Here in washington we have some very strict regs as well. We can use sabots but the bullet itself has to be all lead. Which definately cuts down on the selection. I am relatively new to the muzzleloading thing but everyone I talk to swears by the power belts. Not sure which ones where blowing up but you may try giving them a call or emailing them. They seem to stand behind their product.

I like the powerbelts myself. As long as you are using same gr powder each time , no problem:) I will share a story with you. I have some of this in my new ML post from 3 years ago, which I just updated.

My father in law is one who is hard to pursuade, being from the "old school" generation, where all you needed is a pocket knife and a bare minimum and you will be ok. He used to give me guff for buying an inline, which I bought from a guy at work for $125, a Traditions Buck Hunter .50 cal. with a 1-32" twist, because he said i always had to have "new". When he saw how well my ML shot the powerbelts, he was impressed, but said he would stick with his sidelock and patch and ball. He had taken many deer with his CVA .45 cal sidelock with 90 grain of powder and round ball, so he always swore by it. Last year while we were out shooting, he noticed his rifle wasn't shooting consistant patterns like it had the 20 somethin years before with the roundball anymore. I always buy my powerbelts at walmart, but they usually dont carry items for a .45 cal ML, so I insisted on us going to a gun shop, and buying some powerbelts, I told him I would even buy them for him. So we ran to town and got a bite to eat and hit the gun shop and bought 2 packs of , I believe were 135 gr powerbelts, and as soon as we got home, he loaded on up and fired it and it hit 3 inches above his mark. I will explain this, a few years ago, he got injured on the job, and has some neck problems, so he has had to weld a bracket to hold a scope on his sidelock. Anyhow, he made his adjustment on his scope, and next shot was Boom! Dead on. He made 7 more shots, and at 100 yards, was putting them within about and inch and a half of each other.

Thankful to the powerbelt, he took 3 doe at 75 yards from no problem. He missed a 10 point when the cap snapped, but misfired because of oil in the nipple. Guess what now though?! He swears by Powerbelts and so do I. I don't use a scope on my ML, but I can take shots at 100 yards and get the same results as if I was at 75.

I know Nosler makes a real nice sabot-less bullet. They have a bonded core like most sabot bullets do. They seem to be much more expensive but will never "Explode" I've shot alot of lead bullets and cant stand them. Mostly because of the lead deposits left inside the barrel.

some states like washington allow only all lead bullets which complicates things. So the noslers are out of the question.

Never had any problem with this type of bullet.

Are you sure? Don't know of any Nosler full bore conical out there. Please tell me where if there is one. thanks

As far as the original question, Powerbelts have a name for coming apart when pushed too hard. They are basically a pure lead conical. I try not to exceed around 100 grains black powder equivalent when using powerbelts.

This year I switched to the new Hornady FPB 350 grain bullet. I will be shooting it in front of 90 grains of BH 209 for elk and deer in Colorado this year.

I have taken two elk with powerbelt and never had a problem. I have also taken multiple deer with them. I have never had the bullet "blow up" on me. Many hunters want more velocity so they increase their powder. when doing so the bullets will have a tendency of breaking up. Keep your powder at 100 gr or less and you will have no problem. I was shooting a 348 grain platinum.

I can see bullet failure in a sabot (which might be what your freind meant), but I don't think you'd get it with a Power Belt. I'm sure statistically one out of so many do not hold up do to improper manufacturing, but you'll get those odds anywhere. Personally, I think you'll get bullet failure from a saboted pistol bullet much more than you'll see in a power belt. Those pistol bullets just aren't made for the high velocities on close range impacts.

I have however, been eyeing a bullet from hornady. It's their 300 gr .44 cal HP/XTP. This looks like a very sturdy bullet. I think this bullet would hold it's own at high velocities. But like stocks, thats just speculation.

80gr pyrodex rs or select with that 348 will do the job.

3 pellet loads are one of the poorest marketing gimmicks ever put out there for muzzle loaders.

Agree with that 100%.