traditions new bullets called carnavore
 

traditions has just come out with a new sabot bullet called carnavore . has anybody tried them or heard reviews about them ? they come in 250 275 & 305 grain bullets. almost look like power belts but with sabots.

Just read up on it. Looks like a good bullet for whitetail and even larger game.

Not too many user reviews out there though.

-Jake

Nothing new about it. Berry's has been making that bullet for many years. https://www.berrysmfg.com/item/bp-50-250gr-muzzle-ldr

thanks jake & gm just wondering how they stack up against barnes tez & the barnes mz hollow points ?

A closer comparison would be to a Harvester PT Gold. Both are tipped copper plated lead bullets. Rainier makes the PT Golds for Harvester.

It seems that they came out with more than one Smackdown Bullet:
One is CA compliant, another is long range and the Carnavore--->>> https://www.muzzle-loaders.com/catal...ions+smackdown

Traditions used Parker BE and Hydra-Con bullets for a long time and sold them at the same price. Next they switched to rebranding Hornady SSTs and now the cheap plated Berry bullets. Have you noticed that TB is virtually silent about these so called new bullets and sabots? He has been pimping Traditions now for years but he is also in bed with Harvester. Both are listed as his primary sponsors. When i see plated bullets for a buck a pop or more i have to wonder. You can buy a GoldDot or DeepCurl for much less. You can buy StarTips from Fury Custom bullets for under a buck each and they are a bonded jacket bullet. Not some thin copper plating.

If you want a cheap CA compliant light weight bullet just grab a box of Barnes 185gr TAC-XPs or the similar bullet from Copper Only Projectile aka General Bullet. 40 bullets will set you back about $30 or less. I find it pretty much impossible to believe the 170gr Bleed is even remotely close to a .200 BC. Maybe on the moon.

General Bullet makes some of the newer bullets for Thor but you can buy them directly for much less
https://shop.generalbullet.com/45ACP...6860002155.htm

Berry's states that their Ridgeback sabot is proprietary which would mean they either own the design, or the exclusive rights to sell them or both.
I wonder who is making them and if they're any better than others?
I don't see the sabots available anywhere else.

In the close up photos of the bullets [post #6], they look to be jacketed and not plated.
The Bleed bullet definitely looks jacketed.
Does anyone think that these new bullets look plated and not jacketed?
Berry's regular plated bullets clearly state that they're plated, but these bullets don't specify whether they are or not.

Look closely at the photos of the bullets.
Perhaps someone else is making these bullets for Berry's?

Years go CVA offered a similar sabot called a Slick-Load. That was until for some magical reason they began to claim sabots would not load easy enough if you dont swab between shots. The Blue Diamond ML bullet has been around since at least 2010 and received very little if any attention.

The Bleed bullet clearly states its a jacket with a compressed powdered metal core. That is a pretty common design for frangible bullets made for limited penetration situations and varmint type bullets. Im pretty sure DRT makes those for Traditions.You can buy 50 of them for $20. https://drtammo.com/product/45cal-17...ectiles-50pcs/
Or get bent over and pay $15 for 12 with sabots. https://drtammo.com/product/tsmz-170...-50cal-12-pcs/

Thanks for the info about the Bleed bullet and who makes it.
It's interesting that Berry's is not offering that same Bleed bullet - sabot combo on their own website.

Also, the photo of the Berry's Blue Diamond bullets do not look the exact same as the Traditions Smackdown Bullet on the muzzle-loaders.com website.
Perhaps they are plated, but have another forming process involved in their construction as they look different than the Blue Diamonds.

I suppose that it's possible that a plated bullet can have a thicker copper plate than a jacketed bullet, although not usually,
And there can be a difference in the hardness of the lead used as well.
Perhaps an inquiry can be made to Traditions to determine if the Smackdown bullets are indeed plated as the Blue Diamonds.

Right off the bat, it's clear that the color of the plastic tips are different and Traditions is using a different name than Blue Diamond which is probably also a trademark.
One of the Smackdown bullets has a more angular nose section, and the other has a black wash color.
I can only be certain that the proprietary Berry's sabot is the same.

One question would be, if the Traditions bullets were plated as the Berry's are said to be, is it possible that a heavily plated bullet of harder lead
could be as tough and effective on large game as a jacketed bullet that's made from a softer lead, considering the addition of the plastic tip?

Even bullet jackets aren't always the same thickness and lead hardness can vary.
And could those be factors why the name of the Traditions bullets are not named Blue Diamond, but Smackdown XR and Carnivore instead?