Minimum Powder Charge

[u00mrd9]

I am looking for some opinions on the minimum powder charge required for whitetail hunting w/ a .50 cal inline. This setup would be for an 8yr old. I am trying to reduce recoil as much as possible. Shots would not exceed 50-60 yards.

28" barrel
245 gr power belt
shooting pyrodex

Any help would be appreciated

 

[kstur]

GOOD QUESTION,I HAVE BEEN WONDERING THE SAME THING.I ALSO HAVE AN 8 YR. OLD DAUGHTER WHO WANTS TO START HUNTING,BUT I DONT THINK SHE COULD HANDLE MUCH RECOIL.I WAS GOING TO BUY A 45 CAL. BARREL FOR MY ENCORE FOR HER TO TRY BUT I SEE TC. DOESN'T OFFER IT IN THEIR NEW CATALOGUE.

 

[cayuga]

u00mrd9 ... first off welcome to the forum. Its good to have you here.

As for young people shooting, that is not all that hard to do even with an inline rifle. When the adults would get together and shoot muzzleloaders, we always let the young kid take a few shots. I mean some of them were pretty small. We used to load 60 grains of Pyrodex RS and a patched roundball and some of my friends son's were only 6 & 8 and couldn't have went 70 pounds they were so skinny. They shot the rifle with no problems at all. In fact the smallest one would rest the rifle over the porch rail as a bench because he was too small to hold the Hawkins up. And he never complained about recoil ever.

Get some Pyrodex P or RS if you can find it. Load 60 grains and shoot a 270 grain ballet out of that rifle. You judge for yourself there will be hardly any recoil. Or since the range is as close as you say, even a roundball with a low powder charge will shoot well out of a inline. You could also try some 240 grain XTP's with a light powder charge. There really is little to no recoil with many of those loads.

I have a book by Don Davis and in it he talks of his favorite deer load being 50 grains of Goex 2f and a patched roundball. His theory was the accurate load would hit where he aimed and expel all its energy in the deer. I personally like a pass through, but have heard his argument before. Many do believe it.

In my Wolverine LK-II I shoot 80 grains of Goex 3f and a 240 grain XTP. While I feel there is no recoil, I would personally trust that load to well over 100 yards.

All you can do is have your child try some different powder charges and tell you when they had enough. You might be surprised how much they will take. good luck and again, welcome to the forum.

 

[big6x6]

If it were me, I'd start VERY low(1 pellet or 50grs of whatever) until they could get used to that. If can't get used to that, I'd wait until they can. 60-70gr fffg Triple Se7en(maybe even 50gr) will turn out the lights on a whitetail using a 200gr .40cal XTP in a blue MMP sabot and that's EXACTLY the bullet I'd use(OR maybe a 200gr Dead Center). You don't need a heavier bullet and a heavier bullet would un-necessarily increase recoil.

A nice little Knight Wolverine 209 youth would make a nice little rifle for a youngster.

 

[daveinohio]

70 grains BP worked twice for 7 year old this year...

 

[cayuga]

70 grains BP worked twice for 7 year old this year...

WOW! that's all right Daveinohio. It looks like a very pleased hunter there.

Also welcome to the forum. Its good to have you here.

 

[HunterJim]

My wife is shooting 70 gr loose H777 FFFg in the T/C Omega X7 with the 175 Dead Center Duplex sabot. This combo shoots well, and the recoil is low.

jim

 

[schoolmaster]

My daughter has killed 3 whitetails with 60 grains of 3F and a patched roundball. She is set up with a shooting rail rest and the farthest shot is 40 yards. The patched roundball on a behind the shoulder hit will exit with this charge. A long time round ball shooter told me not to go less than 60 grains. She is shooting a 50 cal White mountain carbine with a specially shortened stock and a big recoil pad. She started shooting 50 grains of powder and worked up to 60.

 

[g.g.]

I know this is an old...real old :shock: ...thread, but a member on my other forum was asking about smaller loads and I came across this thread along with the article below.

maybe it will help someone

http://www.hpmuzzleloading.com/LoadsBallistics5.html

 

[Confederate rifleman]

light is good

Over the past 6 years , my daughter and I have taken 9 deer with 9 shots at ranges of 15 feet to 115 yards with a Traditions Tracker .50 cal loaded with a T/C Cheap shot sabot and 40 grains of 3f Triple 7. Muzzle velocity is ( chrono'd) 1350 fps and all shots ,save 2, were pass throughs including an 80 yard frony quartering shot on a 225lb 8 pointer.He went the farthest after the hit.Ran about 60 yards. I worked up that particular load because of low recoil and a pound of powder lasts a LONG time.I wanted .44 mag handgun level loads as .44 magnum handguns have been dropping deer for awhile now and I figured it would work, and work it has! Accuracy is outstanding as well.The Tracker shoots under 2 inches at 100 yards ( point of impact at 50 is + 3 inches) with boring regularity.Best of luck!

 

[g.g.]

CR, is that 40gr by volume or weight?

 

[big6x6]

Yeah...it doesn't take as much as you think...from 2004:

50gr fffg Triple Se7en- 240gr .429 Swift A-
Frame/Knight Wolverine 209 Youth- hog dropped in it's tracks.

Same muzzleloader- 60gr fffg Triple Se7en/200gr .40 XTP. Doe ran a circle and dropped!

 

[frontier gander]

with the 245 you can use 60-70gr pyrodex rs or whatever powder you use. I use 80gr RS and 150 yards is my limit. My nephew will be hunting this year for his first time and i will have him set up with either a 195 or 225gr powerbelt and 60- 70gr pyrodex. I'd like to keep him within 100 yards as hes going to be using open sights.

 

[CarlV]

I am trying to reduce recoil as much as possible.

You might know this already, but the lighter the projectile - the lighter the recoil is going to be.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

g.g.

GG that 40 grain charge is by volume.Its also nice because even at short range you can hear the bullet hit and there isnt as much smoke as the heavier charges.

 

[Lee 9]

If it were me, I'd start VERY low(1 pellet or 50grs of whatever) until they could get used to that. If can't get used to that, I'd wait until they can. 60-70gr fffg Triple Se7en(maybe even 50gr) will turn out the lights on a whitetail using a 200gr .40cal XTP in a blue MMP sabot and that's EXACTLY the bullet I'd use(OR maybe a 200gr Dead Center). You don't need a heavier bullet and a heavier bullet would un-necessarily increase recoil.

A nice little Knight Wolverine 209 youth would make a nice little rifle for a youngster.

+++++++
The best. Lee