am using a scope to evaluate different loads. Currently my best group has been with 245 aerotips with 80 gr. of T-7. Anybody with this gun that can suggest there favorite loads would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Dave

frontier gander

295 grain aerotip powerbelt will work fine on a lung shot mulie. Ive found that powerbelts shoot best in my rifle with between 110-120 grains Loose pyrodex RS. They will hold around a 1" group @ 100 yards. Using a scope and all is fine to see what the rifle and load can do but seeing how you'll be hunting colorado, that scope needs to come off and you'll need to start practing those 150-175 yard shots. I can tell you right now that a mulie @ 175 yards is really tiny looking in the sights. Im not sure what kind of sights you have but if they are the Durabright sights or the plastic stuff, they need to come off and be replaced with the Truglo sights. I bought mine from cabelas for $43 and ended up using the ghost ring due to it allowing me to see my entire target and the surrounding around my target. But the 295 PB With 110-120 grains RS will shoot flat out to 150-160 yards give or take. What unit you hunting?

wannaBelkhuntin

Hi frontier,
Yes I know the scope has to come off, I am just using it until I find the best load for my gun and then I will practice shooting with open sights to determine how far I feel confident shooting at a deer size target. I am thinking 175 max for Elk and probably 125-150 for Mulie. I am hunting 74, we found some great spots there. Some are as close as a couple hundred yards from the road to a 5-6 milehike and set-up a camp. I wish I had started doing this years ago.

frontier gander

For elk, you'll want atleast a 348 grain powerbelt. Practice lots for those 175 yard shots, On an elk im sure it'll be quite a bit easier. If you have both elk and mule deer tags, just sight in with the 348 grain powerbelt so you dont have to keep two bullets on hand. I think you can shoot the 348grainer comfortably with 110-120 grains RS. What rifle are you using?

oldrookie

Don't know about an elk load but I have been shooting a lot of power belts. I have an Optima, which the only difference, is your Pro is 2" longer. My Optima loves the 295g tip and hollow point. I am still using pellets and it likes 100g of 777. Can't afford to bang a lot of them at the range.

For the longer range you may need, look into the the platinums that power belt came out with. Good accuracy and they should stay together. Good luck with your hunt!

wannaBelkhuntin

Frontier the gun is a CVA Optima Pro.Oldrookie the 270 gr. are the Platinums. Anymore ideas out there ?
Thanks

oldrookie

You can also get 300g and 338g in the platinum.

frontier gander

i checked out the platinums and it looks like 338 grain is the biggest that cabelas offers. Seeing how this supposedly has a harder coating, i'd pick up a couple packs to try out in your rifle. They are a little more expensive But when it comes down to using a bullet that offers you the best groups, sometimes you'll have to spend that little extra. If you decide against the platinums, Go with the 348 grain powerbelt. I'll be having my dad resight in his sidelock with a 348 grain powerbelt for this years elk hunt if he draws a tag. Another one of my choices is the 350 grain TC maxi hunters, my rifle loves them. Also a 385 grain great plains bullet is guaranteed to take that elk down. But the downfall on that bullet is the amount of drop. Over 24" drop from being sighted in dead on at 100 yards and then shooting 200 yards. Massive drop but a great bullet IMO. Harder to load, need to carry a short starter to load 'em.

Steve8511

From what I’ve read I assume you are not allowed to shoot a sabots. I have the same gun you do and I have never gotten any repeatable results with Powerbelts. I recommend Shockwaves all day. I would order something else online if you want quality. It’s kind of like fram oil filters they have the biggest and best ad campaign so you see them everywhere but are the worst in quality.

You might want to check your owners manual I think it says something to the effect that 300g is the maximum allowable bullet weight in your CVA.[:@]

frontier gander

300 grain Sabot limit with 150 grain pellets. You can shoot a 348 grain Conical with the 3 pellet load safely also. I think it due to the sabots creating more pressure than a looser fitting conical. But seeing how its colorado, no scopes, pellets or sabots. The powerbelts in my rifle like 110-120 grains Pyrodex RS to shoot the best groups.