IntroC

I hear alotabout how accurate the Powerbelts are, but I hear bad things about the penetration and bullet performance. Seems to be really mixed reveiws about the Powerbelts. Is there a bullet out there that has it all? Accuracy and performance?

MLKeith

Some are reporting better performance on game with the Harvester Sabretooth which is similar in construction to the Powerbelt and as easy to load in tight barrels. I personally have not shot any on game yet. I have had Powerbelts go completely through elk lungs and exit so I have no idea what the bullet looked like other than it apparently was still in one piece. I do not shoot them at high velocities however which I think is one of the reasons they come apart for some. I was pushing the 295gr. with 90gr. of Black Mag'3 on the last one that went completelythrough.

sabotloader

IntroC

Of course that is an easy answer for me... yes! there is a bullet that is as accurate and much more deadly - in fact there are a lot of bullets that will fit in that much more deadly category.

Power Belts are virtually a conical bullet, It holds the iniatial blast pressure with the plastic skirt that is on the bottom of the bullet but it soon obterates to the size of your bore and it is on the way. Essentially the Power Belt is an elogated round ball - but with the Power Belt you are able to shoot a heavier round ball. According to FG the correct way to shoot a Power Belt and have it function correctly is to reduce the velocity that you are shooting it and allow it to work correctly - reduce velocity so it will not fragment. And I believe he is correct... but for my ersonal choice I choose not to reduce velocity in fact I choose to go the other way and shoot a faster stronger bullet. Further if I were going to shoot a conical it would not be a Power Belt - Bull Shop Bullets and No Excuses Conicals are far better conicals and are as accurate and they are very deadly.

The one major reason that the PB is widely accepted is ease of loading - and it is easy to load, but If you use Bull Shop conicals Dan will size them for best fit in your barrel - so they become slip fit - push them in with your thumb - push them home with your ram rod. If you live in a state or hunting area that requires conicals take a look at Dan's offerings. If you can use sabots, then gosh there is a ton of selections...

My number one choice would be Nosler Partitions...
.451/260 grain for deer
.451/300 grain for elk
.458/300 grain for elk (my favorite)

Other excellent choices:
Barnes Bullets - but you might have to swap out sabots to fit your bore
Speer Gold Dots...
.429/270 grain for deer
.452/250 grain for deer
.452/300 grain for deer/elk/boar

And of course the gammet of Hornady XTP's - although they are down on my list

And I will tell you several people will tell you the SST/Shock Waves are the best...

So to point blank answer your question - yes, there are better bullets than Power Belts out there. Do Power Belts work? - yes on most accasions... Are there better projectiles? CERTAINLY...

RugerMike

I used XTP's 240 grain pushed by 100 grain of Pyrodex for years and years but for now I'm useing 300 grain SSTpushed by150 grain of 777 to gain a little more down range performance. I have very good results with accuracy with both of these loads. However, every gun and load are different so experiment with yours. I did take 2 deer atpretty good distance this fall in KY with the SST 300 grain, one at 163 yards and the other at 148 yards. Both deer were shot broad side just behind the shoulder (lungs) and didn't go 20 yards and expired.

gleason.chapman

Yes. There are several, such as:

Barnes MZ, TMZ or any Barnes bullet
Nosler partition
Speer Gold Dot

All hold together good when they hit game since they are constructed/designed well. As for accuracy of these in YOUR rifle, your going to have to try them. Here is the bullets I tried in my Savage Smokeless:

http://www.the-gleasons.com/this_is_my_savage_10_ml_page.htm

My strategy was to find the bullet that was most accurate, and best constructed (based on reading and product reviews). I chose a Parker Ballistic Extreme 275 this year, but I am switching to a Barnes next year, since I plan on hunting elk in colorado in Riflel season with my smokeless MLer. Here are the Barnes bullets I am trying and their Ballistic Coefficient and the sabot that works with them:

Barnes #45105 275g XPB BC of .141, usiing HPH12
Barnes Expander MZ 300g #45131 BC .207, using HPH12
Barnes Origonal 300g #457010 Spitzer SP BC .291, using MMP Orange
Barnes X-bullet 300g XFN 45832 BC .204, using MMP Orange
Barnes X-bullet 300g FB 45802 BC .235, using MMP Orange

You must "work up a load" for the bullet AFTER you get down to the bullet you want to try. So you shoot them for general grouping, and choose the tightest one to work up a load. You have to match the sabot to the bullet. In BP MLers that is easy, since they are pretty forgiving, but for smokeless it is NOT. Chap Gleason