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Newbie Question #3786906
11/13/22 03:39 PM
11/13/22 03:39 PM
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 108
Jackson, al
H
having fun now Offline OP
3 point
having fun now  Offline OP
3 point
H
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 108
Jackson, al
I have a CVA optima V2. Using power belt 295 gr bullets. They load fine and group great at 100 yds. Want to try sabots and bought some 250 gr Barnes tmz buckets and some black hph 24 sabots and blackhorn 209 powder. I’m having a terrible time trying to get bullets down the barrel and group is probably 3+ inches at 100 yds. Barrel is clean when trying to load. May just keep using the power belts but most people hate them for deer. Marginal blood trails if any at all. Seems hard to believe if you hit one with that kinda slug though. Any suggestions on a different sabot or bullet.
Thanks

Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3786949
11/13/22 04:54 PM
11/13/22 04:54 PM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,916
Wetumpka
deerhunter_1 Offline
8 point
deerhunter_1  Offline
8 point
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,916
Wetumpka
I’ve been using 295 power belt hollow points(no tip) ever since buying an Omega almost twenty years ago. You are right about a lack of a blood trail as I rarely get a pass through. But I’ve never missed one and never trailed one more than 30-40 yards. They mushroom to about the size of a 50 cent piece. 30+ deer over the years. Thought about changing but if it ain’t broke, no need to fix it.


The LORD is Good.... All the Time....
Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3786963
11/13/22 05:02 PM
11/13/22 05:02 PM
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 108
Jackson, al
H
having fun now Offline OP
3 point
having fun now  Offline OP
3 point
H
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 108
Jackson, al
Good to hear that. I really like the way they group and are much more simple than bh 209 and sabots. Trying to decide if muzzleloader is for me. A lot of work with cleaning and all the stuff to keep up with.

Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3786998
11/13/22 05:35 PM
11/13/22 05:35 PM
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 5,082
F L A
T
Tree Dweller Offline
12 point
Tree Dweller  Offline
12 point
T
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 5,082
F L A
[Linked Image]

Powerbelt "Aerolite". Load easy and shoot great.

Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3787051
11/13/22 06:25 PM
11/13/22 06:25 PM
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 14,561
Tuscaloosa Co.
N
N2TRKYS Offline
Booner
N2TRKYS  Offline
Booner
N
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 14,561
Tuscaloosa Co.
I used Powerbelts for years. I had great blood trails with mine. The only time I didn’t get a pass through was when I shot bucks head on.


83% of all statistics are made up.

Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3787138
11/13/22 07:49 PM
11/13/22 07:49 PM
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,530
Al
B
Broadhead26 Offline
8 point
Broadhead26  Offline
8 point
B
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,530
Al
I had the same issue with the TMZ’s in my optima.

I went with TEZ’s and it was a lot better.

Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3787554
11/14/22 12:00 PM
11/14/22 12:00 PM
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,879
Lauderdale County
Cousneddy Offline
8 point
Cousneddy  Offline
8 point
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,879
Lauderdale County
I killed 5 deer in one season with powerbelts, don’t push them too fast. They are basically a soft lead bullet.

Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3787887
11/14/22 08:13 PM
11/14/22 08:13 PM
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 10,311
northport
deadeye48 Offline
Booner
deadeye48  Offline
Booner
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 10,311
northport
Buy some 300 grain Harvester Scorpions with the crush rib washer and forget about anything Powerbelt
Push those with 100-110 grains of BH209
You’ll thank me later


When I need expert advice I tend to talk to myself
The older I get the better I used to be
Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3787994
11/14/22 09:57 PM
11/14/22 09:57 PM
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,433
Bama
B
Bulls eye Offline
10 point
Bulls eye  Offline
10 point
B
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,433
Bama
My power belts never grouped consistently. Switched to the Hornady sabots and zeroed in quickly.

Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3820120
12/23/22 03:51 PM
12/23/22 03:51 PM
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 108
Jackson, al
H
having fun now Offline OP
3 point
having fun now  Offline OP
3 point
H
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 108
Jackson, al
Bought some 300 grain harvester scorpion bullets and black crush rib sabots with 100 gr of bh 209 powder. Shot great and load much easier. Shout out to the harvester rep who was nice enough to recommend these and even sent 5 bullets and Sabots to try. Great customer service.

Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3830195
01/04/23 04:54 PM
01/04/23 04:54 PM
Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 31
Birmingham, AL, USA
S
staticflownut Offline
spike
staticflownut  Offline
spike
S
Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 31
Birmingham, AL, USA
I like the Barnes Expander Spitfire MZ 285 grain bullets. They are harder to load than the powerbelts but they blow right through deer. I'm not sure if they still make them though. I haven't seen them in a while.

I definitely recommend using a solid copper hollow-point bullet though. Better for the blood trails.

Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3830473
01/04/23 09:47 PM
01/04/23 09:47 PM
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 6,876
Shelby Co, AL
CatHeadBiscuit Offline
14 point
CatHeadBiscuit  Offline
14 point
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 6,876
Shelby Co, AL
I’ve slowly picked about a 100 of the .50 powerbelts over the past few years. I picked up the Knight vision that was on sale in November. I just slipped an old Tasco World class scope on it the other day with some new weaver rings. It will probably be in the spring before it gets zeroed in. There’s a box of 60gr and a box of 30gr pyrodex pellets too. I hope I can work up a 90 or 120 grain powder load that is tight.

Most of the defenders of powerbelts seem to indicate their sweet spot for accuracy is in the 80 to 125 gr load range.


"Arguing on the internet is like playing chess with a pigeon. You may be good at chess, but the pigeon is just going to knock all the pieces down, take a crap on the table, and strut around like its victorious."--Anonymous
Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3830585
01/05/23 07:27 AM
01/05/23 07:27 AM
Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 31
Birmingham, AL, USA
S
staticflownut Offline
spike
staticflownut  Offline
spike
S
Joined: Jan 2023
Posts: 31
Birmingham, AL, USA
I have shot 4 deer with the powerbelts and two 50g pellets and never had a pass through. All were broadside shots too. They certainly group nice and are easy to load in my rifle though.

Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3959319
08/16/23 06:38 PM
08/16/23 06:38 PM
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 8,914
Between the coosa and cahaba
!
!shiloh! Offline
14 point
!shiloh!  Offline
14 point
!
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 8,914
Between the coosa and cahaba
I picked up a nice optima LR a few weeks back. Ive been enjoying tinkering around with different powder and bullet combinations. I shot several different powerbelts ,hornady xtp and remington accu tips. All 250 gr. The aerolites don't load or shoot worth a crap but everything else has had good groups and been easy to load. The solid copper powerbelts had the best groups. I've yet to shoot a deer with a powerbelt but the interweb is full of folks saying powerbelts suck. I'd prefer to get pass throughs every shot so I'm thinking about trying some of the hornady 330 gr elr's or federal bore drivers if I can get my hands on some.


ggg
Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3959381
08/16/23 08:09 PM
08/16/23 08:09 PM
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 12,859
In a Van, down by the River
quailman Offline
Booner
quailman  Offline
Booner
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 12,859
In a Van, down by the River
Powerbelts are very accurate bullets. Their performance after the hit is what I don't like. Always have to go look for the deer. If you can get yor smokepole to shoot XTP's, they'll drop a deer before the bullet even gets there.

Last edited by quailman; 08/16/23 08:10 PM.

Life is a journey. Make sure and bring plenty of Beer.

My luck has been so bad lately, it could be raining pussies and I'd catch one with a dick broke off in it.
Re: Newbie Question [Re: having fun now] #3960341
08/18/23 08:51 AM
08/18/23 08:51 AM
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 665
Huntsville
T
thayerp81 Offline
4 point
thayerp81  Offline
4 point
T
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 665
Huntsville
I tried some power belts and had decent accuracy but I’m not crazy about their penetration, or lack of at high velocity. I’ve had the best luck with XTP’s in crusher rib sabots. The crusher rib load the easiest of any sabot I’ve ever used (though definitely as easy as a power belt) and give excellent accuracy. I also always get great results with Lee R.E.A.L. Bullets. They load easy, hit hard and are very accurate but to my knowledge they are not commercially available and you have to mold your own.

Last edited by thayerp81; 08/18/23 08:51 AM.

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