Which powerbelt for 1:48 twist?

[Curly]

I have only two weekends left for scouting and finding a good load for elk. Its been over 10 years since I have been muzzleloader hunting and previously I got decent groups with Maxi Balls (405 and 425 gr if I remember right) out of my 1:48 twist Renegade w/ real Black Powder.

I wanted to try the 777 because of the ease of cleaning and because I can't find BP around here. I also decided to try powerbelt bullets. I tried the 348 gr powerbelts and 90 gr of 777 for 4 shots at 30 yards the other evening. I shot the 4 shots without swabbing the barrel at all and all bullets loaded very easily. I was really impressed at how easy to load they were.

The first shot was 1/2" right of the bulls eye. The second was 6" high and 4" left. The third was almost touching the first shot, and the fourth was next to the second shot (high and left.)

I didn't have time to do any more shooting that evening so I will go out again this Saturday to play with it. I will try the same combination except that I will swab after each shot and see what difference that makes.

Has anyone else used 348gr powerbelts in a .54 cal with 1:48 twist?

Would the heavier powerbelts be more likely to shoot better?

I do have some 425 gr Buffalo Bullets (Hollow Base, Hollow Point) and 425 gr Hornady Great Plains bullets to try also.

Any opinions and comments are appreciated. Thanks.

[Curly]

Well, I made it out yesterday long enough to shoot 3 shots at 35 yards. I swabbed the barrel after each shot and I used 100 gr of 777 this time. Now my group has tightened up to less than 2 inches (at 35yd). I'm not sure if the increase in powder charge helped the groups or if it was the swabbing after each shot. I will shoot at 100 yards today and see what sort of groups I can get. If I get a 6" group at 100 yd I will call that good enough for elk. (I won't shoot past 100 yd.)

[PowDuck]

Curly, welcome to jesse's site. Sorry I'm not much help here. Never shot a .54
Someone will jump in pretty soon with their experiences. Good luck on the hunt.

[THBailey]

With my 1-48 New Englander 54 I use 100 gr of Pyrodex RS behind 435 gr Maxi's and get 4" or so at 100 yards. I have not hunted elk, but I have taken several large mule deer with this load.

[powderbuff]

hi well from one elk hunter to the next. I have not shot any of the powerbelts. to sendy here in wa. and herd to many pros and cons. like don't expand well bla bla bla. now on the great plains very good on elk! same as the maxi. sound like a combo of both on your shooting. on elk I don't take shots over 80 yards. elk here in washington can get up to 1500 lbs. what I found works in my 54. with a 1&48 is ether one of the bullets you used with 100grns. of b.p. or pyrdox. rs. or I shoot a buffilo bullet co. 310 grn. sabot hollow point boat tail solid lead. also deadly on elk at 80 yards with 90-100 grns of r.s. pyrodox. hope this helps you Doug

[Curly]

Well, I thought I should update you guys on what I found out this year. The powerbelts do shoot well in my rifle. I shot about a 3" group at 100 yards over the hood of my brothers truck. That was with swabbing the barrel after each shot. (I didn't test what the group was like with a dirty barrel.)

Anyway, I didn't get a shot at an elk during the early season. But I did get a fork-horn blacktail deer last week. He was broadside at about 75 yards. I hit him a little high right behind the shoulder. He died instantly and rolled down the hill about 10 yards and piled up in front of a large fir.

The bullet expansion was huge; it was almost flattened when I dug it out from under the offside hide. I won't use that hollow point bullet on elk next year if it won't penetrate a deer standing broadside.