I asked a question a while back about bullets and the answer was to get belt mountain bullets
all the links and searches i've tries came up blank is belt mountain still in business

I have only used their base pins, not their bullets. Didn't know they made 'em.
Sorry. Peter.

Kelye is currently in the process of putting together a new website. I'm not sure when it will be up.

thank you

he is shipping if you get ahold of him by phone. He just sent me two base pins and some punch bullets.

Lloyd, in what calibers and weights have you used Punch bullets? I would really love to try them out.

.512s .476 452 459 and 430 I think he makes a 501 too. they absoultley outperform any bullet ive tried for pentration and not just by a little. be prepared to warm up your credit card though. Most of the ones ive shot have been given to my buddy Al by kelly to do testing for him with. These 44s i just got are going to have to kill something though. I just got a 3.5 inch roundbutted redhawk back from dustin linebaugh and those 300s are going to be a match made in heaven for that gun.

The punch bullets look to be VERRY deep penetrators in 45-70 and if Whitworth and I are on the same page the 454casull should sling them with authority. Please Post or PM a contact# I have been looking for some info for some time.

Where do you folks think these monsters would be best used?

I don't think there is a limitation to these bullets from all I have heard and read. Where would they be best used?? Anywhere and on anything, I would think!! Yes indeed I would like to try them in my Casull, Rex Rat! I would also love to try 'em in my .475. But, I think they are two bucks a pop!

a user here put a 50 alaskan levergun to the test with punch bullets on an elephant...

Punch bullets 1
Elephant 0

Boomy, was it Yukon Delta?

yup

Here is the link the link to Elephant taken with 50 Alaskan and Punch bullets

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6321043/m/560100986

The belt mountain site appears to be back up and runnig.

Belt Mountain's web site is indeed back up and runing

http://www.beltmountain.com/

heres a little article about some testing with them http://www.leverguns.com/articles/beltmountain.htm

this is a testimonial i wrote a while back.


I know im not a famous man like John Taffin or Jim Taylor. Im just an average shooter like many of you reading this. I dont want to address belt mountain base pins as anyone that knows anything about single action handguns allready knows there value. What i want to address is his punch bullets.

Although i still havent had the oppertunity to take game with them. Ive been involved just about from the start with testing them. My buddy Al Anderson is a freind of Kelyes and one of the most knowlegable handgunners and loaders in the country has been testing for kelly all the way through the process and ive been fortunate enough to be involved in alot of it.

For those who havent tried them your missing out on what i consider the finest handgun bullet made.

These bullets are hand turned brass bullets that have a swadged lead core and a very minicule hp in the metplat. Kelly had tried a few differnt designs and varitations and fianally came up with this one and it works. The brass body of the bullet is about immune to any kind of deformation even when hitting the hardest bone. This allows for dead staight and deep penetration and any handgunner

worth his salt knows that its penetration that is the main recipe in a handgun for performance.

A cast bullet penetrates well because of a few things. First by design a good cast hunting bullet has a flat meplat that allows some shock to be transmitted to the animal and designs like lfns and swc have allways been the best at doing this. Kellys bullet is of the lfn design and it works. Another thing that a bullet with a flat metplat does is penetrate straight. What is the biggest factor in making a bullet that will penetrate optimumly is keeping if from deforming. Any riviting, mushrooming or fractures in a cast bullet will dramatically reduce penetration and keyles combination of a super strong brass bullet with a lead core which gives it a better ballance for accuracy and weight for penetration holds it shape in the most brutal penetration testing.

We have pounded these bullets into very heavy bone, hardwood and flesh and wet print and ive yet to see one that was recovered that couldnt be loaded again. The only sign these bullets show of being shot is the rifling egraved on the sides. Be advised though that if you think your going to buy some and reuse them that its a rare incidense when one is recovered. They penetrate that well.

In the testing weve done they will usually show about a 30 percent increase in penetration over the best cast bullets. Another nice benefit of them is that where a cast bullet made from any alloy has a limit in how fast you can push it before the velocity is counterproductive. If the bullet is to soft it will rivit or mushroom and if its to hard it will fracture. In penetration testing weve done 1500-1600 fps seems to be about the limit as to how fast you can push a cast bullet before penetration will suffer from one of these problems. Punch bullets do not suffer this weakness. Some of the best numbers weve seen were kellys punch bullets out of a 50 alaskan at speeeds as high as 2000 fps.

The only downfall i can even find to these bullets is the price. There not cheap. It is understandable though when you consider that each is made individualy on a lathe and takes alot of time and care. Also a guy needs to factor in the many many hours Kelly has spent researching these bullets to get to the bullet he sells today. Now im not going to sit here and tell you that a guy needs these to hunt whitetail or black bear. They no doubt would do a great job but at the price there a little bit of an overkill. But if a guy is going on a once in a lifetime hunt the few bucks spent on 50-100 of these to work up a load and load some for the hunt would be very cheap peace of mind. Im a cast bullet shooter and caster. It is my main obsession in life but if i was faced with a once in a lifetime handgun hunt for anything bigger then a whitetail i know what my gun would be loaded with.

A guy can look at the cost another way too. A good 44 mag or 45 colt loaded with punch bullets will perform on par on a big animal with a 454 or 475 or even a 500 using cast bullets. This would allow the man who doesnt have 2000 dollars to spend on a gun to take his trusty 44 mag and hunt any game animal in the world. What it also does in my opinion is it takes a lever gun like a marlin 4570 or 444 that are a couple of the finest hunting rifles made and steps them up to a level that would allow for them to be used as a true dangerous game gun.

Thanks Llloyd! I am completely sold on Punch bullets as I have heard nothing but great testimonials about their performance. My only beef is the cost, because I'm afraid that if I try them out, I will want to always use them......

Great post Lloyd. I have thought about trying them, but as you said, they seem to actually help out the 44 Mag and maybe the 45 Colt. Seeing's how I use my 500 mag for most of my hunting and hard cast bullets have proven very successful, I stick with them. I don't see the need to spend more than I already do on reloading supplies.

I find it hard to switch from some thing that has proven it's self time after time.

Well I am off to the indoor range today, it is starting to rain and I can't work so my 4 inch 500 mag is going to get a work out with it's new Burris Fast Fire red-dot sight and some 440 gr. WFNGC hard cast bullets from Ranger Rick.

I haven't found a "need" for more penetration either, but if Africa and handgun hunting came together, I would load nothing else, but since that isn't happening any time soon........I guess I'll keep casting my own.......

A 45 Colt with a 325 grian load from Buffal Bore will shoot completelt throuh and exit a 1000 pound Buffalo.

I guess that some aren't satisfied unless their bullet can penetrate through three such bison...... Now that, would be extreme penetration!

I just got off of the phone with the folks at Belt Mountain and they make a 380 grain .475 bullet.......$2.50 a pop.......ouch......but oh so intriguing!

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
I just got off of the phone with the folks at Belt Mountain and they make a 380 grain .475 bullet.......$2.50 a pop.......ouch......but oh so intriguing!

I will stick with my hard cast bullets...

I think I will as well -- for now!

Hippo hunting with a handgun Crys out for a Punch bullet..

or elephant.......

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
or elephant.......

Without a Dought