Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 6.5 CM reduced/youth loads?

I'm about to pick up a Ruger American Compact in 6.5 Creedmoor for a youth rifle for my kids. I'm looking at using 100 -120 gr bullets for whitetail. Has anybody played with some reduced recoil loads for the Creedmoor?

I'm not sure exactly what the powder capacity difference is between the 6.5 CM and the 260 Rem, but I don't think it's much. 29.5gr of IMR4198 under a 100gr Hornady SP has killed several whitetails very quickly in my nephew's 260. I haven't run the load over a chrono, but I figure it's somewhere in the 2500-2600 range.

34.5gr Varget did 2450-2500 with 120 NBT. Does quick work of Deer and very minimal recoil.


Roy

Any of the starting loads should be fine for kids, I think the 6.5 full house loads are even soft.

How young/small/inexperienced are the kids? Are you looking for somewhat reduced, pleasant shooting loads, or real powder puffs?

Any of the light bullets will be pretty close to a 243. The starting loads may be light enough. A fire form load of 13 grains red dot is almost like a 22 rim fire but good for practice and small game. Not sure if this is a good way to go but others have had the kids practice with only light loads and then switch to full power for hunting. Usually they will be so excited they won't notice the difference.

I'd go 13gr Trailboss for fun with cheap 100gr bullets, then switch to 30gr of a 4198 with a decent 100-120gr bullet for hunting. Kids will really burn through some Trailboss loads if you've got some cans and waterjugs to shoot at.

sub30 grs of RL 7 for 30 grains of 4198.... velocity is 2600 with a 100 grainer and 2400 with a 120 grainer...

both more than effective....I have found RL 7 to shoot tighter groups than 4198.

I've had great success loading for my grandkids using H4895. Hodgdon says in their reloading data you can go as low as 60% of their listed max load with H4895. I don't always go that low but sometimes I do. Depends on the kid's tolerance for recoil, don't want to make them fear the recoil. The loads so far anyway have been plenty accurate, under an inchi at 100 and they have killed several deer with them (that's right, they didn't harvest them, they just flat ass killed 'em : )
Phil

I think I would start somewhere around 32-34 grains of IMR 4895 topped by a 100 gr Ballistic Tip.

Options abound, from the super-light Trailboss/Blue Dot loads, to the mid-level 4198 /RL7 loads, to the 4895 loads and beyond. My 14yr old daughter currently shoots a H4895/120gr TTSX load in her youth 7mm-08. It's a couple grains below book max, but still a light charge for a 7mm-08 due to burn rate. She gets a little over 2,800fps from a 20" barrel and recoil feels like it's about 30% less than a factory 140gr load. She worked her way up from the super-light Blue Dot loads at 7 years old, through the 4198 loads, to this current 4895 load. It kills well enough that I'm not likely to fool with it for a couple more years, but when I do it will likely be a full-house load of Big Game or CFE 223 with the 120 TTSX.

This is what I did for grandkids, works wel

How young is the kid? If they have issues with the Creedmoor recoil, it is going to be tough.

I wouldn't say there's "the" Creedmoor recoil. The OP mentioned a relatively light rifle, and I submit there's a noticeable difference between a full bore load with a 140 and a 250 Savage equivalent load with a 100.

Let's do a quick momentum comparison. 140 x 2700 = 378,000 Now 378,000 / 100 = 3780. This tells us that to have the same recoil producing momentum a 100 grain bullet would have to launch at 3780 fps.

100 x 2800 / 140 = 2000 fps for a 140 to start slow enough to match "250 Savage" level recoil.

A start load of 35 grains of H4895 under a 100 grain Ballistic Tip ought to be pretty good if it groups well enough.

I loaded up a minimum load of Varget (36.5g) with a 100g NBT for my son and it seemed about perfect. Right around 2,735 FPS and very light recoil - about like a 243. That load is by far the most accurate in that Howa 6.5 Creedmoor. I put 6 rounds right on top of each other, under a half inch. The hunting loads in this rifle all shoot around 3/4" 3 shot groups.

We just used this load for practicing and never killed anything with it. By the time he was 10, I had him shoot his buck with a full charge load and a 129 ABLR. The reduced load would have probably worked just fine, though.

Oh yes, the reduced load would have worked nicely. It basically duplicates 250 Savage ballistics and that cartridge has been doing them in just fine for a long time.

My daughter is 14, and can handle the recoil, but my 60 lb 9 year old son is the one that I'm thinking would need the reduced loads. Thanks for the input fellas!

For a small fellow just starting out, going reduced recoil is the smart move. Review JPro's post above. TATELAW's too.

why not just consult a 250 Savage's load data with similar bullet weights then.

my R A Compact, .308, has a 16in. bbl.. i'd look for something w/ a longer bbl.