are powerbelts any good on deer

[Ninering62]

i have 300 grain barne expanders mz hollow point.

That’s a far far better choice than any PB

 

[mm106807]

I can’t speak for all power belts but the 405 grain hollow point PB is very good on deer and Elk. I used 95 grains of pyrodex RS. Out of the many deer and Elk I harvested with them none went more than 50 yards. There are a lot of bullet choices out there. My Hawken shot the above load very accurately.

 

[Felonious]

I've had mixed experience with Powderbelts. I shoot a CVA optima V2, and some of the power belts slide down the barrel with almost no resistance, and others are hard to get in at all, even within the same package. The 295's seem to fit my gun pretty well, and I'm able to get decent 200 yd accuracy from them.

I have yet to hit a deer with one, but based on the target damage, it would definitely take down a deer.

 

[BigJames16]

I use the 250gr Aerolites in an old Traditions sidelock. I'm not pushing them very hard though, 80gr of Pyrodex RS gets them to about 1475fps at the muzzle, shot one critter with them, got a pass through on a coyote at about 100yds, 50 caliber entry, 2" exit. Probably wouldn't use them on anything bigger than deer.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

Like others have expressed, I've had lots of mixed experiences with Power Belts many years ago. I switched back over to SST's and Shockwaves. They were a little bit better. I have had nothing but good experiences with the Barnes 250 and 290 TEZ's.
Deer usually drop in their tracks with two holes, with no grenading and very minimal meat damage if any.

 

[MrTom]

When powerbelts first came out I thought maybe they were the answer to all my shooting issues. As some have implied, they may work well on deer but they may also do what fully half here suggest.... they blow up before getting the job done. They do print nice on paper but it's the scattered reviews that made me switch to other components that have proven to be much better in terminal terms as well as on the pocket book. I like my Barnes XPBs and the way the Fury Star Tips shoot and being a bonded bullet the Fury will likely behave as well.

 

[jeffpenland123]

Or just shoot a Barnes 300 Expander with whatever powder you want. You won't have to worry about the bullet, just getting the volume/weight of powder or how many pellets to use right.

i can get 80 100 and 120 charges i think theyll shoot pretty good with the 100-120 i dont know for the 80

 

[jeffpenland123]

That’s a far far better choice than any PB

yeah i also have the traditions smakdown carinovore. and the traditions tpf hunter with is made by horandy and thet tpfs are close to the 240 grain hollowpoints wich i think are the horandy xtps

 

[Mike3888]

I made a comment about the 245 grain seemed to splat. I knew I had a recovered one to show. Other 3 were recovered xtp bullets.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I made a comment about the 245 grain seemed to splat. I knew I had a recovered one to show. Other 3 were recovered xtp bullets.

So, i would have called that good expansion. It looks nearly doubled in diameter. I would say it was just a little bit too fast tho, because of its uneven expansion, could have hit a bone or something tho. What distance was the deer and what powder load did you use with it?

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I made a comment about the 245 grain seemed to splat. I knew I had a recovered one to show. Other 3 were recovered xtp bullets.

The XTPs look maxed out too, imho.

 

[Dieselden454]

Like All The guys said PB's grenade to easy ! I use Harvester PT Golds ,Very Accurate And Stay Together !

 

[Mike3888]

So, i would have called that good expansion. It looks nearly doubled in diameter. I would say it was just a little bit too fast tho, because of its uneven expansion, could have hit a bone or something tho. What distance was the deer and what powder load did you use with it?

Phewww I wish I could remember all of that, I know the powder charge was 90 of pyrodex.That’s what shot the best in my Knight. Distance was inside 80 yards and probably all shoulder shot. Back then that was my preferred shot on big eastern shore bucks. As far as the power belt yeah it’s flat but it’s probably only as thick as an index card and probably doesn’t weigh very much..

 

[jeffpenland123]

I have to add that the opinion in my post is based on shooting these little 100-150 pound Florida deer. Getting good bullet performance on a larger 200+ pound northern deer might be totally different. I have not used them but I hear better things about the newer all lead and the all copper variants.

the deer i shoot are 100-200 pound north carolina deer