ligth load for my daughter's muzzleloader???

[Remington]

Hi everyone,

I just picked up a Traditions Pursuit LT youth muzzleloader for my daughter. It is a .50cal with a 24" barrel and 1 in 28" twist, overall length is 40" and it weights 6lbs. My daughter is 12 years old and has been shooting .22cals for 4 years. She is looking forward to the upcoming youth deer hunt and I'm concerned about recoil with the muzzleloader.

Does anyone have any recommendations on the lightest load possible to effectly kill deer out to 100 yards? I have been thinking of shooting 60 grains ( 2, 30grn Triple 7 pellets ) of powder with either a Hornady 180gr XTP bullet or a Dead Center 200 gr bullet. What do you think, are we on the right track?

If anyone can provide the ballistics (FPS & energy) on the above combinations that would be great. My daughter and I would really apperciate any advice on light loads for her new muzzleloader.

Thanks,
Remington

[deputy]

I would avoid the pr bullets and go up to at least a 225 -250 grain bullet and up wards of 90 grains if possible work her up to it!

thinking back on my info loose t-7 and some lighter bullets 110 grains of fff and a 195 pr bullet i was around 1500fpe at 100ydsyah good enough on a perfect shot i would look into 90 grains of powder or pellets for her deer load 60 will be a bit to light i feel

[KalamazooKid]

I'm no expert ..... but my 12 yr old and I were out shooting my Encore yesterday with 2 - 50 grain pellets and Shockwave 250s. It's a little bit of a handfull for him but he's very able and confident with it providing he's got a good rest. Six shots inside a tennis ball at 50 yards, this weekend we'll be shooting at 100 yards.:D He's not real big for his age either.

Hang on and GOOD LUCK!

[Swamp Monster]

Here's something to consider. When she is shooting the gun for the first few times, have her stand up. Shooting from a bench with a basic rest magnifies recoil (unless using a rest like the Caldwell Lead Sled or similar) Fix up a rest she can use while standing...tripod, bipod or home made, doesn't matter. Standing will let her body roll with the recoil and will ensure she doesn't get smacked real good in the cheek. Good form will help. If she's handling it fine, have her move to the bench. Take it slow and spread the shooting over 3, maybe 4 sessions at the range. She's not likely to handle long shooting sessions like we can (often we can't either yet we continue...) and fatigue will lead to bad habits and flinching etc. If she gets scared of the gun early on, it might be tuff to get her back in the saddle.
For hunting, I'd start with an 80 grain charge and maybe a 200gr TC Shockwave which should make a decent hunting load out to 75 yards or so. You could start with 75 grains loose powder and 185 grain bullets just to get her feet wet, but it would be light for hunting...even the 80/200 combo is light, but you could step up to 240 xtp's or 250 gr xtps for hunting as well. Those bullets will still perform well at the lower velocity levels.
I Know you mentioned 100 yard shots, but I think that might be pushing it, if she is not comfortable with the recoil. And with no mention of a scope, thats another variable. (although, young healthy eyes work far better than mine with open sites!)
Be sure to let us know how it goes! I'm sure others here have, or wil lsoon have similar question arise in the future.
Good luck to both of you!

[rzdrmh]

how's this logic...

777 generates roughly 15% more energy than black powder, right?

so, 60 grains of 777 is like 69 grains of black powder..

now, consider the venerable 45-70, named so, because it originally was loaded with a 45 caliber bullet and 70 grains of black powder. and those were 300 and 400 + grain bullets, taking down anything that roamed this continent.

retained energy and speed.. that's what matters..

is 60 grains of 777 enough to kill a deer with a 200 grain bullet? hell yes..

in chuck hawks review of the savage 10MLII muzzleloader, he tests a load of 70 grains of 777, with a 385 grain conical, which he listed a speed of 1360 fps...

(http://www.chuckhawks.com/sav10ML-II.htm)

based on those numbers, say you could achieve 1550 fps with the 200 grain bullet. that would put you at 736 ft-lbs of energy at 100 yards (1288 fps @ 100 yards), with a sight in of 1.5" high at 50 yards. not a cannon, but still a killer with selective shots.

if she can't handle 70 grains of 777 with a 200 grain bullet, she's not ready to hunt.. she'll be fine with that recoil - very light..

but swamp is right, ease her into it with short sessions.

[Swamp Monster]

how's this logic...

777 generates roughly 15% more energy than black powder, right?

so, 60 grains of 777 is like 69 grains of black powder..


I think that goes just for loose powder only in the T7 though, but can't remember for sure. I thought using appoximately 130 grains of Loose T7 was close to 150 grains of T7 or regular Pyrodex 150 grains in pellet form.

[Remington]

Thanks for all the advise!

After hearing everyone out and doing some more research with muzzleloading ballistic charts and on Hodgdon's website we are going to go with 70 grains of loose 777 (FFG) and a 200 grain TC Shockwave, should be close to 1700 fps (muzzle).

We will be hunting in hardwoods so I'm guessing a 30 to 60 yard shot is most likely, I will not let her take anything over a 100 yard shot ( I'm bringing my rangefinder ). The muzzleloader does have a scope on it. We will also be hunting on the ground out of a pop up blind and I have already bought a mono-pod for her.

Plan on doing alot of short shooting sessions over the next three weeks. I'll post how she does after opening weekend.

Thanks again,
Remington