Just to confirm that the powerbelt is a giant piece of shit.
Over the last month, 2 of my friends had bad experiences with a powerbelt. One found his elk 3 days after the season with a clean pass through shot and the other was seen 5 days later shredding a tree with a direct shot to the shoulder. Accuracy is not everything!!! Buy a real bullet that will deliver trauma, damage, destruction and one that will allow the animal to absorb all of the energy!!!

I just shot an elk from about 90 yards with a 300gr. Hornady SST. I got complete pass through. Hit one lung and clipped part of the liver. Second shot was a running one at about the same distance but with a 295gr. Powerbelt aerotip (as they are easier to load for a quick second shot). I got complete pass through just behind the first shot. With these two shots the big cow elk finally let me catch up to her. The exit holes were about the same size and I think I will not use the aerotip anymore. I agree that more energy transfer to the animal is desired; not complete pass through unless you have a better placed shot. If I had hit both lungs the first shot would probably have been enough. Sometimes the elk are really difficult to drop. Sorry about the loss of the friends elk. I haven't lost one yet but I am still looking for better bullets. All suggestions are appreciated.

I have never hunted Elk, but have hunted deer and shot a lot of diferent bullets. In the past two years too date I have shot and killed 18 deer. All of these were killed with 250gr. SST's. Five of these deer were killed at 200+ yd. If I ever get the chance to hunt Elk I would use a Hornady 300gr. SST. I think it is the best bellet for the price. Good luck and be safe out there.

I have been using powerbelts for the last couple of years. 295 gr. in front of 100 gr. pyrodex in a .50 cal. This leads me to ask a couple of questions. On the elk with the pass through shot, where exactly was it hit? Given the medical fact that nothing survives having both lungs punctured, was the loss of the animal due to poor bullet performance, or a lack of tracking ability? As far as the shoulder shot is concerned, what was the range of the shot? Too close, and you face the possibility of bullet failure with any gun. Too far, and you may not have the penetration required for game the size of elk.
Until I get a failure that I am sure is the bullet's fault, I will continue to use powerbelts. You see, I think accuracy IS everything. As I said, nothing survives a 295 grain hunk of lead blasting its way through both lungs. Accuracy is what gets it there.
Just my opinion, I may be wrong.

Buy a real bullet that will deliver trauma, damage, destruction and one that will allow the animal to absorb all of the energy!!!

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With typical 100 grain powder charges in typical MLs, that bullet-delivery definition above describes a hollow-point lead bullet. Copper aero-tips need bone mass & speed to do the job right.... ie... centerfire SSTs.



In my opinion, the best Powerbelt for performance is the copper hollow-point. I wouldn't even consider using copper unless my ML was packed with 120+ grains of blackpowder equivalent. Anything slower & I'll use lead.