Powerbelt 245 gr. Question
12-06-2009, 06:36 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Fowlerville, MI
Posts: 23
Powerbelt 245 gr. Question
Guys, took a nice doe tonight with my CVA Optima. Awesome hunt but have a question about the "thumping" power of this bullet or pyrodex. So a bit of info about the shot.
55 to 60 yards, she was quartering to me. Shot right above the left shoulder, enough angle to smoke her sholder, hit the top of heart and lungs (no guts Yee Haw), she went 30 yards and dropped. The bullet did not exit!
I thought for sure from this distance it would of went through. Like I said, a 245 gr Aerotip and 100 gr of pyrodex pellets. I dont want to be picky, I did bag her, but it was suprising. Now, where it struck the other side of her in the ribs, is wasted but not through. Maybe her sholder slowed it down that much? This is only my second deer with my CVA, the first was with a T/C shockwave that shattered on me but it was also a farther shot.
Should I go to 150 gr of powder with a 295 gr bullet for more stopping power? Am I overestimating the thump? Thanks in advance.... Steve
55 to 60 yards, she was quartering to me. Shot right above the left shoulder, enough angle to smoke her sholder, hit the top of heart and lungs (no guts Yee Haw), she went 30 yards and dropped. The bullet did not exit!
I thought for sure from this distance it would of went through. Like I said, a 245 gr Aerotip and 100 gr of pyrodex pellets. I dont want to be picky, I did bag her, but it was suprising. Now, where it struck the other side of her in the ribs, is wasted but not through. Maybe her sholder slowed it down that much? This is only my second deer with my CVA, the first was with a T/C shockwave that shattered on me but it was also a farther shot.
Should I go to 150 gr of powder with a 295 gr bullet for more stopping power? Am I overestimating the thump? Thanks in advance.... Steve
12-06-2009, 06:56 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location:
Posts: 1,470
If you plan to use powerbelt I'd go with the 295 or heavier. The 405 is an excellent choice. As for 150 grains of powder. Way more than you need. With the 295 I think 80 grains is ideal and with the 405 80 grains is some serious thump.
I wouldn't attempt quartering to shots with the 245 powerbelt. This worked out very well for you but you most certainly will not get pass through with 100 grains on a frontal shot. Too much energy dissipated at the surface at that velocity. Less is more with all lead hollow points. An xtp, gold dot, etc shot in a sabot would be a better choice for frontal shots.
Thanks for the report and if you can, post some picks of the recovered bullet and the carcass showing the damage.
Last edited by Pglasgow; 12-06-2009 at 06:58 PM.
12-06-2009, 08:04 PM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,519
I use Powerbelts also only I use a 295 Grain Hollow Point. I also shoot 100 grains of Pryodex pellets. I've killed 3 deer with this combo and shot a 4th. The 4th we think I hit high after seeing the blood where it rubbed against tree's. We never could find the deer. I knocked it down when I shot but then it jumped up and ran off. I really was bothered by this and and thinking about trying a new bullet next year.
Out of the other 3 I got a pass through one one which was a small doe that weighed about 80 lbs. Just small in general. I probably shot it about 80-100 yards. It ran maybe 15-20 yards and fell. Didn't see any blood until I got to the deer. I saw her as she ran through the field and fell in the middle though.
The other two one being a decent sized 6 point buck I shot from about 20 yards away. Hit it and it expanded when it hit. I hit just a hair low. Maybe an inch or so but a decent shot. It expanded when it hit and had a huge entrance hole. Probably 2-3" entrance hole. It did pass through but was on the other side of the deer. Seemed like you could see it. This deer made it maybe 100 yards or so before falling. However, it was lots and I mean lots of blood every couple feet leading to the deer.
The other one I shot was a pretty big 8 pointer at around 136 yards. I had a perfect shot in the lung area. It made it about 10-15 yards and fell and couldn't get back up. I shot it again as I didn't want it to suffer. It didn't have much of a blood trail either but the deer didn't make it far. The first shot didn't make it through either. It pushed the skin out on the other side but it didn't make it through the skin. The second shot I shot in the spine area as that's the only shot I could get. I was probably 15 yards from it this time. Expanded very well but didn't pass through either. Went down through it though so I didn't expect it to.
Out of the other 3 I got a pass through one one which was a small doe that weighed about 80 lbs. Just small in general. I probably shot it about 80-100 yards. It ran maybe 15-20 yards and fell. Didn't see any blood until I got to the deer. I saw her as she ran through the field and fell in the middle though.
The other two one being a decent sized 6 point buck I shot from about 20 yards away. Hit it and it expanded when it hit. I hit just a hair low. Maybe an inch or so but a decent shot. It expanded when it hit and had a huge entrance hole. Probably 2-3" entrance hole. It did pass through but was on the other side of the deer. Seemed like you could see it. This deer made it maybe 100 yards or so before falling. However, it was lots and I mean lots of blood every couple feet leading to the deer.
The other one I shot was a pretty big 8 pointer at around 136 yards. I had a perfect shot in the lung area. It made it about 10-15 yards and fell and couldn't get back up. I shot it again as I didn't want it to suffer. It didn't have much of a blood trail either but the deer didn't make it far. The first shot didn't make it through either. It pushed the skin out on the other side but it didn't make it through the skin. The second shot I shot in the spine area as that's the only shot I could get. I was probably 15 yards from it this time. Expanded very well but didn't pass through either. Went down through it though so I didn't expect it to.
12-07-2009, 07:04 AM
#6
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Fowlerville, MI
Posts: 23
Congratulations on your harvest Steve.
If you plan to use powerbelt I'd go with the 295 or heavier. The 405 is an excellent choice. As for 150 grains of powder. Way more than you need. With the 295 I think 80 grains is ideal and with the 405 80 grains is some serious thump.
I wouldn't attempt quartering to shots with the 245 powerbelt. This worked out very well for you but you most certainly will not get pass through with 100 grains on a frontal shot. Too much energy dissipated at the surface at that velocity. Less is more with all lead hollow points. An xtp, gold dot, etc shot in a sabot would be a better choice for frontal shots.
Thanks for the report and if you can, post some picks of the recovered bullet and the carcass showing the damage.
If you plan to use powerbelt I'd go with the 295 or heavier. The 405 is an excellent choice. As for 150 grains of powder. Way more than you need. With the 295 I think 80 grains is ideal and with the 405 80 grains is some serious thump.
I wouldn't attempt quartering to shots with the 245 powerbelt. This worked out very well for you but you most certainly will not get pass through with 100 grains on a frontal shot. Too much energy dissipated at the surface at that velocity. Less is more with all lead hollow points. An xtp, gold dot, etc shot in a sabot would be a better choice for frontal shots.
Thanks for the report and if you can, post some picks of the recovered bullet and the carcass showing the damage.
Thanks for the congrats.
Me really not studying how the powder works in relation to the weight of the bullet, I guess I am overestimating. I would of thought a 405 gr bullet would need more powder. My eyes are slowly opening in relation to powder/bullet combo. My buddy swears by using 300 gr bullet with 150 gr powder. To each their own I guess. Thanks for the info, I will obviously wait to try anything else until next season. By the way, couldnt find the bullet, it may have came out when I was field dressing (dark out) but I will get some photos of the entry and the rib cavity to show the damage.
12-07-2009, 07:05 AM
#7
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Fowlerville, MI
Posts: 23
12-07-2009, 07:43 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,445
Powerbelts have a reputation for coming apart when shot with stout charges (around 100 gr), particularly if the shot is close. For the bullet to work well, they should not be pushed too hard. That's why 80 gr is preferred. That's still plenty of power for deer.
If you want to try a similar bullet that seems to handle 100 gr of powder and above, try Hornady FPBs. Passthroughs are the norm, and I've shot deer from 40 yds out to 90 yds.
If you want to try a similar bullet that seems to handle 100 gr of powder and above, try Hornady FPBs. Passthroughs are the norm, and I've shot deer from 40 yds out to 90 yds.
12-07-2009, 02:13 PM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location:
Posts: 1,470