If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

I have read another forum that asks... Powerbelts or Sabots?Well I live in Colo. and we cannot use sabots.I have been shooting Powerbelts out of my side-lock but have not taken an Elk with this bullet type yet(two seasons) The accuracy and ease of loading this bullet are GREAT.But if the performance is not there......then what other type of bullet with the same attributes works well on Elk.I will get one with my side-lock sooner:)!!!!!!!!! or later[:@]

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

Well,

I would suggest trying the conical bullets that http://www.prbullet.com/ sells. I think the Keith Nose bullets would be excellent for elk & the QT conicals for anything smaller.

All of the Hornady Great Plains conicals are always a good choice. I' ve had dependable accuracy test results with their 385gr conical in my in-line.

I' m assuming your sidelock is a 1:48" twist - if so, these bullets should shoot every bit as well as the PB (maybe better).

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

Man, the more you guys talk about performance problems with the Powerbelts the more I' m thinking of sticking with my 385gr Maxi' s. I have a hard time finding bullets that will load in my Renegade, and the Powerbelt and my Maxi' s from a mold are by far the best loading rounds I' ve found. I' ve got probably 3 or 4 different boxes of conicals in my garage that have only 2 or 3 bullets missing because they wouldn' t load right, even lubed. I definitely don' t want to buy 50 bullets that might not even load into my barrel. Maybe I' ll work on my Triple 7 loads with both Maxi' s and Powerbelts, and see what shoots the best. I' d sure like a good blood trail on an elk, but I think either bullet will do the job on deer. Elk tend to hit the nastiest draws when they are wounded, and you can' t rely on following tracks if you shoot one out of a herd. And they can cover ground pretty quick.

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

I' m shooting the Hornady Great Plains Conical, in my Lyman .54 Great Plains Hunter and have been very happy with the performace.

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

This ifo definetly helps.....Thanks!

Thanks for the link MarkWhiz.I shoot a 1:48 twist 54 cal. That Keith nose bullet could be just what the doctor ordered!!! I am also interested the Great Plains bullet that RKenSprac mentioned. Do you know much about it and also what about the ease in loading for both?You seem to know quite a bit about muzzle loading how long have you been at it?

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

glob3006,

I' ve only been into this black powder stuff for 3 years - but I' ve talked, researched, experimented, & shot a lot in that time. I learned a lot from the guys at PRBullets......Cecil over there is a wealth of info.

The Great Plains 385gr conicals load real easy in my Knight inline - really no different than the powerbelts. The Green Mountain barrels on Knights tend to be a little more " open" than most other guns - so the Great Plains will probably be a little tighter in your rifle, but not much......I doubt you would even need a short starter to get it going down the barrel.

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

Why not try TC hunters? With that rate of twist, that would be perfect. I suggest a small patch when using them.

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

Here' s one more vote for the 385 gr Great Plains bullet. They shoot great in my T/C sidelock. Jim

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

Heres what Powerbelt says:We would recommend using the 405 grain AeroTip or the 444 grain Flat Point for elk. Our most popular for elk is the 405 grain. I am attaching a copy of our ballistics chart so that you can compare all of our bullets and see the energy that they do have, and what the trajectory and velocities are. Every year we have success stories that are sent in from hunters like yourself that have used our bullets. They send in pictures attached to their stories. It is great to hear from the people using our product. If you have any further questions please e-mail again or give us a call at 800-376-4010.

Thanks and good luck hunting!!!

I did not recieve the attachment,so I could' nt pass it along[&o]

I' m shooting this wk' nd and I' ll check out the:

Colo. Conical

Hornady Great Plains and the

405grn Powerbelt Aero tip

Accuracy should' nt be a problem and we' ll inspect the recovered bullets.
But an elk is an elk and that where it' s at!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the info fellas and fellerettes(?)

Bill

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

While reading this post I' ve been shaking my head since I can' t figure out why people are having problems with powerbelt bullets. My thoughts were that I' ve taken 3 elk and 2 mulies with these bullets and have been saying good things about them for the last 3 years. So today I went and grabbed them and to my surprise they aren' t powerbelt bullets, they are black belt bullets (.54 405 gr HP) When I first started to shoot bp I bought a bunch at a gun shop auction and have been using them since then. I know that black belt are now owned by (or re-named) powerbelt. Have these bullets changed in the last year or something?

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

RE PowerBelts - Who says the performance isn' t there? These bullets kill well, if you are using a heavy enough powder charge, and a heavy enough bullet. In .50, I use the 295-grain for deer, and heavier ones for elk and bear (345 or 400 grain).

If they shoot accurately, use them!! These bullets have not changed!! " Only the name has been changed" !!

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

I' ve used the Lyman plains 385 in my TC renegade and had good results on deer - where it counts. Have also used TC Maxi' s. The only thing I will say about the Lyman bullets in MY Renegade is that they are very hard to load. It appears that each band is a little bigger and in MY rifle you almost need a hammer to get them in! I haven' t tried them in my CVA Hunterbolt, but plan to do so as I' m seriously thinking of dumping the 295 lead HP bowerbelts I used last year. Yeah, the deer only went about 40 yards, but first blood was where it dropped. I may give them a 2nd chance, but don' t want to lose a well-hit deer because of poor bullet performance. My son lost a deer with 245 Gr. PB and switched to Maxi' s.

RE: If not Powerbelts or Sabots... then what?
 

What' s wrong with using a patched round ball in .54 cal ? A conical in the same cal would also work very well , and deliver better downrange energy . That was state of the art after the 1700s , and legal in Colorado today . Mountain men came up with the .54 ball for larger game like elk and bear when the .50 didn' t have quite enough punch to suit their needs , and they first came out in flintys . All mls were sidelocks then , and those guys usually got their target , they had to or starve . Necessity may be the mother of invention , but hunger will spark ingenuity like no other force ! :D Modern bullets are great , but we sometimes forget that they aren' t the cure for all ills , and certainly no substitute for something that always worked well . Go back to the basics and you' ll find that the " old boys" were probably smarter than we are . It' s usually when I try to " overthink" something that I get into trouble .