BANG FLOP then bang again

[Rolex Dr.]

shot a big doe with a 295 gr powerbelt aerotip (copper coated) 100gr (2 50gr pyrodex pellets)

i have it sight in at 2" high at 25 yrds (only indoor range i can shoot my ML in)

i bang flopped her tonite at approx 180 yards from a 20 foot treestand
she was quartering to me (long story)

put cross hairs on her spine/neck meeting place and when the smoke cleared she was gone but the other deer with her was just looking down so i knew she dropped on the spot

the bullet hit 4-5 inches down from the top of her back infront of right shoulder and came out below the shoulder joint shattering the left front leg after climbing down re loading and walking to her (took 10-12 minutes) i was walking slow because the smaller doe (not a fawn) was still standing there in amazement

i had to shoot her with my .357 to end it (she could pick her head up but all 4 legs were not working but i hate to see/ hear them suffer

both holes are the size of the bullet no expansion at all

this is 3rd deer(in 3 years) i shot with the same load and same result (but 2 different guns) each time NO BLOOD TRAIL

1st deer was 15-18 yards (from a 25 ft trees tand) i shot her like a bow shot hit nothing solid, went 75 yards had to shoot her with my pistol to end it
bullet went in behind left shoulder out in front of right hip no expansion

2nd deer shot a small doe fawn in late season at 50-60 yards on flat ground, I made a bad shot my fault (she was more straight on then thought she was ) bullet hit right behind left shoulder and skidded down side and smashed the left hip leaving her to flop around i shot her again at 20 yards thru the neck with the same load and it poked a .50 hole in her neck hit nothing solid but she only was breathing for the time it took me to reload

my dad shoots same load (i set his encore up) and we lost a small doe last year (40 yards broadside very little blood) we tracked on snow for 4 hours probably 2-3 miles i saw her limping badly but could not get a shot at 125 yards, then we lost blood in a swamp


but that evening (he was feeling horrible about losing her) we stalked a nice yearling doe and he made a great shot (118 of my steps)
that deer was broadside (i was next to him on shooting sticks as back up) i told him to break its shoulders and drop her the bullet hit a little low she did the tell tale mule kick (of a heart shot) and ran 40 yards and looked like someone pulled her feet out she slid to a stop in a fence row

the bullet went exactly thru the heart and ther was zero blood a small spot at impact a little hair but no blood trail but when to explode the heart it cant pump


sorry to be long winded


i love accuracy of them hate performance on anything but paper


any better advice

[RSF]

I wont use them at all.. we have seen several issue with performance. that has required dogs to try and find the deer after use with powerbelts.

i have used the sst with great sucess as well as XTP's and barnes

the bullets from parker/ http://www.parkerproductionsinc.com/

have been giving me and other great sucsess at longer ranges. 300-600yds in our ultimates and with triple 7 magnum (new pellets in red box) they have been used by some friends of mine, in there omegas to 2225 yds with great results. look into the sst and parkers

[Rolex Dr.]

i went to the woods this afternoon from the point of impact to my tree with my laser rangefinder 161 yards

farthest i have shot one

i saw a link to those bullets on a muzzleloading forum

you may like that forum

im going to use the rest of the powerbelts up (10-12 left)

my only saving grace is if i can keep shots under 75 yards i know i can try to spine them (the omega is that accurate)

i missed fri nite at 197 yards had him on the rangefinder before the shot

that was a different bullet (i forgot i loaded a 300 gr shockwave--2 50 gr pyrodex pellets) i ment to shoot at range last week and got busy shooting my slug gun and ran out of time

im thinking im going to switch to the 300 gr shockwaves if they shoot good i was given 50 with sabots when i bought my dad his encore


JD

ps i just got a breechplug that uses 25 acp instead of 209 primers

any load i should look at

[papabear]

I used to use the powerbelts, but like you said good shots no blood trail. This year I switched to 250 grain shockwave,9 point at fifty yards.He ran about 60 yards blood trail looked like buckets of blood thrown on the ground. When I gutted him the heart was almost in two pieces. The shockwaves maybe harder to start but they work goood.

[RSF]

the shockwave and sst are the same bullet
In the omega i own i run th e 25 acp breech set up with a 300sst and 2 triple 7 magnum good load great accuracy 1 inch inch at 125 yds