Chronographed some youth loads - 10/01/18
Youth season cranks up here in about two weeks, so the kids and I shot a bit this weekend and I ran some ammo over the screens. Thought I'd put it out there, as folks are always looking for good data for less blast and recoil.
20" 700 SPS SS 7mm-08: R-P brass, CCI 200, 120gr Barnes TTSX
31gr H4198 - 2,550 to 2,600fps. My oldest daughter has killed deer and pigs inside 150yds with this load and it worked well. Shoots noticeably softer than my 11lb 6.5 Creedmoor we were also shooting with factory 140's.
38gr H4985 - 2,600fps
40gr H4895 - 2,700fps
41.5gr H4895 - 2,770fps
Getting above 40gr of H4895 really starts to step out of the "reduced load" category, but the gun was still easy to shoot and I was impressed with the nice recoil characteristics. The 41.5gr load pretty much duplicates a 120gr .257 Roberts factory load for velocity. The Barnes manual goes up to 43gr for H4895 and the 120 TSX in a Kreiger tube, so I imagine 43.5gr is a realistic ceiling in a factory chamber/bore. I'll load up some at 42gr and we'll hunt it this year and see how they do on animals at 2,800fps. My oldest daughter is now 13 and nearly as tall as me, so I imagine it'll be a good fit for performance versus recoil, being between a true youth load and a full power load.
20" 700 SPS 243win: W-W brass, CCI 200
My 9yr-old daughter has been shooting Trailboss loads to good effect on paper and water jugs, so I loaded a few rounds that should do the job on deer inside 100yds without a lot of blast or recoil (I know it's only a 243).
85gr Partition and 31gr of H4198 - 2,850fps
95gr Partition and 34.5gr of Varget - 2,670 to 2,700fps
Both loads shot to the same point of aim at 100yds. The Varget load is a half grain below Hogdon's listed max, but we are not getting the speeds the book indicates (accounting for 4" less barrel), so I wager we have another grain of leeway to increase velocity and probably flirt with 2,800fps. I went the Varget route just because it was one of the faster burn-rate powders listed and the charge weights and speeds should yield less blast/recoil than a full-power load with slower burning powder at 3,000fps. The 2,700fps load was rather gentle.
Maybe the girls can draw some blood this month. We'll certainly give it a go. Good luck to you guys and your kiddos.....
20" 700 SPS SS 7mm-08: R-P brass, CCI 200, 120gr Barnes TTSX
31gr H4198 - 2,550 to 2,600fps. My oldest daughter has killed deer and pigs inside 150yds with this load and it worked well. Shoots noticeably softer than my 11lb 6.5 Creedmoor we were also shooting with factory 140's.
38gr H4985 - 2,600fps
40gr H4895 - 2,700fps
41.5gr H4895 - 2,770fps
Getting above 40gr of H4895 really starts to step out of the "reduced load" category, but the gun was still easy to shoot and I was impressed with the nice recoil characteristics. The 41.5gr load pretty much duplicates a 120gr .257 Roberts factory load for velocity. The Barnes manual goes up to 43gr for H4895 and the 120 TSX in a Kreiger tube, so I imagine 43.5gr is a realistic ceiling in a factory chamber/bore. I'll load up some at 42gr and we'll hunt it this year and see how they do on animals at 2,800fps. My oldest daughter is now 13 and nearly as tall as me, so I imagine it'll be a good fit for performance versus recoil, being between a true youth load and a full power load.
20" 700 SPS 243win: W-W brass, CCI 200
My 9yr-old daughter has been shooting Trailboss loads to good effect on paper and water jugs, so I loaded a few rounds that should do the job on deer inside 100yds without a lot of blast or recoil (I know it's only a 243).
85gr Partition and 31gr of H4198 - 2,850fps
95gr Partition and 34.5gr of Varget - 2,670 to 2,700fps
Both loads shot to the same point of aim at 100yds. The Varget load is a half grain below Hogdon's listed max, but we are not getting the speeds the book indicates (accounting for 4" less barrel), so I wager we have another grain of leeway to increase velocity and probably flirt with 2,800fps. I went the Varget route just because it was one of the faster burn-rate powders listed and the charge weights and speeds should yield less blast/recoil than a full-power load with slower burning powder at 3,000fps. The 2,700fps load was rather gentle.
Maybe the girls can draw some blood this month. We'll certainly give it a go. Good luck to you guys and your kiddos.....