I have a Remington 700 in-line, and was using barnes expanders out of it with 2, 50 grain pyrodex pellets. They shot accurate, but I was not impressed with the wound channel or the expansion. I was thinking of trying cva powerbelts with the same load and was wondering if anyone has any expereience with these out of the remington 700? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

I have never shot the barnes expanders but have read some excellent reports about their knock down ability. From your charge information you have plenty of power. I am curious as to what you were unhappy about?

Perhaps no pass through of the body by the projectile? Or perhaps lack of a good blood trail? What was the shot placement of the projectile?

I have never got to shoot powerbelts or barnes expanders at a deer but I was thinking of trying some of the expanders so I am curious as to what you found wrong with them....

I've shot both from my Knight, but only the PowerBelts at game.

Both are pretty accurate.

I took a medium-sized boar a couple of years ago with a 348gr Aerotipped PowerBelt over 115gr of CleanShot Powder (approx to 105gr of loose Pyro). It laid Porky out on the spot from about 15 to 20yds away. But the bullet passed straight thru both shoulders, with no apparent expansion as both entry and exit holes were the same size. It is possible that the bullet may have either broken up or bentover sideways...........but in either case, it was a clean hole straight thru.

Personally, I prefer a bullet that exhibits classic expansion..........it gives you better odds on a clean kill and a better chance of game recovery.

I use the 295gn copper clad hollow point Powerbelts with 2-50 grn Pyrodex pellets in my 700ML Remington. I really like the way they shoot. I have now shot 5 deer with this combo, and I like the results. All shots have completely passed through, except from one front-on shot. That bullet was recovered just in front of the hindquarters, and the bullet was equal to the diameter of a quarter.
Of the other 4 deer, only one bullet appeared to not expand before exiting. That shot missed ribs on both the entry, and the exit.
Of the 5 deer that I have shot with this load, 3 dropped right where shot, 1 went 10 yards, and the 5th went 30 yards. For me, thats pretty darn good. I am able to shoot 1" groups at 100 yards with this load.

For what its worth, a buddy of mine tried the Barnes expanders with 2-50grn pellets, and didnt use them again after shooting the first deer with them. His results were the same as yours, no expansion, and the deer went about 75 yards on a double lung shot.

My money will stick with the PowerBelts in my 700ML, I've had excellent results with them.

Cayugad, I took a big doe last season using the barnes expanders with a double lung hit and she still went a good distance before going down. Entry and exit wounds were the same size, about the size of a penny. When I was sighting in, I was shooting into a 3/4 inch piece of plywood with a paper target on it and a huge sandpile behind it. My buddy dug the expanders out of the sand and it looked like you could stick it back into the sabot and shoot it again. They are very accurate, but I was not happy with the results. I have seen people using the powerbelts on the outdoor channel and they seem easy to load. The expanders where very hard to load even on a clean barrel. Hope this helps and thanks for the replies all.

WOW.. that sure makes me re-think whether I would want to use them. That does not sound like something I would want to use. I have been looking at a number of different projectiles. I am leaning towards the T/C Shockwaves or Hornady SST's what ever you like to call them. Some people have told me that the T/C Cheapshots will really knock deer flat although I can not say that is a fact. Thanks for the heads up.

Ok guys - You won't get any noticable expansion out of any bullet shot out of a muzzleloader unless you hit something solid like a shoulder joint. But then you probably won't get the penetration. The MV of the muzzleloader is just too slow to allow for expansion. I've shot Hornady XTP bullets out of my .44 mag and muzzleloader. These expand out of the .44 (with full house loads), but not out of the ML.
Don't expect a deer to drop where it stands with a ML unless you hit the spine. It may happen occasionally but its not the norm. With a double lung hit from a .50 cal ML, you should find your deer within 100 yds.
I shoot 245 gr Powerbelts out of my ML because they are the most accurate I've found.

The big conicals don't expand all that much... Your right on the money there. Actually when I read about some of the powerbelts completely breaking up all the way, I wonder if that is not the way to go.

My other thought is since I have been considering a replacement barrel for my old Thompson Center Renegade I thought I might get a .58 caliber with a 1-70 twist. The reasons for this is, the diameter of the .58 caliber in itself is big. Put a hole that big through something and it will fall. Also you can work a good strong charge of powder in them .58 caliber barrels. People do not understand but round ball inside a deer do a lot of bouncing around if it does not blow right through. Until all its energy is used up, they can really travel inside the body cavity of an animal. And I have gotten good expansion with round balls....

The Green Mountain drop in barrel in 58 caliber is a good one. They really shoot well.

Shot a large 8 pt. last year using the barnes 195 gr at 70 yds and over 2200 fps.there was no blood or hair so I lost the deer but found it a week later by following the smell.No more deer hunting with these bullets.
Shot one at 45 yds with the 200 gr sst complete pass through also ,there was blood splattered on trees 10 ft behind the deer,ran less than 20 yds with a blood trail a blind man could see.
I would give the sst or shock waves a try in the Rem.