Are you saying that the loads you used at 148 and 146 yds would not be good at 30?
I would never carry a load that would not be effective at close range - there are too many options
that allow everything from pointblank to 150 or more to even consider such a thing.
Chap has listed some.
I have taken several deer from 5 yds to 156 with 80 grns T7 and 460 gr BS conicals with great proformance.

Steve

SteveBNy

Now that you have said it, and it wasn't me that brought it up - but it really seems pretty silly to carry a load that was not good from 10 to 175 yards. Sure most often you can plan for the approximate range you might shoot but WHAT IF? I would just a soon be ready and that does not mean a 150 grain powder load - but it certainly means shooting a bullet that will perform all the way through the possible range and for me that eliminates the power belt... For me even the 460 Bullshop is marginal to 175 yards not because of power or blowup but drop... but there is no doubt I could make that shoot with my 90 grain T7-3f load - and if the conditions were right - right to me....

There ya go Steve!!
80g triple 7 and a 223-245-270Plat-295 = deadly at point blank on out to however far you can shoot!!

150+ yard shooting is quite a challenge with open sights. Its doable with a good target with a good back ground color thats easy to make out but when those mule deer are standing at the bottom of a creek bed in oak brush and grass/sage up to their bellies, its damn hard!

My X-150 was sighted in that year for 200 yard shooting and i could have taken a 165 yard shot but it was just to hard to make out. Plus i had put on a cheap $15 set of plastic sights. DOH!

The big slugs like you shoot, the 460's i noticed are accurate as heck, especially that 385g paper patched bullet shooting Apex i sold Corey. That sucker loved them. But recoil just wasnt comfortable for me.






Thankfully i wont be hunting those areas anymore!

I should have it easier this year but who knows.

So is the BS at 1/3 the price.
Or Shockwaves at nearly 1/2.

Options are good.

Steve

Yeah but i can buy mine right off the rack and buy a very wide assortment of bullet weights. Sabots arent even an issue for me, My state does not allow them and if i could use a sabot, it wouldnt be the shockwave.

If I had to shoot a conical (and I do by choice when using my Whites) I use a 460 gn in my .451, 85 gns of T72f and 498 gn in my .504, 85 gns of T7. 185 yds is my longest shot out of my .504; a pair of 160-165 yds for the .451. The all lead conicals performed well! I would not hesitate on a 200 yd shot with either; I know the ballistics of each and have practiced at that distance as well. So many better choices than the expensive Powerbelt... IMO.

Sorry this got so far off from the original question.

Most get by with Powerbelts in their TC, Saxman is one of them who likes them in his Encore and hopefully will be using the 270g platinum IF they shoot well. So far it doesnt look like TC's are liking the new Platinums. Its a throw a coin up in the air and hope the rifle you bought will shoot powerbelts or any conical with acceptable accuracy.

Im from Colorado and we're restricted to open sights, conicals and loose powder "No smokeless" and Powerbelts for me are always easy to find, well stocked even at small town stores and they come in a big variety of bullet weights. 175- 500+ grains. Been using them since late 2001, Maybe early 2002, memory is a bit fuzzy on that. But my first real muzzleloader "first was a cva blazer made in 1987" was a TC .50 Renegade and i used to shoot the 295 AT with 90g Pyrodex RS and that sucker would just shoot them all day long. Keep in mind the TC conical issue is mainly with their inlines and the QLA set up. I had a TC Hawken a little while back that shot the same load only with 80g pyrodex select. The only rifle i've owned that i havent shot a Powerbelt through is my .54 lyman great plains rifles and my .54 smoothbore.

Knight is another rifle that seems to shy away from the Powerbelt bullet due to the difference in bore size. Corey on the other hand seems to be getting very good accuracy out of his older model knight.

So to cut things short, the only way to know if the rifle will shoot the bullet you want to use, is to buy the bullet, a couple different powders, a few different primers and get to the range.

Besides powerbelts, Patched round balls are the only other bullets i use to hunt with.

Thanks for all the advice. I plan on getting down to Cabela's this week to shoulder the guns. That being said, I am leaning towards the Triumph. Seems like a great gun and have not heard anything bad about it. Also, being purchased from Cabela's always give me a little confidence as I have only had great luck with their customer service.

I only evershot powerbelts out of my old CVA Kodiak with great results. As some of you may recall, I did shoot through a tree and the bullet held together and still killed the deer. That being said, I am not so loyal asI will not switch to the best shooting round out of the gun. I have always started with manufacturers recommedations and made modifications from there to maximizethe load.I will willstart off Shockwaves and go from there. Guess I get to go to the range and shoot for a while.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Triumph from Cabelas is a great choice and it is wise to follow the manufacturer recommendations on load, which will be the SW. They are accurate as heck, of the 250g and the 300g SW, over on the Savage forum TheLeftHand has shot them into ballistic gel, I have placed them onto PDF so you don't have to have a user account or they will never be archived, here are the results:

http://tinyurl.com/6nz6yu

just click on the 300g SW and the 250g SW link, that should help you make up your mind what your goona buy to shoot in the gun, I would buy both since in that way you don't have to make another trip to the store and you have them. In general the performance of the 300g is better, if your going to go the BDC scope and shoot the 250 then buy the bonded, their are higher cost, but stay together better. Hope that helps you make an informed decision. Best wishes for this season and watch shooting thru those trees, :->.

Chap Gleason

Besutiful country Gander, kinda makes you wanna shoot a 300 WinMag or 7mm doesn't it? However the MLers are much more fun and challenge to get in close. Chap