I just bought my 90 year old father a cva wolf in .50 cal. It is what he wanted. He would be shooting average size Pa. deer at 20 to 60 yards. He is starting with 777 pellets. I want to keep recoil low for obvious reasons.What would do the job and not knock him too hard? Thanks, Tom W.

i would shoot about 70grns with a fairing light bullet,say a 245gn

One of the guys here had a load for his daughter with one 50 gr 777 pellet and a Hornady 240 gr XTP pistol bullet (IIRC) that was very effective. Low recoil and a complete pass through on a doe.

Hopefully he'll chime in.

Dont know if it's me or not but I had my brother in law load his ml this past year with a single 50 grain pellet of pyro behind a Barnes 200 grain XPB bullet.
She weighs only 70 lbs and recoil never bothered her a bit....oh yeah! The doe she killed....the bullet blew right on through.

That's it.

Never mind my post above. Wrong info.


Thanks Tom.

You should get about 1200 fps or so with a 240 gr. saboted bullet with one 50-grain 777 pellet. That would be the equivalent of a hot loaded .45 Colt or lightly loaded .44 Magnum handgun or a .44/40 factory load from a rifle. Those loads have been killing deer for years. At the short ranges you mention, there shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for the info! Dad has two replaced hips, one replaced knee, a pacemaker and has been diagnesed with colon cancer. Only God knows how much time he has. He missed one with my flintlock this past season and we had a great time. If he is able to hunt at all next season I want to be ready. Thanks again, Tom W.

Even having an opportunity to miss with a flint lock is a total peace! I hope he gets one more because that would make his life, however the time spent having the single try with you is even more priceless.

With that said, I would think, being a newbee here, that 70 grains loose, or single magnum load 60 grain pellet, with a light .430 - 240 grain Hornady hollow point XTP and harvester sabot should set that deer down with little recoil, yet deadly composition.

Another thing you could maybe try would be the TC Shockwaves...



They make a .50 cal combo that shoots a 200gr. 40 cal projectile. TC says they'll work down to 1000 fps. Might be easier to get a XTP at working velocities but just another option.

My dad shoots these at 2200 fps. They are accurate out of his gun and penetrate well.

Good for you for getting your dad out there. We can all hope to be doing something like that when we get older. ....Marty

T7 has a little sharper recoil than Pyrodex. I'd try some RS Pyro powder, and use a charge he's comfortable with.

I hunted deer for 15 years with only muzzleloaders, mostly with a TC Hawken caplock. The last few years, I went back to a 30-30 and 308, but still hunt for fun with black powder. I went from 100 grains to 90, and down to 80. Started getting more accurate or consistant groupings. I stopped at 80 cause I liked the results, but I wouldn't hesitate to try 70 or even 60 grains. 80 grains of Pyrodex killed every bit as fast as 100.I've been using (Kleen Shot powder, I think that's the brand, I'll have to check) with the same results. Marty

I got my dad out on his back deck on one of our recent nice days to shoot his new wolf. 60 gr. 777 under cheapshot 240 gr.hollowpoint sabot. Two shots to get it close to center, then he put 4 shots in a 1" vertical string.He was very happy with the gentle recoil. I can see that he is going to have alot of fun with this. We will try some other combinations when spring weather gets here. Thanks again, Tom W.

For plinker loads I like these,
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/73...caliber-512-diameter-240-grain-box-of-50

Loose powder would allow you to tune the load up or down as needed...

200gr Hordady SST or even a 195gr Barnes.