Powerbelt horror stories

[Hook1]

I wanna hear what ya'll think about them,,,I was readin in another post about the lighter 245's not passing thru on deer and the heavier 300's doing the job,,,but I quit using them just for the reason mentioned,,,I could not get a 245 to pass thru a doe at 15yds broadside purposely shooting thru the lungs,,,(prefer high shoulder shot),,,she dropped within sight, but no blood till U got with a few feet of her and that is another dislike,,,no blood trail,,,bud shot a buck 2 years ago right at dark and we waited till the next morning to try and find him,,,we went back and found 3 drops of blood where he was standing,,,that was it!,,,not the first time this had happened, but we had recovered previous deer,,,not this one though,,,we found him 3 days later and the shot looked perfect at entrance but no exit at all,,,I worked skinning deer 2 years ago and could almost tell ya every deer that was shot with a powerbelt,,,there would be the entrance but no exit,,,you would find the bullet just under the skin,,,I started my own collection of spent powerbelts and I had stack of them when I stopped working there,,,they do kill deer but I want something that is going to make them bleed because all shots are not perfect.

 

[mike243]

to be honest i havent lost a deer with them yet.i have shot several with the 295g & never had a pass thru.they all died rite there...except 1 .she jumped as i pulled the trigger,gut shot 1/4 away,went 50-70yards,bleed like a stuck pig,now i been loading the 245 for the last 2 & no shots may got back to the 295's but i like that all the energy gets left in the animal as they kill by more by hydralic shock to the central nerve system than bleeding a animal out,mike243

 

[Stalker]

I shot the .50 295gr power belts for a while with 100gr pyrodex. I got kills but one was quartering away at about 75 yrds, hit about 8 inches behind shoulder and got a pass through both lungs and some other stuff...deer went 60yrds and balled up. Very little blood where I shot it and could not find a blood trail. Lots of blood on ground where it balled up and did the death kick. Very thick where I hunt and it took me about an hour to find the deer because of lack of blood from shot to where it fell.

 

[Stalker]

Had another I blasted at 25yrds with complete pass through both lungs with again no blood trail. Found deer layed down about 30yrds from impact but no blood on ground just some on the entrance and exit wound that would bubble up as I started to drag...these also were the .295gr with 100gr 777 pellets.

 

[Stalker]

I also have never been pleased with them on paper...never really got them to pattern as well as I would like. Switched to Hornady 300xtp and got great patterns on paper and drop dead in their tracks results...and cheeper than powerbelts.

 

[skynimrod]

I also have never been pleased with them on paper...never really got them to pattern as well as I would like. Switched to Hornady 300xtp and got great patterns on paper and drop dead in their tracks results...and cheeper than powerbelts.

Same with me except I moved to the Knight 290 gr ultimate slam series with the tipped Barnes sabot.

 

[fullstream]

Shot 2 does with 295 and 100 pyrodex both dropped on the spot. one passed through one didn't I'd have to say I really liked em. I was able to group @100 in 2" consistently. This was shot through a cva kodiak.

 

[Stalker]

Shot 2 does with 295 and 100 pyrodex both dropped on the spot. one passed through one didn't I'd have to say I really liked em. I was able to group @100 in 2" consistently. This was shot through a cva kodiak.

This is the gun you most see them advertised for on tv shows...ie: Southern Outdoors with Oneal. I think that they shoot the Kodiak rifles and powerbelts...I just wonder if there is something to that? I have a NE Huntsman that can not stand powerbelts...hit the paper one shot and then off into another county on the next...I also have a Remington Genesis that will shoot them but not as accurate as any other bullet I've put through it...

 

[mike243]

my cva hunterbolt loves the 295g powerbelts with 130g pyrodex pellets.i have taken lung/heart shots with it & recovered the copper jacket under the off side skin.i have only shot the 245gpb with 100g p.p. in my cva elite at targets i think ,im wanting a savage but if i dont end up with 1 i plan on doing a bunch of load testing with the elite.reckon im going to buy the yearly range pass at norris so i can shoot whenever i get a chance this year,mike243

 

[Food Plot 101]

Who needs a blood trail when you drop 'em in their tracks! Maybe I'm just lucky but since I've been using them I haven't lost one yet. I'm shooting the 245 Aero with 2 50gr. 777's out of a T/C Black Diamond XR. I'll keep shootin' them until I lose one.

 

[muddyboots]

Ive got two but im not gonna get into it. People always say poor shot placement. I saw the shot placement and i whirlybirded the rest of the powerbelts through the woods. Barnes bullets for me. I learned my lesson.

 

[MFBAB]

I like the Barnes better too, both for accuracy and pass thru shots/blood trail, just switched last year. I never lost a deer w/ the powerbelts but the blood trails were always pretty non-existent.

 

[RUGER]

Back some time ago there was a rather extensive "test" performed here on the site.
For almost an entire off season the powerbelt / barnes comparison was running rampant.
So when the season started there were SEVERAL people that used these bullets respectively that posted the results from their hunts.
We posted stuff like shot distance, shot placement, passthrough or not, distance traveled after the shot and whether or not the deer was recovered.
I still wish I had saved all that because I was amazed at a couple things.
Number one, I don't think a single powerbelt passed through the deer and as far as I can remember not one barnes failed to pass through.
When it was all said and done and the smoke cleared (pun intended) the most amazing statistic was this.
Number of un-recoverd deer were..... ZERO.
Neither bullet produced a wounded and lost animal.

Pretty much what MFBAB just posted summed the entire season up.

 

[MFBAB]

I have no doubt that the Powerbelt is a good "killing" bullet, that lead frags out and wreaks havoc on their insides, you just don't get much blood trail if they get out of your sight. You probably won't do as much instant damage with the Barnes/copper but the weight retention gives you that pass through to make the tracking easier.

It's kind of the same decision b/w bonded or ballistic tipped bullets for rifle season.

 

[Hook1]

I switched to the Shock Wave last year,,,great accuracy didn't get to try them on a deer,,,so which Barnes excatly is everybody using???

 

[MFBAB]

I use the 250 gr plastic tipped w/ the knight easy load sabots, 100 gr Pyrodex.

 

[muddyboots]

245 grain TMZ Barnes Spitfires

 

[Big J]

Never lost one with a power belt. 45 caliber knight disc extreme. Drops them in their tracks! I am concerned though over the gas issues with the powerbelt!

 

[Big J]

Never lost one with a power belt. 45 caliber knight disc extreme. Drops them in their tracks! I am concerned though over the gas issues with the powerbelt!

 

[spctbone]

The Hornady SST and the TC Shockwave is the exact same bullet with a different colr tip! Hornady produces the shockwave and TC labels it and sells it! Just a tip for those who might have trouble finding one or the other! I use the TC shockwave 300grn.