Teenage Girl Muzzleloader Loads

Rich M

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I’m trying to get her some of the Thor aluminum sabots to practice with. Theyre 60gr and are supposed to be pretty accurate with a light load. The chrono idea is probally is good as well.

Finding that the chrono keeps me honest and from trying to max out the various loads too much. In my case, both XTP and FTX bullets have a sweet spot between 800 and 1,800 fps. No sense pushing them harder than they can handle.
 

SteveCNJ

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I push Barnes 290 TEZ through my .50 cal Bone Collector with 70 gr of BH209 by weight and chrono 1845 fps. Have only killed deer out to 100 yds in NJ because I've never had a farther shot but it's very accurate. Also, I have to hold onto the muzzy pretty hard because it jumps pretty good.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk
 

cnelk

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I killed this bull 21 years ago using a 50cal Hawken I built back in ‘77 in Junior High shop class

I used the 385gr Hornady Great Plains bullet w/ of Pyrodex P as there wasn’t near the selection of bullets back then - or powder.

That ol Hawken will rock you pretty good


9B1360AD-3F70-47CB-8412-0D8F94B59F23.jpeg
 
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Timberline001
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I killed this bull 21 years ago using a 50cal Hawken I built back in ‘77 in Junior High shop class

I used the 385gr Hornady Great Plains bullet w/ of Pyrodex P as there wasn’t near the selection of bullets back then - or powder.

That ol Hawken will rock you pretty good


View attachment 296636
That’s the bullet I shoot here in Idaho. Worked great on my cow last year.
 
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Timberline001
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Finding that the chrono keeps me honest and from trying to max out the various loads too much. In my case, both XTP and FTX bullets have a sweet spot between 800 and 1,800 fps. No sense pushing them harder than they can handle.
Thanks for the tip on loading .45 cal bullets in sabots! That’s a great idea to save money and give a lot of cheap practice options.
 

Rich M

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Thanks for the tip on loading .45 cal bullets in sabots! That’s a great idea to save money and give a lot of cheap practice options.
The bullets run about $35 per hundred, $45 for ftx. Sabots are about $10/50.

they load easy.

you guys should have some fun. You got any steel? I have an 8 inch plate and enjoy watching it dance. Water bottles and balloons will work too.
 
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Timberline001
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The bullets run about $35 per hundred, $45 for ftx. Sabots are about $10/50.

they load easy.

you guys should have some fun. You got any steel? I have an 8 inch plate and enjoy watching it dance. Water bottles and balloons will work too.
Yeah we’ll ring some steel for sure
 

Swift

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The SST? Have you killed some elk with that load?
Yes SST and yes several ( I'm lucky to have a farm that I take kids for damage control)
We've never had to shoot over 80 yards but it works well but with that said I'd personally keep the yardage to 100 or less 😉
Oh and we've been using a Black Diamond XR that I shortened and put a good pad on !
 

Swift

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I’m curious about this too. SST’s are super accurate but seem to blow up even on whitetails. I switched to the Barnes MZ 250 with the big open cavity in the front and have been happy but haven’t used them on elk.
If you slow them down a little bit they hold together very well we have recovered many on the offside hide
 
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Timberline001
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Yes SST and yes several ( I'm lucky to have a farm that I take kids for damage control)
We've never had to shoot over 80 yards but it works well but with that said I'd personally keep the yardage to 100 or less 😉
Oh and we've been using a Black Diamond XR that I shortened and put a good pad on !
Awesome, sounds like quite the tested rig!
 
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Timberline001
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Well, she drew a special draw cow tag in WA so time to get some .45 ftx billets and sabots to get to practicing! Thanks for the help everyone. I’ll update with the load we settle on and how it goes.
 
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Timberline001
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The bullets run about $35 per hundred, $45 for ftx. Sabots are about $10/50.

they load easy.

you guys should have some fun. You got any steel? I have an 8 inch plate and enjoy watching it dance. Water bottles and balloons will work too.
Are you loading .451s or .452s in your optima? Trying to decide on which for my wolf.
 
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My 15 year old daughter weighs 125. Her Iowa whitetail load is 80gr of BH209 pushing a 260gr Precision Rifle Extreme Elite. This load patterns 1" or less at 100 yards out of my CVA Accura Thumbhole, and the recoil is very mild. She's knocked the stuffing out of several 200+ pound whiteails with this load, and we've never lost an animal.

IME, the heavier bullets (300gr+) load and kick harder with questionable performance gain at reasonable ranges (100-150). This is especially true for a young shooter, but to each their own.

Cecil at Precision Rifle can help you out with additional proven loads for your daughter and elk. Link is below:

Precision Rifle

Good luck!
 
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Timberline001
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My 15 year old daughter weighs 125. Her Iowa whitetail load is 80gr of BH209 pushing a 260gr Precision Rifle Extreme Elite. This load patterns 1" or less at 100 yards out of my CVA Accura Thumbhole, and the recoil is very mild. She's knocked the stuffing out of several 200+ pound whiteails with this load, and we've never lost an animal.

IME, the heavier bullets (300gr+) load and kick harder with questionable performance gain at reasonable ranges (100-150). This is especially true for a young shooter, but to each their own.

Cecil at Precision Rifle can help you out with additional proven loads for your daughter and elk. Link is below:

Precision Rifle

Good luck!
Thank you. I plan on her using 225 gr FTX and working up a minimum load to a desired speed using my chrono. If I can’t get them to shoot well though he I will definitely get ahold of him. Sounds like a great way to go.
 
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Have her start with some PRB [patched round balls]
Very little recoil, fun to shoot and she'll get used to the trigger without getting hammered

They may not be all that accurate, but shoot a few so she gets used to the 'KaaaBoom and smoke'.

Then jump up to the Thompson Center Maxi Hunter Bullets - 275gr to 350gr, using 80-90gr of powder

So when you use the Maxi Hunter or Maxi Ball Bullets do you have to put a wad between the powder and bullet or can you just pack the bullet right onto the loose powder? Been thinking about using these since they are legal in Idaho and I'm only familiar with using sabots.
 

CMF

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I've had great luck with 250 grain Hornady and 70 grains of 777
And even a little bit lighter load just for practice but you also have to remember you can load a full house load for hunting she won't know the difference when she pulls the trigger on an animal ! ( not heavy bullets)
I second the lighter load for practice and separate for hunting. My oldest two kids both practiced with a 22 until they pulled the trigger on a 243/270 on their first deer at 8. Since then, they've both went on to practice with a 243 and 270 without issues and have killed a few deer since. My youngest now 8 is practicing with a 243 w/o issue after watching the older ones.
My 11yo son drew a muzzy elk tag in NM this year so he's going to start getting some muzzy experience. I haven't worked up any loads just yet though, but may do some lighter for practice or just let him shoot standard loads from the lead sled.
 

cnelk

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So when you use the Maxi Hunter or Maxi Ball Bullets do you have to put a wad between the powder and bullet or can you just pack the bullet right onto the loose powder? Been thinking about using these since they are legal in Idaho and I'm only familiar with using sabots.
I’ve done it both ways. Mostly without a felt wad.
 
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