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Post by budd on Dec 9, 2011 8:53:47 GMT -5
Have always used powerbelt bullets here and they have worked for us but I just bought my 12 year old son a new T/C Prohunter for Christmas and was wandering if there are better bullets out there for him to use. He hunts deer and bear with his gun and the two bear he killed and handfull I have killed with muzzleloaders has been with the powerbelts and they performed well.
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Post by swilk on Dec 9, 2011 9:12:36 GMT -5
"Best bullet" is about like asking which best truck. Or prettiest girl. Or best place to hunt.
Gonna get a lot of opinions.
And here is my opinion .... if I shot a black powder sub gun I would shoot the Hornady XTP out of a black MMP sabot.
I would not shoot any of the pre-packaged bullet/sabots that are sold.
By the way .... heck of a nice gift for the young man.
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Post by esshup on Dec 9, 2011 9:17:45 GMT -5
I've bounced between 250g SST's and 300/350g Barnes "X" bullets in my .50 depending on what I was shooting at. This year for deer I'm using the 325g Hornady FTX bullet in my .50. I haven't gotten the Barnes 195g bullet dialed in for my .45.
Your results will probably be different than mine - I shoot smokeless in my Savage ML-I and ML-II.
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Post by swilk on Dec 9, 2011 9:17:58 GMT -5
I guess I neglected the why part in my answer.
Why I would not shoot any of the pre-packaged stuff out there. Inconsistency. You never know when they will change sabots .... or slight bullet changes for that matter. If you buy direct from a manufacturer like MMP or Harvester you pretty much know what you are getting every single time. Same for the bullets.
Price .... you pay a premium for buying the pre-packaged stuff. When you buy separate components you literally get twice as much bang for your buck.
XTP bullets .... usually are accurate no matter the gun. Deliver good on game performance from typical MZ ranges and velocities.
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Post by swilk on Dec 9, 2011 9:19:28 GMT -5
I've bounced between 250g SST's and 300/350g Barnes "X" bullets in my .50 depending on what I was shooting at. This year for deer I'm using the 325g Hornady FTX bullet in my .50. I haven't gotten the Barnes 195g bullet dialed in for my .45. Your results will probably be different than mine - I shoot smokeless in my Savage ML-I and ML-II. Out of smokeless guns my answers would change dramatically. |
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Post by budd on Dec 9, 2011 10:10:35 GMT -5
"Best bullet" By the way .... heck of a nice gift for the young man. Thanks for the info and yes it is a heck of a gun but for a heck of a kid. Every Christmas for the last 8 years we have gotten him a gun, now I figure I can just get him barrels  . Here is last years bear and this years bear he killed with a OLD youth knight rifle.   |
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Post by Woody Williams on Dec 9, 2011 10:39:45 GMT -5
Budd,
That looks like a Knight T-5. It was the forerunner of the Wolverine.
First inline I owned...
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Post by 45smokepole on Dec 9, 2011 10:45:46 GMT -5
if you are lloking for a great bullet at a reasonable price, go with the Speers deep curl, cant beat it!! www.speer-bullets.com/ballistics/detail.aspx?id=142Bullet removed from deer. nephew shot it, at a quartering toward shot. entered in front shoulder and travelled thru deer and found in rear ham on opposite side.    |
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Post by MuzzleLoader on Dec 9, 2011 11:04:06 GMT -5
Hornady SST 250 gr Why, cause it blows holes in them.
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Post by hornharvester on Dec 9, 2011 13:58:07 GMT -5
Any bullet that shoots accurate out of the gun is the best bullet. All bullets kill its the placement of the shot that counts. If you are having good luck with PB then i wouldnt change. h.h.
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Post by schoolmaster on Dec 9, 2011 14:35:11 GMT -5
I shoot the Barnes Expanders. Smash bone, through and through penetration.
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Post by oneshot on Dec 9, 2011 15:36:23 GMT -5
My Omega likes 250gr. Shockwaves. Drops deer if hit in the scapula, pulverizes lungs & destroys heart tissue leaving massive but short blood trails.
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Post by DEERTRACKS on Dec 9, 2011 15:42:47 GMT -5
Hornady XTP. Great accuracy, expansion, & knockdown power.
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Post by parson on Dec 9, 2011 16:06:13 GMT -5
Once I started using in-lines, XTPs are all that I have used. Never had any reason to try others. I'm sure that there are other great bullets available, but these have always been accurate and have performed well for me.
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Post by budd on Dec 9, 2011 16:36:24 GMT -5
"Best bullet" is about like asking which best truck. Or prettiest girl. Or best place to hunt. Gonna get a lot of opinions. Ha ha... Ya weren't kidding. I appritiate all the replies and think I'll play with a few differant loads and rounds till we find one that shoots well from the gun. I must say all bear we have shot with the PB's has been clean threw but one, entered in the chest and laying just under hide near the pooper. Hardly deformed at all. (295 areotip) Would have like to have seen more expansion. |
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Post by swilk on Dec 9, 2011 17:02:39 GMT -5
I believe that is a common complaint with the PB bullets ..... poor expansion. Kind of makes sense given the nature of their design ... they are made to expand to bore size at powder ignition. If they were to soft I bet they would deform greatly during that time.
But then again ... dead is dead.
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Post by crisiscowboy on Dec 11, 2011 1:52:32 GMT -5
My Omega likes 250gr. Shockwaves. Drops deer if hit in the scapula, pulverizes lungs & destroys heart tissue leaving massive but short blood trails. My Winchester Apex loves them as well and after trying about a dozen different ones the shockwave non bonded with the black sabot grouped best. I love the fact that they do tremendous damage. I also hunted for one year with Hornady hollow points and had good accuracy but very poor performance when it counted. so I will stick with the shockwaves which I believe are the same as the sst? |
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Post by HuntMeister on Dec 11, 2011 9:35:49 GMT -5
My vote would be for the Barnes if you gun shoots them well. Ultimately I feel it comes down to what your gun shoots best.
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Post by single_shooter on Dec 12, 2011 23:11:46 GMT -5
We used the XTP 240gr for years but have now switched to the PR Bullet Dead Center 240gr.
The wife loved the XTP because we never really had to track a deer after it was hit(properly hit)
The PR Dead Center bullets do an even better job and we have had better accuracy at longer ranges with these bullets. Plus, not having a copper jacket they expand really really well. Every deer we have shot with these have a chest full of jell-o when we field dress them.
2 years ago I dropped a doe in her tracks at 215 yards. But in a previous year the wife dropped a doe at 168 yards using the XTP.
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Post by dsayer on Dec 15, 2011 17:06:24 GMT -5
I shoot a .54 cal T/C Maxiball for elk (discontinued, but I have 60 of them stashed away for whenever I get a chance) because they're huge (430 gr) and penetrate really well.
I shoot patch and ball for deer and practice because it's cheap, highly accurate out of my 1:48 twist, plenty of knockdown power for deer, and is just more fun for me personally.
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