Mike Hill

I used these bullets in the 349 or 348 Gr. which ever they come in hollow points last year and I shot a deer with them. It looked like some one took a bucket and poured blood to where the deer died (40 yards). But every post I have read here says different. ( NO blood trail) I love the way they group at the range from my T/C Black Dimond. I want to use them in my new T/C Omega but I want to use the 249 gr hollow point. I was wondering was it the hollow point or the Arro Tip that was giving everyone bad performance. As I posted in the past the shock waves are a bear to get started down the barrel. And the power belts are a breeze. But I will not sacrafice performance for ease. So if anyone knows and has tested the hollow points let me know. I love to shoot but above all I am a deer hunter and this is what I practice for. Mike

cayugad

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All rifles like one bullet or another. You are just going to have to see which your new Omega likes. If the 348 grain pure lead hollow point Power Belts do well for you, then by all means shoot them. If the 245 grain Aero Tips shoot well use them as in the 295 grain also.

There were some complaints that the hollow point Power Belts were splattering, not getting pass through, and no leaving a good blood trail. I am sure the hollow points were opening up quickly as this was what they were designed to do.

I use the 245 grain Aero Tips and the 348 grain pure lead Power Belts in my CVA Staghorn. I would love to tell you how well they worked on deer, but the deer refuse to cooperate with me on my testing. I've yet to shoot a deer with a powerbelt.

If I were you I would be looking into the reason why the shock waves would not load. I shoot them all the time in my Black Diamond XR with excellent results I might add. Yours is not the first post I have read about the tight bore on some of the Thompson Center guns....

sabotloader

Mike Hill

I probably havew asked this before, but what sabots are youusing? look in the base - smooth cup or stepped cup? What color are they are you shooting 44's or 45's.... I have learned to asked that now, because I was assuming everyone was using 45's....

Haveyou tried other sabots?

Triple Se7en, says he uses Harvesters, not sure weather he is using the long or shortsabots though.

My preference is not PowerBelts but I do know they have killed a ton of animals....

txhunter58

First, the aerotips and the hollowpoints are both hollowpoints. The aero is simply a hollow point with a piece of plastic in them. It may make some difference, but probably not much except in aerodynamics. I would personally not go below 295 on deer sized animals. For a double lung shot, you could and not have any problems. However, if I hit a shoulder, I want some extra lead pushing them. But then, I just hunt with open sights and 120 yards is my absolute max, so trajectory is not an issue. If all you shots are that close, then why change at all. The 348 is really a deerslayer!

mayguy

I'm glad you had good luck with the Power Belts. I used the 348 gr. Aero Tip in my omega and they shot quite well. The deer I killed ran about 40 yds. and left very little blood. The bullet completely shattered, a lung shot, with no damage to the opposite side. Maybe I was pushing them too hard--115 grs. FFF/777 ? I am going to try either Gold Dots or Barnes. The black HPH 24 sabots from MMP Sabots made a big difference in how my Omega loads.

ahankster

I have never shot a deer with the heavier PBs. But, three years ago when I started BP hunting, I did what very many newcomers to BP do, I started by using PBs and pellet powder. Shot two deer the first year w/ the PBs in 295 grains. To say the performance was bad is an understatement. 2 50 grain pellets was just too much for the PBs at 50 yards or so. Don't get me wrong, it killed the deer deader than a doornail, but the bullets pretty much shattered inside the deer. Both were broadside, both had the bullet fragment and had multiple exit holes. I swore off PBs for anything other than a quick reload and final put down shot (never had to use after I started using Shockwaves).
This year I bought a used Black Diamond for my kids. Because I was using a reduced load for them for recoil purposes, I didn't think that shockwaves would be a good choice. So, I developed a 70 grain 777 load behind a 300 grain XTP hollowpoint. Very nice, accurate, low recoil solid performing load inside 100 yards. My kids killed two deer with it. But, during the second ML season, we ran out of XTPs locally and had to order some. I had some 295 grain PBs left and tested them for POI, figuring inside 100 yards they would be close and we could use them till the XTPs got in. Printed almost exactly the same. I thought with the reduced velocity the PBs would perform better. I was wrong. My youngest son shot a small buck quartering towards us. Bullet went in, hit NO bones promptly broke into at least 3 large pieces, two of which went all the way through. The base of the bullet and enuff lead to weigh about 75 grains ended up under the skin on the other side. Now, the deer didn't take a step, it was dead where it stood. But the bottom line is that had the deer been standing at more of an angle, I think that the bullet would have blown up in the shoulder and maimed the animal rather than kill it.

A fellow that I work with had one of his employees shoot a buck in the shoulder w/ a PB. It blew a big hole in the shoulder and none of the bullet made it into the body cavity. It was like it just exploded on impact. As the deer ran/limped away, another hunter in the club finished it off. Pretty miserable sight from what they tell me.

The heavier bullets may be the ticket, but I personally have seen three deer shot w/ PBs in 295and each time the bullet fragmented. Also have been told of several first hand accounts of similar perfromance. I think the bullet could be fixed if they would just make a serious copper jacket rather than the very thin, I think for looks only, copper "wash/plating".
R
Hank

Tree climber

my wife and I both use the powerbelts in 45 cal. 225 grain hollow point.

since the powerbelts came out I have taken 14 bucks and 6 hogs with them.
two bucks were neck shots less than 25 yards no pass thru.1 hog same neck shot. 11 were complete pass thru. awsome blood trails.exit holes the size of tennis balls.they were from 65 yards to 140 yards.none went passed 50 yards.one buck I shot at about 10 steps,quartering to me,hit two ribs at an angle and another going out.the powerbelt stopped between the meat and skin.he was so close the plastic on the back was still stuck to the bullet.perfect mushroom.he went about 75 yards.

the wife took 5 hogs and 2 bucks with the bucks complete passthru, awsome blood trail.the hogs all fell where she shot themneck shots.

I can't say enough about them for my use.as the saying goes " If IT Ain't Broke ; Don't Fix It"
so if what you use works great for you,then don't mess with it.

good luck with thw experiments,thats the fun of B/P is working up what works in your gun.

AQUATECH

I took a 178lb. five point this last year with 225
powerbelt aero-tip 45cal. Two 50gr. pyro pellets and
a Winchester 209 primer. Shot placement was right
behind shoulder 35yds. He ran about 75yds. Then
fell into a deep gully. There was "No" I repeat
"NO" blood trail at all. Finally found him by
circling from point of impact. Entrance hole was at
best dime sized, deer was laying on his side
with entrance hole up no blood even on his side.
I know the bullet didn't pass threw: but I could
not find any pieces either. This is why I'm now
shooting the 300gr. Barnes expanders with the new
Harvester crushrib sabot in my new Omega.

Mike Hill

Gee sorry to hear about all the bad experiances you guys had with the Power Belts. I will not add to these storys but I will say When I shot my deer with the Power Belts I quickly reloaded and the second deer came by confused not knowing where I was and I shot at it. I could have sworn I hit that deer and it really looked like it was running on 3 legs just like I hit it in the sweet spot. But after looking for about 30-50 yards with no blood I passed it off as a miss especially with all the blood from the first deer. Now I wonder I swear I hit that deer but there was no sign. Oh boy I don't want to think about it no more. Any way I'm going to keep working with the shock Waves and hopfully they will get easier to load as I break in my new Omega. As I have only put mabey 40 rounds through it. Now I will wait till the temp gets up into at least the 30s and a couple of feet of snow melts. Thanks for the comments Mike

doughboysigep

Shot my first with 50 cal 245 gr hollow points. deer went 10 yards. but there wasn't a ton of blood, but inside was a mess.

is there some reason they can't come out with a "real" bullet??? say a lead pointed bullet like most rifle cartridges or a soft nosed hollow point like pistol ammo?????? just seems to make sense to me