Powerbelt Bullets
 Powerbelt bullets are the answer to all my muzzleloading problems. I have been trying to find the right bullet/powder/sabot combination for the last few years and I have finally found the
answer. Trash the sabot and shoot the new Powerbelt Bullets.
After buying a new Remington 700 MLS 50 caliber rifle a few years ago, I naturally wanted to
shoot sabots and lots of Pyrodex to get flat shooting, hard hitting loads. I started with 100 grains
of Pyrodex and a 44 caliber, 240 grain Hornady pistol bullet in a plastic sabot. The rifle shot
pretty good but the more I shot it the worse the accuracy got. I cleaned it and cleaned it again but I would not feel comfortable shooting past 50 yards with it.
Then the real fun started when I switched to Pyrodex pellets. The bullets started flying all over
the place and the sabots were being ripped to shreds. I changed to MAGNUM sabots (who ever heard of such a thing?) and things
got a little better, but not good enough. I was ready to sell the Remington and buy a new rifle, but fortunately saw O'neill Williams' TV show on black powder hunting before I made the change. O'neill is a pretty straight shooter, (with advise or a
muzzleloader), so based on his recommendation, I tried some Powerbelt Bullets.
Powerbelt bullets are made expressly for muzzleloaders. The Aero Tip bullets look like big fat Nosler BallisticTip rifle bullets with
a plastic gas check on the base. Powerbelts have a thin copper jacket and come in .45, .50 and .54 caliber. Each caliber has
several choices of weights. One thing that is not readily apparent is that the slug is slightly under size for the bore and very easy to
load. There is much less resistance felt when loading a Powerbelt than a sabot load. The company says the bullet actually
expands when fired to fill the riffling of the barrel. I don't understand all the engineering, but I can tell you it works. They are very
accurate and that streamlined design retains energy for hard hitting power.
My Remington 700 will shoot Powerbelts into 2" groups at 100 yards. Nothing has ever come close to that accuracy before. The Powerbelt web site has lots more info and lists all the available bullet weights
for each caliber. And for Ballistics Junkies like me, they have provided ballistics tables for all the bullets.
To give you an idea of how well these little beauties perform, a .50 caliber 245 grain Aero Tip backed by
150 grains of Pyrodex will have over 1000 foot pounds of energy at 200 yards!! Sighted in for a 150 yard
zero, the trajectory is only 2.25" high at 100 yards and only 5.8" at low at 200 yards. Click here for Powerbelt Ballistic Data.
I can't say enough about how well they shoot and can't wait to get out in the woods this fall. I have total confidence in the
Powerbelts and my old Remington. No doubt about it, this combo can put the venison on the table this year. Good hunting,
Chester
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