awhile back I bought an optima v2. and then I bought a bunch of bullets, from a forum member from here,, mostly with sabots but some other sabots. I also bought some bullets and sabots of my own. all to do some load development. been shooting several different times. on my last shooting I tried a blister pack of powerboats. 348 gr. (green plastic). i loaded it the same as i have any other but this time after squeezing trigger there is a hesitation then bang. so i thought the flash channel needed cleaned with the drill bit. so i did. loaded another one up. did the exact same thing. I have shot probably about 80 shots all with different combos of bullets and sabots and have had NO other problems with any other bullets or sabot combos. any ideas why there was a problem shooting the powerbelts and no problems with any others? thanks for your time.
powerbelt
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I probably wasn't going to use them to hunt with, but I had them so I thought I'd shoot them. I had another type of powerbelts and they didn't do it. whatever it is its only related to those particular powerbelts. I've probably shot over 15 combinations of other bullets/ sabots and no problem with any others.
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You may need to use a hotter primer - possibly a CCI or Federal Mag primer.
Plus make sure you are getting the PB down tight on the powder.
And yes there are better bullets - much better bullets.
it just seemed very odd that happened. thought somebody would know the reason that happened. it could be the primers. but i didn't have that happen to all the other combo of bullet/sabots I shot. I have a few loads I can kill deer with so I think i will shoot them. thanks for all your input. I've been enjoying the shooting and working up a load. just trying to learn what could have caused that. thanks again for all your input!
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more then likely the bullet wasnt getting a good seal, powerbelts usually go down barrel very easily in most rifles.. Even though you were seating bullet hard still might be a gap to where gases are escaping, just my 2 cents.
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Do you have any wads? I'd be curious if a poly, veggie, or wool wad would seal it enough so that wouldn't happen.
I dont have any wads to try. Dowling, u might b right about seal. I do know at least a few bullets went down easier than the powerbelts. I felt that when I used the crush rib sabots that I got the best groups, even though they went down easier than most others.
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I have two packs of 24 Barnes T-EZ 250gr i'll sell you. They won't do it and you can't find a better bullet to hunt with.
I'm switching to Thor bullets so i'm legal in muzzleloader and rifle seasons in my state. I agree the Powerbelts were too loose a fit to use BH 209. They fail at killing too. Throw them away.
I'm switching to Thor bullets so i'm legal in muzzleloader and rifle seasons in my state. I agree the Powerbelts were too loose a fit to use BH 209. They fail at killing too. Throw them away.
I rarely post on this forum, but this post brought me back for a post.
Most people do not realize that Blackhorn 209 is NOT a black powder or a
derivative of a black powder. Blacikhorn 209 is a Nitro based powder that
is a much slower burning powder than other Nitro based powders. It burns
at a much slower rate, and REQUIRES PRESSURE to burn and become a
good propellant.
BL 209 will not be a good propellant, UNLESS your projectile has enough
pressure against the barrel to create this pressure when the BL209 is
ignited. Power Belts are extremely poor for this type of propellant. They
are way to loose in the barrel. Chances are, that in some guns, it may not ignite at all.
Why? because the primers ignition force may move your projectile far
enough down the barrel to where the BH209 will not ignite at all.
Your powerbelts are good, your problem lies in the type of powder
you use behind the type of projectile you are using.
This also is the reason why your other Sabots work like they should. . .
they are a much tighter fit down the barrel, which allows the Nitro
based powder to ignite under pressure.
Nitro based powders. . .the more pressure the better and faster
the ignition of the charge. It is also the reason why they burn
much slower than BP when uncontained.
Dwayne
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carlnniki2006
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I’ve had no issues with power belt 250gr aerotips from my Accura PR . They’ve performed flawlessly for me at the range and in the field. Quick, accurate, long and short distance kills . What are the reasons for the negativity on PowerBelts here?
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Not everyone is neg on them. I like them. I believe that if you push them too fast they grenade or pass thru. They are essentially a lead conical that can be shot fast with no leading because they are "plated" not truly jacketed. I shoot them at slower speeds like a pure lead bullet and they are great. But they are pricey. And there are better bullets in their price range that can be shot hotter and still perform well.
