Going to Colorado for elk. Using a TC omega 50 cal. Sabots are not permitted. I like and use powerbelts for deer. The only thing I'm alittle concerned about is that they really expand on deer and maybe too much for elk limiting penatration. I use the 295gr hollow point over 100grs pyrodex pellets. We're not allowed to use pellets so I'm going to use triple 7 powder. Going to work up to 120grs and see how it shoots. Anyone have an experience with powerbelts on elk? How'd they work? Which one did you use? Would the aerotip powerbelt be a better choice?
shilo,
I think you answered your own question if you look at your question closely. In my opinion and experience shooting PowerBelts into various target media and witnessing PowerBelt FAILURE on Elk at 28 yards, I can without hesitation tell you that the 295 grain PowerBelt would be my LAST choice. I wish the search feature was working, I could point you to a PowerBelt thread that would tell you alot more.
My good friend and hunting buddy uses the 295 grain aerotip PowerBelts over 110 grains Pyrodex on Michigan whitetails and has had success over the past several years. So, he assumed that the same load would be a good choice for Elk in Colorado, NOT! I will give you the short version. He shot a big heard bull at 28 yards while I was at his side, the bullet struck the bull in the shoulder.......the bull went down on his chest.....got up..........stumbled........turned and ran out of sight..........we finally found the measily blood trail............tracked for over 6 hours..........over 3/4 mile from point A to point B (GPS) around the bend of the mountain, probably over a mile following the contour..........the blood trail dried up.........came back the next morning.............looked for several more hours..........found nothing..........came home sick and still feel sick today. I had already shot my elk at that point with a 430 grain White Super Slug over 80 grains 777 FFFG at 46 yards. My bullet went through the shoulder knuckle, lungs, top of heart, bull went 56 yards and was dead on my arrival. His shot was a mirror image of my shot, 18 yards closer and he had that false sense of security in taking the shot since I had a dead Elk with the same type of shot. His bullet never made it into the chest cavity and that poor bull probably had a broken front shoulder. To add insult to injury, about a minute after he shot this bull, about a half mile away we heard him bugle, trying to round his cows back up. We just looked at each other and said, NO WAY. We just knew he was dead about 100 yards away, just like he should be right? Wrong!
Remember this paragraph when hunting elk:
You need penetration not expansion when hunting Elk! A mature Elk has 4-5 times the muscle and bone mass of a whitetail. Hollow pointed/polymer tipped bullets are made to expand. When you push these hollow pointed PowerBelt bullets with magnum 100+ powder charges and bone is encountered, they are going to explode on impact due to the deep hollow point and not much mass to push it on through. In Colorado your bullet can be no longer than twice the diameter. A good all lead conical up to about 460 grains can be under the 1.00" maximum length for your .50 caliber (.50" + .50" = 1.00") and would be MY first choice.
The animals we pursue deserve much more than to be shot with a sub-standard bullet such as the PowerBelt 295 grain. The only PowerBelt in .50 cal that would be worthy of Elk huntig IMHO would be the 444 grain flat point, but it would be too long to legally hunt Elk with in Colorado. Get yourself some No Excuses, Bull Shop, White or similar conicals in the 400 to 460 grain weight range and around 80-90 grains of 777 FFFG or FFG and you will have bad medicine for Elk. Your biggest challenge might be getting your T/C Omega to shoot conicals with the QLA at the end of your barrel, typically a problem.
The jury is still out on the NEW Platinum Series PowerBelts, but the reports I have been getting are poor accuracy. I thought about trying some in test media, but deceided not to after looking at them, I think it is just a horse of a different color.
This is totally my OPINION, based on my experience shooting bullets into media and hunting Elk, others experiences my vary. You will have to deceide what is best for you. I know that there will be one LESS hunting buddy hunting Elk with PowerBelts in the future, that is for sure.
