No more...Powerbelts = The Walking Dead Deer

[THEdonkey0515]

something like that happened to me 2ed weekend of muzzy.

the 3ed biggest buck I ever shot came out running full speed from the pine thicket behind me I got it to stop perfect broadside shot probably 60 to 70 yards BOOM flop dead as a door knob. I watched him for two minutes or so never moved dead as could be. At this point my dad who was hunting the same lease a few hollers Over text me asking if I had shot . So I'm texting him back while looking at my buck on the ground telling him yes got a good one down & so on. I even go as far as texting the ole lady telling her I've killed a nice one.

While still setting in the stand Sending messages to dad I hear another deer coming from the other direction the buck came from. It was a doe got 20 or so yards from me I Never bothered to reload my muzzy I would have not shot her anyway with a buck already on the ground . while watching her she keep looking over to where the buck was so I slowly turn to look also the Buck I had shot & watched flopped over on the ground for a good 5+ minuets is now up walking straight at me like nothing ever happened. walking right toward the Doe they both got spooked when they got 15 or so yards from me & ran I found blood where the deer had flopped over and looked dead as heck for 5+ minuets, but not much more never found deer.

If I would have just reloaded after I took the shot I would have had an easy 20 yard shot at him, but I didn't I've hunted my whole life that deer looked like a Boom flop its over good deal deer.

 

[Union Co. Boy]

Three bucks on our lease were either lost or found later by sheer luck due to powerbelts within the last 2 seasons. In each case, there were no blood trails to speak of. I actually shot and killed one of them with a T/C Shockwave and found the powerbelt under the skin. It not only failed to expand, but the polymer tip was still intact. Everyone has switched to the Shockwave or the Hornady SST. We've had no issues whatsoever since.

 

[mike243]

Killed a lot of deer with PB but I always shoot bow shots and no shoulders.wouldnt hesitate to hunt with them.seen deer run with a lot of different caliburs and first suspect is the bullet the scope ect.hate any body looses a animal for any reason. Have confidence in your equipment and still know that things happen in a hunting situation

 

[Deer Assassin]

killed several deer with them

the 245 295 suck


348 and 405 are good


your better off toshoot a rock at a deer with the 245

 

[MarlinSlayer]

CVA Accura MR
100 grains white hots
777 primers
295 G hollow point power belts

 

[tasaman]

Since we are sharing I lost a really big buck. First buck I shot actually. Was a 200lb deer. Dropped him. Not a twitch. Then two minutes later when I had already lowered my gun to the ground and did not reload it, he stood up. Then he walked out of my life before I could get reloaded. Could have been shot placement. Could have been bullet fail. Fairly certain at that time I was using either Winchester silver or platinum bullets(quit making them several years ago) or a XTP. Both are good bullets but I may have pushed the speed too much for them.

Any bullet will fail to do what it is supposed to if not pushed fast enough or too fast. I had a XTP blow a 5 inch diameter wound on a doe at 30 yards in the shoulder. It was only a half inch deep. Bullet splattered. She lived. I now shoot a much tougher bullet that can take any speed I want to throw at it and still get two busted shoulders anywhere from 1200fps at 300 yards to 2400 fps at 10 yards. Barnes Original 300gr.

 

[knightrider]

barnes :super:

 

[Tennessee280]

barnes 250 expanders.. I didn't even know they made any other bullets for ml's..

 

[Snake]

Heard too many bad reports from them XTP's for me .

 

[LA man]

I quit using powerbelts about 8 years ago. I never had one go thru a deer. And when i did shoot a deer i mostly had a long track to find it. I gave all my powerbelts away and went to hornady sst. They are alot better. But after reading these post i mite try the barnes bullits

 

[Roost 1]

Barnes....... Why take a chance with anything else...

 

[iowavf]

I started with PB only because they were easy to find for my 45 and were very accurate. Can only remember one pass through but not much blood from that one or any of the others. Did loose a big buck, shot a little too far forward from what I could see on him later, but it didn't do much to the shoulder. When blackhorn came out I switched to it and tried the SST's which worked ok, really liked the barnes expanders a lot better. Just about every deer I've shot with them have been pass throughs with large exit wounds and lots of blood even though all the deer only went a few feet.

 

[CATCHDAWG]

I've probably killed a couple dozen with 300gr XTP's. Have yet to have one run.

 

[SC Manimal]

Shot 2 this year with powerbelts and neither exited. I may have shot another but couldn't find any blood. I'm finished with them after this box.

 

[SC Manimal]

I've probably killed a couple dozen with 300gr XTP's. Have yet to have one run.

Wow, that's impressive, how much of a drop do they have? I think you have me sold.

 

[CATCHDAWG]

I've probably killed a couple dozen with 300gr XTP's. Have yet to have one run.

Wow, that's impressive, how much of a drop do they have? I think you have me sold.

I zero at 100 and most of my shots are inside of that or close to it. I couldn't really say how much they drop past that distance.

 

[deerkiller300wsm]

Three different times I have seen powerbelt bullets slide out off the powder. My dad once and my uncle twice. That's just the ones I know about. My uncle went to shoot tall tine 8 and his MZ had a funny sound to it which made me and him think it happened again

 

[tnhunter69]

When power belt bullets first came out I switched from regular sabots because they were super easy to load and extremely accurate. After hunting with them for a few years I found out the hard way that it was a coin flip every time I pulled the trigger. The smoke would clear and sometimes deer was DIT and sometimes no deer no blood and end result no deer found. I switched back to hornady 300 gr low drag sabots along with blackthorn powder. Combo is easy to load multiple shots and also extremely accurate. Now instead of a coin flip, it is a guarantee that deer will be DIT or nice blood trail and a little tracking if I do my part. The power belts that I had left over went in the garbage. I have also had several buddies over the years that used the power belts and lost nice deer.

 

[Mudbone]

305 pb's have bee great to me. To each their own

 

[Strict]

I only have one experience with the Aero Tip Powerbelts. My son shot a doe right at dark at 75 yds in a field with a CVA loaded with the recommended white hots plus power belt. She immediately turned and sprinted 150 yds to the woods and out of sight with her three friends. Gave no indication of being hit. I searched the immediate area and found no blood. I took him home and came back an hour later with a flashlight. Zero blood in the field but a few drops at the edge of the wood line. She was found 40 yards in the woods with a gaping hole. She quartering to us and the bullet exited right through rib cage.