Nice Powerbelt load for the Accura...
07-08-2017, 01:44 PM
#31
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 261
Just ignore the haters. I may use a 300gr Aerolite next year for elk. Just so I can say I killed something with them.
Maybe i'll use a 250gr version this year for muleys. Carlos said he has a bunch he doesn't use anymore and is sending them to me.
Unless I swap out the CVA MR for a GPR. It seems I always get rid of an inline before a hunt. It's hard for me to use one to hunt with.
Maybe i'll use a 250gr version this year for muleys. Carlos said he has a bunch he doesn't use anymore and is sending them to me.
Unless I swap out the CVA MR for a GPR. It seems I always get rid of an inline before a hunt. It's hard for me to use one to hunt with.
It's hard to tell a man that his bullets and gun are sub par when he puts meat on the table year after year!
07-08-2017, 02:24 PM
#32
Typical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 995
Muley Hunter, I myself try to stay off the shoulder as well. The incident I described to you earlier, was in the pocket behind the shoulder. So there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever for that bullet to perform the way it did. If I remember correctly, Jackson was only pushing that bullet with 100 grains, 2 pellets, of that Pyrodex stuff. So both of your excuses for the bullet not performing as it should are both blown up just like the bullet did.
BarnesAddict, I will have to firmly disagree with you in the accuracy argument. Every single person I have seen shooting those powerbelts have had very good accuracy from them. I'm talking about hunting accuracy not competition. Back a long time ago when the old man had another Thompson Center Encore, he gave them a try. Cloverleafing at 100 yards to me is better than good accuracy for hunting purposes. But his favorite shot for many years was a high shoulder shot and he experienced blow up on 2 occasions. He didn't give them a 3rd chance to fail.
Flint Head, like BarnesAddict stated, if they work for you and that's all you can get, then more power to you. I myself wont use a bullet that I can't push a little or have to be afraid to stay off a shoulder if that's my only shot. I'd prefer to use a bullet that I have confidence in that I know won't blow apart on contact with a bone. I don't even have to stay off bone with my home cast round balls. Or my maxis. Why would I pay $1 or more a bullet for something that isn't even as tough as a $.03 round ball? That's just silly in my opinion.
BarnesAddict, I will have to firmly disagree with you in the accuracy argument. Every single person I have seen shooting those powerbelts have had very good accuracy from them. I'm talking about hunting accuracy not competition. Back a long time ago when the old man had another Thompson Center Encore, he gave them a try. Cloverleafing at 100 yards to me is better than good accuracy for hunting purposes. But his favorite shot for many years was a high shoulder shot and he experienced blow up on 2 occasions. He didn't give them a 3rd chance to fail.
Flint Head, like BarnesAddict stated, if they work for you and that's all you can get, then more power to you. I myself wont use a bullet that I can't push a little or have to be afraid to stay off a shoulder if that's my only shot. I'd prefer to use a bullet that I have confidence in that I know won't blow apart on contact with a bone. I don't even have to stay off bone with my home cast round balls. Or my maxis. Why would I pay $1 or more a bullet for something that isn't even as tough as a $.03 round ball? That's just silly in my opinion.
07-08-2017, 03:43 PM
#33
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Near a lake with no fish
Posts: 1,077
Rather it be a hog down south, or a 300# whitetail in Canada, EVERY hunter must be 100% confident in his/her shot, knowing exactly where his/her bullet will enter and where the bullet will exit. There should be no guessing how slow or fast a bullet must be shot, or what velocity range it requires to function properly. As hunters we owe it to the game we hunt, to know.
07-08-2017, 04:52 PM
#34
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
What I find a little funny is everybody who says the PB blew up must know that, because they killed the animal and saw the blow up skinning it.
How can a dead animal be a failure? Maybe the complaint is no blood trail, but they had to find it to know it blew up.
Do you want a faster kill? Use a heavier PB. I don't think i've ever heard a complaint about the 338gr Platinum PB's.
Guys use big conicals like Bull Shop, NoExcuses etc. Do the same with a PB. They make a 444gr PB. I saw a video of one killing a water buffalo. One shot bang flop. I also watched Steve West kill a record grizzly with a 405gr PB. Another bang flop. I watched guys have to put three .338 mag bullets in a big grizzly to stop it.
A PB will work, but if you want to up the odds. Use the bigger ones. Even Randy Wakeman who hates PB's says the big PB's work good.
How can a dead animal be a failure? Maybe the complaint is no blood trail, but they had to find it to know it blew up.
Do you want a faster kill? Use a heavier PB. I don't think i've ever heard a complaint about the 338gr Platinum PB's.
Guys use big conicals like Bull Shop, NoExcuses etc. Do the same with a PB. They make a 444gr PB. I saw a video of one killing a water buffalo. One shot bang flop. I also watched Steve West kill a record grizzly with a 405gr PB. Another bang flop. I watched guys have to put three .338 mag bullets in a big grizzly to stop it.
A PB will work, but if you want to up the odds. Use the bigger ones. Even Randy Wakeman who hates PB's says the big PB's work good.
07-08-2017, 09:38 PM
#35
Typical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 995
Well, to answer that question Muley Hunter, I will refer you to my previous post about me jumping the Buck and killing it with one of my bullets. As to the old man's, both required follow up shots after a long day of tracking. And both of those shots should have been bang flop. Every other bullet he had used hitting in that exact same area had resulted in dropped deer. To be perfectly honest, there aren't that many people that like to shoot a bullet weighing over 300 grains. And for how much they charge for powerbelts, they damn well shouldn't have to go to those monster bullets to get positive performance. A 250 grain bullet that's being charged $1 or more per bullet should damn well hold together even pushed by a magnum load in my opinion. They charge a premium price but get sub par terminal performance is a robbery in my opinion. As far as your Bear reference, I've had the unfortunate hazard of having to down a couple of brown bears in defensive situations and they both dropped from a little .44 magnum loaded with 300gr jacketed rn. Dad had the misfortune of having to do the same a couple of times. One with a .44 same loads and one with a .500 Smith & Wesson with I think 500 grain bullets. Our favorite fishing spots happen to be the favorites of some local bears. As long as the bullet holds together, placement is key. A person shouldn't have to go to a 400+ grain bullet for a damn whitetail deer. That excuse is flat out unrealistic.
07-09-2017, 07:44 AM
#38
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 12,746
Well I might as well throw in my $.02 on this debate. I used PBs one year. 245 gr HPs to be exact. I used them because they shot great out of my rifle. My friend pushed which was probably the biggest oldest doe on the mountain right into my lap and my flinter put that PB right behind the shoulder at about 35 yards. She went 50 yards and piled up. So I have no complaints with them.
As for blowing up I won't deny that fact. Some bullets are made to fragment on impact, like the Bergers. And those bullets have a reputation for long range accuracy and being lethal.
But to be the devil's advocate, it you want a stronger bullet shooting a CF then use a Partition, Barnes or any other bullet that will hold together. Same with hunting with a ML. If you want stronger use a heavier PB or a solid lead or copper conical or round ball if your rifle will shoot it.
If the PBs shoot good for you use them. But I would honestly pick the heaviest one your rifle would shoot accurately.
As for blowing up I won't deny that fact. Some bullets are made to fragment on impact, like the Bergers. And those bullets have a reputation for long range accuracy and being lethal.
But to be the devil's advocate, it you want a stronger bullet shooting a CF then use a Partition, Barnes or any other bullet that will hold together. Same with hunting with a ML. If you want stronger use a heavier PB or a solid lead or copper conical or round ball if your rifle will shoot it.
If the PBs shoot good for you use them. But I would honestly pick the heaviest one your rifle would shoot accurately.
07-09-2017, 08:13 AM
#39
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 5,605
The simple fact is, you wouldn't shoot a 250gr soft lead plated bullet out of a 50A&E or 500S&W at those speeds for deer hunting. You probably wouldn't even go under a 300gr with a heavier jacket and harder lead.
Why in the world would you want to do it in a ML? Slice it anyway you like but that is the cold hard fact of the matter. I could legally shoot deer all season long with a 223 55gr HP (varmint bullet) and harvest deer but that doesn't make it the right thing to do either.
Why in the world would you want to do it in a ML? Slice it anyway you like but that is the cold hard fact of the matter. I could legally shoot deer all season long with a 223 55gr HP (varmint bullet) and harvest deer but that doesn't make it the right thing to do either.
Last edited by Gm54-120; 07-09-2017 at 08:18 AM.
