[22lyons]

finally got to the woods with the new TC ML and had a broadside shoulder shot to drop a nice doe so she doesn't go onto neighboring property.

Let the 95gr 777 and 245PB fly. Busted her shoulder and took out one lung from the lung sign.

Tracked that deer for hours and then tracked more. she was still jumping fences until no more blood.

Never thought i had to worry about taking a shoulder shot to drop a deer with that set-up?

 

[busta]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I hope you have seen the light when it comes to PowerBelts. IMO they are the worst bullet on the market. I have witnesses failures first hand and have heard more horror stories than you would believe. As you know by now, they explode on impact with anything more than soft tissue. The biggest problem is people are shooting too much powder with them, 70-80 grains of 777 should be max. They just don't hold together when you push them to fast, especially the lighter bullets.

There are much better bullets out there, anything is better. Sorry you had to find out the hard way. I wouldn't shoot anything larger than a coyote with one.

 

[smokepolehall]

I'd say thats the pits and sorry for you and the Doe. I have never used them, have seen some of their work and good many not to be found after tracking. I use Speer Gold Dot 240 gr JSP.429 and Gn. sabot over 70 grs. of Pyro P. Have had all pass thru's. I never have sighted in for any long range, its hitting 2 1/2" high at 50 yds. I figure its good out to a 100 or abit more. I just haven't saw the need for large powder loads as i don't shoot out yonder!

 

[mangulator]

I am sorry for your loss, I found slowing the bullet down like Busta stated may help. I have found the increasing the bullet weight on Power Belt is the trick. I started using Platinum Power Belts 270 grain and I have been successful. The Platinum may cost more but they seem to hold together better.

 

[bigblock455]

finally got to the woods with the new TC ML and had a broadside shoulder shot to drop a nice doe so she doesn't go onto neighboring property.

Let the 95gr 777 and 245PB fly. Busted her shoulder and took out one lung from the lung sign.

Tracked that deer for hours and then tracked more. she was still jumping fences until no more blood.

Never thought i had to worry about taking a shoulder shot to drop a deer with that set-up?

Use between 60-90 grains of pyrodex. 95 grains of triple 7 is to hot. I used 80 grains triple 7 on this one and a tiny 225 grain .45cal powerbelt aerotip. Deer went 5 yards before rolling down the side of the mountain. If the bullet didnt kill 'er, the fall sure did ;D ;D

 

[AndyHass]

That stinks. I know that had to be a miserable tracking job. I have never shot PBs myself and usually don't buy into ancedontal stories, but I keep hearing bad thing after bad things about PBs. With so many good (and cheaper) bullets on the market I guess I don't understand the rationale for using them. Shockwaves, XTPs, so many good choices.

 

[slave]

I have found that I could not hit a shoulder if I intended to with a PB. They just will not shot out of my TC. Thus I have never hunted with them. I seen a two deer shot last year with two 777 50gr pellets and the heaver 295GR silver colored PB's. They done an outstanding job on two very well placed shots from an experienced hunter who knows exactly what to expect.

 

[simonkenton]

Last summer I saw an interview with the President of Powerbelt Co. on tv.
He was talking about the new Platinum Powerbelt which, he said, was designed to "give better penetration" for big deer, and elk.
I guess he had heard the complaints about the miserable performance of his bullets.
Well, a guy over on another forum was going elk hunting this year, he had never hunted with a muzzleloader. He tried his Encore with the new Platinum Powerbelt. He killed a big bull elk with a shoulder shot with the big Platinum Powerbelt. I believe he used 90 grains of 777, can't remember exactly.
Based on this experience, I believe you will be ok on the big game with the Platinum Powerbelt.
Too bad it took the company five years to figure it out.

 

[bigblock455]

the copper series powerbelts are good performing bullets when you use the recommended loose powder load on the back of the booklet they give you. Ive never had a massive blood trail untill i used the 225 with 80 grains t7. Even the 385 grain great plains conicals didnt leave a blood trail like this.

 

[Biff Mayhem]

This is a perfect reason why I use the 400 gr HP leaded-monster Powerbelts. Deer don't travel very far after getting slammed by a 400. They are the same price as the 245s. Get more for your money. Try 70-75 grains. Good accuracy for up-to 125 yard harvests.

 

[22lyons]

Thanks for the input...I have used PB before but never took a shoulder shot before with them.

I do like them due to ease of loading on the range. The shockwaves neary shocked me when i tried loading them after a wet patch/dry patch. Even after that they wouldn't go down the barrel without messing up the bullet on the way. I guess first shot is all that matters but still a huge pain...

 

[elkstalkr]

Big surprise (lots of sarcasm), a powerboob fell apart when it hit a shoulder bone! Sure they have and will continue to kill alot of deer, lots of people shoot deer with a 22-250 every year too, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Incomplete Deer Hunter]

I use 100 grains of t7 and 195 grain powerbelt areo tip and never had penetration or expansion problems. The reason is its very hard to find a good 45cal sabot that's any good. I would rather use sabots if anyone has suggestions but as far as it goes I haven't had any trouble. I don't really like their cheap feel quality that's why I would want to use something else.