Why not power belts?

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hneidere

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Hey I am fairly new at this but I have been doing a ton of reading, and I see pretty much everywhere that many folks are using sabots instead of powerbelt bullets.I purchased a Accura V2 MR and have ordered a breech plug designed for Blackhorn 209, and I have plenty of Federal 209A primers. I went out and bought a bunch of Powerbelt aerolite 300 gr bullets, because that is what CVA recommended (meaning the powerbelts).

It seems to me that with the rifling in the Bergara barrels there is little difference between my muzzleloader and any other high powered rifle, so why use a sabot when you can have a bullet fully engage the rifling? I mean if sabots were better wouldn't we be using them in our high powered rifles?

I am not trying to be a smart donkey here, I am just trying to understand why it seems so many folks prefer technology that seems to be a bit dated. Is this because it simply works, is what they are used to, and therefore there is no good reason for them to change?

Also, is anyone shooting BH 209 with Powerbelt aerolite 300 gr bullets?
I was thinking of trying 100 grs of powder by volume to start, does this sound reasonable?
 
I do not use Blackhorn powder. But one of the biggest reasons shooters here do use it, is for it's power / velocity.

With Powerbelts, high velocity is the anti-power bullet. How it got power in it's name is unknown to me. Also, most of their bullet varieties are known to breakup upon impact.

Powerbelt's best frined are grains under 100, using weaker powder than Blackhorn. I recall using Powerbelts 12-13 years ago and settling somewhere between 80-90 grains (volume) of powder, for good accuracy. If I were to repurchase them, I would only consider the 348 or 405 grain sizes, then probably suggest 70-80 grains of powder.
 
BH s a progressive powder that needs a tight bullet to keep the pressure up in the barrel. It's in the load data to have a tight fitting bullet. CVA recommends power belts because they sell them. I have never had good luck with them with any powder myself.
 
Blackhorn209 powder at 100 gr by volume and Barnes 290 tez is a proven load for your rifle with outstanding accuracy and terminal performance.
 
casper said:
CVA recommends power belts because they sell them.
Click to expand...

Casper nailed it. If you were CVA, you would recommend them also...it puts more $ in your pocket.

Truth is, while they may shoot fine for many, they have a terrible reputation for terminal performance on game.
 
when you can have a bullet fully engage the rifling
Click to expand...

Not Quite. The Skirt is what obturates out and fully engages the rifling sealing the bore during fire, same as the base of a sabot though the pedals of a sabot get some engraving when loading. The bullet part of the powerbelt only rides the lands. That is why they load easy.

There are some who are working with Sabotless bullets. This is one of the newest methods for inlines. It usually requires a Swaging die that the bullet is put through to match it to the bores lands and grooves. There are some experimenting with finding a bullet that very closely matches the land to land measurement of the bore and then knurling the bullet so that it fits tight enough to shoot without sabots. Some of those use a wad or sub-base between the powder and bullet to maintain the seal.
 
hneidere said:
Hey I am fairly new at this but I have been doing a ton of reading, and I see pretty much everywhere that many folks are using sabots instead of powerbelt bullets.I purchased a Accura V2 MR and have ordered a breech plug designed for Blackhorn 209, and I have plenty of Federal 209A primers. I went out and bought a bunch of Powerbelt aerolite 300 gr bullets, because that is what CVA recommended (meaning the powerbelts).

It seems to me that with the rifling in the Bergara barrels there is little difference between my muzzleloader and any other high powered rifle, so why use a sabot when you can have a bullet fully engage the rifling? I mean if sabots were better wouldn't we be using them in our high powered rifles?

I am not trying to be a smart donkey here, I am just trying to understand why it seems so many folks prefer technology that seems to be a bit dated. Is this because it simply works, is what they are used to, and therefore there is no good reason for them to change?

Also, is anyone shooting BH 209 with Powerbelt aerolite 300 gr bullets?
I was thinking of trying 100 grs of powder by volume to start, does this sound reasonable?
Click to expand...

Hello and welcome to the forum.

In addition to what has been mentioned above, Powerbelts are expensive. Most who shoot a fair bit, like the idea of buying a few different sabots in bulk and then purchasing different bullets to try. By mixing and matching you can find the best for your gun. Your aerolites will be fine but all powerbelts have a reputation for breaking apart when contacting bone. This is especially true if you push them fast. BH 209 = fast speed. Not good for Powerbelts.

Also note that its the skirt of the PB that engages the rifling, not the bullet as with your CF guns. The skirt and the sabot do the same thing but what do you want to send down range after the combo leaves the barrel?

Having said all of that, PB have taken a ton of game over the years and the Aerolites are touted as the best yet. Shoot them with confidence and have fun but keep your options open down the road.
 
The power belt "bullet" does engage the rifling when it obturates upon firing , that's how they designed it.
 
power belts shot pretty good for me at the range pushed by 100grs of Pyrodex pellets. I was new into muzzys and didn't know about Pb's bad reputation.

Then I shot a doe with one. Never did find that doe nor any blood. If I had been using my current load of Barnes bullets, she wouldn't have gone far.
 
Powerbelts, especially the copper clad bullets have a bad reputation for fragmenting on impact when pushed by more than 80gr ( by volume ) The Aerolite is a better bullet & there have been very good results using 100-110gr of BH209. That doesn't mean I would make them my first choice. You are paying more for those bullets than you do for Barnes or maybe Lehigh as well & The Aerolite can't even come close to comparing to either of these bullets

My feeling is this. If you're going to invest the time & the money to hunt, continue that investment with what you shoot from your gun. Besides, you owe it to the game you hunt, Greg
 
GregK said:
Powerbelts, especially the copper clad bullets have a bad reputation for fragmenting on impact when pushed by more than 80gr ( by volume ) The Aerolite is a better bullet & there have been very good results using 100-110gr of BH209. That doesn't mean I would make them my first choice. You are paying more for those bullets than you do for Barnes or maybe Lehigh as well & The Aerolite can't even come close to comparing to either of these bullets

My feeling is this. If you're going to invest the time & the money to hunt, continue that investment with what you shoot from your gun. Besides, you owe it to the game you hunt, Greg
Click to expand...

hneidere

What GregK said is exactly on base... the only thing I would change is to add the all-lead PB right after the especially...

I will admit they shoot great and they do and will work but you will need to keep your powder charges down to prevent the bullet from spreading lead all over ESPECIALLY if you hit a major bone.

I have said for years they really are nothing more the elongated lead balls. If you choose to use these bullets I really use the heavier versions like the 348 grain PB

If you do not want to shoot sabots then you might look at the Thor bullet or the Hornady FPB bullet - both of these are real bullets.
 
casper said:
BH s a progressive powder that needs a tight bullet to keep the pressure up in the barrel. It's in the load data to have a tight fitting bullet. CVA recommends power belts because they sell them. I have never had good luck with them with any powder myself.
Click to expand...


:think: :think: The price might come down some if all of use Fisherman weren't buying them to melt down for fishing jigs, :poke:
 
sqezer said:
casper said:
BH s a progressive powder that needs a tight bullet to keep the pressure up in the barrel. It's in the load data to have a tight fitting bullet. CVA recommends power belts because they sell them. I have never had good luck with them with any powder myself.
Click to expand...


:think: :think: The price might come down some if all of use Fisherman weren't buying them to melt down for fishing jigs, :poke:
Click to expand...


 
PB's have been around a long time at one time they were considered a good bullet.
Because of the guns they were designed for and the loads used then they work in a usable fashion with 50 to 75 grains of Black or Pyrodex when you use a more potent load than that they will some times blow up on the surface I have experienced that with a 100 grain load of Pyrodex.
Besides not being up to the loads and powders most of use now the price is horrendous for an unjacketed bullet with an out of date design. But those who can not understand the problems they sometimes cause still pay that price and if they hunt at relatively short distance with light loads they will get away with using them most of the time.
Now if you really like that style of bullet there is a new all copper sabot less bullet on the market that is getting very good reports and has good terminal ballistics with all normal loads so look around before you make up your mind about any of them.
 
Squeeze said:
Lol top secret bullet grouper. But I CAN say, the guys with a lanyard on a hammer are not guys who swing a hammer very often :D
Click to expand...

Hammer has been that way since the 70's. It was used in a boat to knock sense into a 30# salmon. The lanyard was so that some knucklehead didn't have the hammer fly out of his hand, into 200' of water in Lake Michigan. Kinda like putting a lanyard on an ice spud. :wink:
 
Powerbelts have way more success than failure. It just happens that hunters have selective memory, and only remember the failures.

I'm not saying that PB's can't fail when everything is done right, but I think the majority of failures are hunter error.

Of course there's no getting around they're over priced.
 
You will NOT find another bullet with such a poor reputation for reliability than a PB. PERIOD.

It doesn't matter what forum, what web page, or a simple search on Google, to find way to many horror stories to be only "shooter error".

Anyone that wants to get rid of them, send them to me. They make good snap weights to get lures down to suspended fish.
 
I never said all were shooter error.

It does make you wonder how one guy can kill a bull elk every year with a 295gr PB, and another one can't kill a 75lb doe.

Just saying.
 

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