Opinions on this youth load

[hunt1up]

My 9 year old daughter (she'll be 10 in January) is really itching to shoot her first deer. She's pretty small for her age but she's done pretty well learning to shoot BB guns and .22s. This summer I bought her a TC Impact and topped it with a Leupold rifleman scope. I removed the stock spacer and the gun seems to be about the right size when placed in a Caldwell Field Pod.

Anyway, I initially loaded the gun with 50 grains of Blackhorn and a 200 grain Smackdown XR sabot. That load was too hot her, and despite making an accurate shot while practicing, the recoil definitely scared her. Nice job there dad!

Yesterday I decided to see how light I could load the gun while still carrying enough energy to ethically kill a whitetail around 50 yards.

Load #1 - 35 grains of BH by volume, 200 grain sabot: 1270 fps, 716 ft/lbs energy.

Load #2 - 40 grains of BH by volume, 200 grain sabot: 1360 fps, 821 ft/lbs energy.

These loads won't set any land speed records, but is that enough? We'll be ground hunting from a blind and shot distance will be rather close.. Does anyone have experience with similar loads on deer sized animals?

 

[sabotloader]

You might look at this bullet. With bullet design and the larger Meplat + Hollow Point for Terminal Ballistic. Your 35grain load would be really effective out to 50-75 yards. The only real problem they come with a 45 cal. sabot.

Bloodline 45 Cal 185 Grain Muzzleloader Bullets | Knight Rifles

The Bloodline 45 Cal 185 Grain Muzzleloader Bullets step beyond tradition. These .45 Cal muzzle-loader bullets come in a 20 pack box and are pre-saboted.

www.muzzleloaders.com

I have used these bullets for several years and they really effective, although I was shooting much longer ranges and with way heavier load.

 

[hunt1up]

You might look at this bullet. With bullet design and the larger Meplat + Hollow Point for Terminal Ballistic. Your 35grain load would be really effective out to 50-75 yards. The only real problem they come with a 45 cal. sabot.

Bloodline 45 Cal 185 Grain Muzzleloader Bullets | Knight Rifles

The Bloodline 45 Cal 185 Grain Muzzleloader Bullets step beyond tradition. These .45 Cal muzzle-loader bullets come in a 20 pack box and are pre-saboted.

www.muzzleloaders.com

I have used these bullets for several years and they really effective, although I was shooting much longer ranges and with way heavier load.

Thanks for the reply. It looks like I can go with a little heavier bullet and get into a .50 cal?

 

[sabotloader]

Thanks for the reply. It looks like I can go with a little heavier bullet and get into a .50 cal?

Sure you can and this Lehigh might be a good one for that also

.451 Controlled Fracturing® Muzzleloader 230gr Bullet

www.lehighdefense.com

 

[hunt1up]

Sure you can and this Lehigh might be a good one for that also

.451 Controlled Fracturing® Muzzleloader 230gr Bullet

www.lehighdefense.com

Thanks for the info. I'm going to order a pack of the 220 grain Bloodlines to try this weekend. Her hunt isn't until the 10th so I still have a little time to dial it in.

 

[dsotm223]

Id go with a heavier bullet personally, not that what you have worked up wont kill with proper shot placement. I just personally always prefer the heaviest bullet I can get.
I like Thor Bullets, they are built on the Barnes X bullet technology and full copper, and true 50 cal. 297 gr hollow point or 300 gr ballistic tipped.

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

 

[sabotloader]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to order a pack of the 220 grain Bloodlines to try this weekend. Her hunt isn't until the 10th so I still have a little time to dial it in.

The Bloodline could be a very good bullet choice for your application.

 

[Mudpuddle]

I don't have any real experience with this so excuse me if I'm way off, but have you considered a lead round ball? They're under 200 grains and perform well at slow to moderate speed.

 

[hunt1up]

Id go with a heavier bullet personally, not that what you have worked up wont kill with proper shot placement. I just personally always prefer the heaviest bullet I can get.
I like Thor Bullets, they are built on the Barnes X bullet technology and full copper, and true 50 cal. 297 gr hollow point or 300 gr ballistic tipped.

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

I might consider getting some of those as well. I was planning on getting some for my Triumph since I need a non-sabot option when I burn my Colorado elk points in the next year or two. My initial thought was lighter bullet = less felt recoil, but that may be less of an issue with such a light powder load.

 

[hunt1up]

I don't have any real experience with this so excuse me if I'm way off, but have you considered a lead round ball? They're under 200 grains and perform well at slow to moderate speed.

I didn't really consider lead ball but I'd assume it would work just as well if they group well. I'm really open to all options, but at this point in the game I'm probably going to have to run with the Shockwave type bullet or the Bloodlines.

 

[sabotloader]

I didn't really consider lead ball but I'd assume it would work just as well if they group well. I'm really open to all options, but at this point in the game I'm probably going to have to run with the Shockwave type bullet or the Bloodlines.

Not sure you could shoot PRB in your rifle. Because your rifle has a faster twist than a normal round ball barrel, accuracy could be a problem.

 

[Gettincloser]

Just double check that the state you are hunting doesn't have a minimum requirement for caliber/ bullet weight/ powder restrictions!

 

[hunt1up]

Just double check that the state you are hunting doesn't have a minimum requirement for caliber/ bullet weight/ powder restrictions!

Illinois is very basic in their restrictions. It’s simply .45 or larger and barrel over 16 inches.

 

[Mudpuddle]

Not sure you could shoot PRB in your rifle. Because your rifle has a faster twist than a normal round ball barrel, accuracy could be a problem.

Good point. I told you I was inexperienced at this.

 

[robtattoo]

Inside of 50yds, you'd be absolutely fine. No, it's probably not going to be 'one hole' accurate, but my CVA Wolf groups happily into 2" at 50yds with 50gn & a PRB. Somewhere between 40 & 55gn I promise you'll find an accurate enough load for her.

 

[cornfedkiller]

I've been using a 290gr barnes TEZ with 40 grains by volume of BH209 for my step daughter. If 120 BH209 is equal to 150 pyrodex, then I figured 40 is equal to 1 pellet.

I've only shot it out to about 60 yards and won't let her shoot a deer any further than that, but it still shoots super accurately and its put every deer down just as quickly as the loads I use for myself.

 

[hunt1up]

Thanks all for the replies. I think I just needed some validation since I'm used to loading up hot and fast for myself.

I have two blinds overlooking my 2 acres of deer beans. I'll be watching the wind to see which to sit, but both should yield an opportunity inside of 50 yards. Now for the weather and deer to cooperate!

 

[Gettincloser]

Thanks all for the replies. I think I just needed some validation since I'm used to loading up hot and fast for myself.

I have two blinds overlooking my 2 acres of deer beans. I'll be watching the wind to see which to sit, but both should yield an opportunity inside of 50 yards. Now for the weather and deer to cooperate!

Let us know what setup you chose and what you learned (good or bad).

 

[hunt1up]

Let us know what setup you chose and what you learned (good or bad).

I went with the 40 grains of BH by volume and the 200 grain Smackdown sabot. I mostly went with that because it seemed to pack enough punch and it was grouping tight.

It was in the 80s for the first two days of the three day season. We got skunked those days as the weather was terrible. On the last evening we saw 7 deer. 3 does ran by that must have been spooked by something and never stopped. Then we had a forky and a few does feed out around 250 yards, too far to shoot. My daughter about lost it when the 3 does ran by the blind and we all agreed it was a very successful hunt despite no shots. I'll get her back out again in our later gun seasons in November, December, and January and we'll make it happen.

 

[Gettincloser]

I went with the 40 grains of BH by volume and the 200 grain Smackdown sabot. I mostly went with that because it seemed to pack enough punch and it was grouping tight.

It was in the 80s for the first two days of the three day season. We got skunked those days as the weather was terrible. On the last evening we saw 7 deer. 3 does ran by that must have been spooked by something and never stopped. Then we had a forky and a few does feed out around 250 yards, too far to shoot. My daughter about lost it when the 3 does ran by the blind and we all agreed it was a very successful hunt despite no shots. I'll get her back out again in our later gun seasons in November, December, and January and we'll make it happen.

It is always a successful hunt anytime you can spend quality time with little ones in the woods! I am looking forward to that stage. My daughter is 3 months old so she hangs out at camp while my wife and I switch out between hunting and watching her.