Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Light deer load...

Ok guys, have a need to work up a light load for deer. Right now, I'm guessing a 240gr. XTP over 60gr. 777 would be fine inside of 100yards. Any ideas of the velocity of such a load? I have no chronograph. Any possibility of going even a bit lighter? Like 50 gr? 9 year old granddaughter wants go go deer hunting! This is out of a Cabela's Hawken Carbine, 1:48, .50 cal. The rifle shoots XTP's VERY well, and usually at 100gr. 777.

Your load should work great . I use 80 gr of T7 3F with the 54 cal Hornady Patched Round ball in my Lyman Great Plains Rifle and the last two deer i shot dropped without moving from the spot they were standing. 9 year old you might consider the 45 cal patch round ball for her

777 data sheet shows 80 gr. gives 1703 from the test gun. Would think you'd get at least 1400-1500 from 60 gr., pretty much a hot .44 mag handgun load. Should be plenty of power. I do wonder if the XTP will stabilize in the 1-48 at that velocity, but you will find out when you test the load.

Good luck.

For what it's worth, I killed a pile of deer with an Ithaca .50 Hawken, and 50 grs. FFFg/patched round ball. I called it my "50/50" rifle. That's even lighter than what the OP is suggesting.

Last year I worked up a load to head shoot deer at fifty feet. I used 33 grains by weight of BH-209 with a Barnes T-EZ in a TC sabot. I got just over 1000 FPS across my chrony. Noticeably quieter. I just started working down until I got noticeably less noise AND good accuracy at 50 feet. The accuracy did bobble around a little and the noise/recoil didn't come down from my normal 66 grain by weight loads which gave me ~1700 FPS until I got down to more like 40 if I remember right.

If you intend her to body shoot them at 100 yards I don't think I'd come down below 1400. If the girl needs recoil reduction, I'd try some 200 grain XTPs in a couple different sabots. That 50 grain weight savings will go a long ways toward recoil reduction and still be able to keep velocity in order to provide good expansion. I'd look around 55-65 grains by volume of 777 for accuracy with the 200s. Test expansion in gallon water jugs to be certain at the max range she'll need to shoot. I just did some 200 grain XTPs in a contender at 1100 fps and they expanded fine at that speed.

My deer hunting load for my older .50 caliber CVA Hawken cap-lock Carbine (24" barrel, 6� lbs.) is 70 grains of FFFg Swiss with a swagged Hornady patched .490" round ball with a self-imposed range limit of 80 yards or less... preferably less.

This load will normally shoot THROUGH a deer with a hit just behind the shoulder in the "kill zone". Normally, they don't run very far... maybe 20-50 yards or they drop where they stand.

You don't need a really heavy load to put venison in the freezer.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

I think most of the regular XTPs are supposed to start expanding at 800fps or so.
You should be fine. High velocity in ML deer loads is as much about trajectory as power, although I usually have a just-in-case bear tag in my pocket.

Hope you can give that young lady plenty of practice so she'll be confident. It's a good thing you're doing for her. Maybe someday she'll take her old Grandpa hunting!

I use 80 gr of 777 with a 300 gr 44 cal XTP, and get around 1600 fps.

Its very pleasant to shoot, and I have never recovered but one bullet.

It penetrated almost 3 ft lengthwise on a buck at about 60 yds

2nd the 50/50 Load....
That load combo has worked well for me and others in my hunting circle over the years.

Mark

50 grains of black, and a .45 or .50 round ball has been a proven deer killer for many friends, and both of my boys when they were young. I would however not think of letting them shoot at game at 100 yds at that age. For the young beginners I personally have been to the woods with, 60 yards is more than enough for shooting from field positions and with the pressure of a live target. In the case of Mtcurman and Nash they had been competitive shooters for a few years before they deer hunted, and I still made them hunt close. It worked very well.

80 g of T7 2f, or 2f Swiss black, with a .451 250 xtp, is a very comfortable and accurate load out of several of my inlines. might be a handful for a 9 yr old, though.

50 g 3f goex and a patched roundball is a great plinker out of my T/C sidelocks, just never launched it in anger at a deer before.

Try it, you might like it. I never recovered a ball from any deer shot with that load- complete pass-throughs.