Powerbelt expansion when shot subsonic
 

I made a video on how a 50cal bullet expands when it is shot subsonic in some milkjugs
needless to say, there was no expansion using powerbelt HP bullets.


here is the video in case someone wants to see it:

i ordered some pure lead powerbelts and will soon play with the Thompson Center Maxi-Hunter Bullets 50 Caliber 275 Grain Lead Hollow bullets to see how they do..

That suppressor really cuts down on the noise. My air rifle is louder then that.
Not too many on here are fans of Powerbelts. I used them one year with no complaint but have since went to Barnes or Shockwaves.

The pure, unplated lead may provide better results at that low of a velocity. It would be interesting to see. I used powerbelts for a few seasons way back but moved away from them for lack of producing exit wounds. That was a good 12 years ago though.

Yes, but who is going to hunt with 30-35 gr of powder? Supressor is nice so you don't have to use hearing protection, but not sure it is useful in the field for what most people want it for: stealth shooting

Powerbelts are very soft lead and the copper or other coatings they have don't really protect the bullet, just the barrel. I will be surprised if the lead only bullets do any better. Most bullets will require at least 1100 fps to expand reliably and when they come out at 1100, they will be slowing down quickly

I find the PB's other people have give up on as a useful source of lead for round balls, of course they would be very expensive to buy over the counter.

Your test is similar to Ron Laughlin's testing - he simulates about 1200fps with BH209.
Ron's test have shown many bullets failing at lower velocities. One performing factor is the large HP required to open a bullet at low velocities such as this - regardless of material.
I believe you are promoting the silencer by your sub-sonic Velocity test, unfortunately with that light bullet you're only at 400 ft-lbs of energy.
I think you could actually kill something sub-sonic with a bullet weight around 500gr at 880fps because the energy is equal to this velocity - nearly even out to 100yds.
Good luck and keep us posted.

Use 70-90gr of powder (volume) with Powerbelts and in my opinion, the only good Powerbelts are the Platinums and Aerolites. To cut off gases escaping, I always fill the hollow bullet-base bottom cup with bore butter. That is the only time my muzzleloading rituals ever involve bore butter / wonderlube. If it weren't for those Powerbelt situations, no bore butter would be in my muzzleloader accessories tool box.

I think that this subsonic load using 30 grains of 777 simulates hunting with black powder revolvers and Kaido conical bullets. That's close to the same amount of powder that can be stuffed into a BP revolver chamber with larger revolver conicals. Perhaps the Walker can hold marginally more powder since it has about a 60 grain capacity to begin with. But the Remington 1858 doesn't hold too much more than 30+ grains with a large bullet, and the Ruger Old Army somewhere in between the 2.

" Kaido took two big hogs with the 240s fired from his Uberti Remington right before Easter. His buddy Rudy out of Miami, has also taken several hogs with Kaido's conicals and within 20 yards will blow right through both of a russian boar's shoulders and keep going on a broadside shot. Since he's been hunting with cap and ball revolvers for decades, he actually prefers plain round balls for open cover hunting inside of 25-30 yards.

You can get more information, including photos, from the yahoo groups called "International Black Powder Handgun Hunters" and talk to Rudy and Kaido direct. "--->>> https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...ullets.751716/

Kaido Ojamaa also has a youtube channel and is fairly well know among BP revolver hunters & shooters on many black powder forums and also sells custom 6 cavity BP revolver bullet molds.