2006HighSierra

Thnaks, I'll check into that this weekend when I go to BassPro. I know I tried some of the SST and Shockwaves the dealer recommended to me and gave up trying to load them. I mean my powerbelts with 90grof loose Triple 7are getting 1.5" grouping at 75 yards but if that can be improved upon then I'll try it.

gleason.chapman

I am getting this with a SW with the supplied sabot at 92.5 yards:

http://www.the-gleasons.com/TC_Shockwave_300g_2007_06_02_AA5744_44g_FederalPri mer_default%20sabot.jpg

Now I have NEVER done that before in my life, but I am getting 2" groups at about 100 yards with Crushed rib sabots in my Savage 10 ML with a Hornady XTP and a Speer Gold Dot. Tight sabot is critical for accuracy, but not "too tight" and I know you know exactly what that means, cause I could NOT get 300g SSTs or SW down my Knight or Omega ML without a hammer. Chap

gleason.chapman

HighSierra
I am on a business trip to Cinn Ohio right now and last Sunday I visited the Creation Museum, www.creationmuseum.org. You have gotta see it, most excellent. It is a walk thru Earth History with evicence of God's creation, not evolution or millions of years.

In Christ, Chap Gleason
www.answersingenesis.org

o2bebowhunting

chapman and cayguard(or anybody)--what are your opinions of using 223gr powerbelts as opposed to using 250-300 gr bullets? do lighter rounds perform better on deer? im probably going to shoot 100gr pyrodex. most of my shots are under 75 yards. im open for any suggestions--im no bp ballistic freak.

frontier gander

245 + is best for deer. Im shooting a .45 this year with a 225 grain powerbelt but i know my limits and where to place the shot. But with a 50cal like you have, i think thats to light of a bullet. I'd take a look at the 295s on up.

oldrookie

From what I have read here and the fact that a long shot here in Indiana is a 100 yards, I am sticking with 300g for deer season. I get better groups from my optima with 300g vs 250 as well.

Chap....I am giving the shockwaves a try tomorrow with their yellow sabots. If mine groups like yours did in that pic....I might have some xtps for sale! Nice shooting there!

gleason.chapman

No, the lighter bullets fly further and flatter but don't penetrate as well as a heavier bullet (throw a golf ball vs a ping pong ball into a snow bank, which one goes deeper into the snow?---same idea for bullets, heavier go deeper even if they are slower) Also the slow bullets with heavy weight don't tend toget off course as the lighter bullets with windand are therefore usually more accurate. Most people feel that the 240 to 260g bullet are perfect size for deer. I believe they are fine for regular size deer, but for "big boys" that are mature and muscular I think a heavier bullet is better, that is why I prefer to shoot 300g instead of the traditional 250g. I also like the fact that most 300g shoot thru deer leaving a great blood trail. These are my preferences only for the weight of the bullet. Chap Gleason

gleason.chapman

Like I said, I have never shot that well in my life with any gun at even 25 yards let alone 92.5 yards and I honesly was surprised myself. I know those SW/SST are accurate bullets even in my Omega and Kight:

http://www.the-gleasons.com/tcshockwave300g.htm

but a few years ago they did NOT have all the thin petal sabots that are on the market now, so I believe you can choose a sabot and a bullet combo you want now and get a great shooting load by "working the sabot and the load". My strategy was 'stay close to what the manufacturer' recommended, and that worked. Chap

cayugad

I've yet to shoot a deer with a powerbelt of any size. I have hunted with them, but never had an opportunity. Just my luck I guess. If your shots are under 75 yards, I would shoot a 300 grains anything, like a Shockwave or even XTP and that should plant a whitetail pretty easy. The heavy bullet will blow right through and if put in the right place, excellent vital organ damage and blood trails. ALTHOUGH.. shoot what is most accurate. If the powerbelt is the most accurate projectile then use that and put it in the right place. I never even shot a 223 powerbelt. I have shot a lot of 245 grain and they shoot great. Sorry I could not help you more.

gleason.chapman

O2beBowHunting,
I agree with Cayugad, shoot what is accurate in your gun, PB, XTP, SW, SST, Barnes whatever. Shot placement kill's first, then penetration then expansion. The logic is, a poorly placed shot will not kill and poorly placed is affected by accuracy---so a 6" group leads more likely to poor shot placement, a 3" group at 100 yards leads to good shoot placement and a 1.5" group at 100 yards leads to excellent shot placement---so groups should be as small as possible given your rifle. A shot that does not penetrate adequately will NOT kill, so usuallypeopleused jacketed bullets over solid lead to compensate for that, the better the bonding of the jacket to the leadthe better the bullet holds together. A bullet that fragments CAN kill, butMAY not get into the vitals, so usually people want bullets that nearly hold their entire weight together. A bullet that does NOT expand can kill, but most people like expanding bullets since it leaves a larger wound channel, therefore more blood lost and vital organs damaged. Your looking for the "jello look" inside the chest cavity of the deer, that is expansion producing large wound channel. So putting this logic together, the higher weight PBs 338 and higherhold together better than the lower weight and penetrate better than the lower weight, but a stronger jacket on a different bullet like a 300g Gold Dot or a Nosler Partitionor a 300g Barnes or 300g bonded SW will penetrate even better and hold together better than a 295g PB. So if PBs are the most accurate in your gun, go with the higher wt PBbullets but don't sacrifice accuracy. The only place I sacrifice accuracy is bullet design, with a higher ballistic coefficient, so you get a further shooting flattershooting bullet, but I will only give up an inch for flatter shooting.Many will disagree with what I have said above because they love a particular bullet and will NOT shoot anything different, or like a particular load and will not go to loose powder, so their convictionkeeps them from finding an accurate combination in their gun.These of course are my opinions only,and are based on my experienceand reading. Chap