Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Chronographed some youth loads

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.....

I loaded some very similar loads for my 12 year old daughter this year. Rifle is a Savage Axis 7/08, 20 inch barrel. I used IMR3031 just because I have a bunch of it. My daughter's practice loads were 35 grains 3031 with 120 grain Nosler BT's. I never did chronograph those, but boy they shot great. For her elk hunt a few weeks ago I had her shooting 120 grain Barnes TTSX and 38 grains IMR 3031. I verified the zero with those loads just before her hunt, and chronographed them at just over 2800 fps. She killed a big cow elk with the first shot at 215 yards, and the second at 260. Never noticed the additional recoil.

Congrats to her on the elks. We don't get anything nearly that big down here. I follow the "burn what you have" notion and I've got an 8lb jug of H4895 to shoot up, so that's what we're using for now. Handloading gives a person options.

I thought about bumping up loads for my 10yo this year...but I stayed with 36gr of h4895 out of his model 7 708 youth. My 7yo maybe able to shoot it this year so I didn't want to get crazy. I've never chronographed it but your data gives me a better idea. For fun, I shot my "adult" loads out of that little model 7 youth, had a nice little punch. I know the doe my son shot last year with those youth loads at 85 yards put quite the hole in a big doe. We are using 120bt.

What kind of pad is on that M7 youth? I noticed that the Supercell pad on the 700 youth models is very effective. Also, I added a little bit of lead to the forend of the 7mm-08 to settle it down from a shootability standpoint. It still only weighs about 7 3/4lbs scoped, but balance is better now and it's easier to shoot offhand and from a rest.

My granddaughter shot reduced loads out of her 243. They killed just as well as full power loads inside of a 100 yards. These pics her at 8 to 11 yrs old.

It's the old birch stock model with the thin factory pads. If anything....I'll put a simple slip on as he grows into it.

Not knocking a 243, heck, that was my first rifle when I was young...but with the reduced loads for 708, 308, etc out these days and even better if you can load your own...I'd skip over a 243 for kids.

Good Luck to the girls on their upcoming hunt! memtb

hanco, judging from the pictures.....it appears that your granddaughter has killed more game than many adults(?), here at the fire! 😉 I know that my daughter’s boys have killed more and bigger Whitetails than I have. memtb

The slip-ons are actually pretty decent these days. I also agree with you on the 7-08 being a better route for kids in the long run, and expect to see 6.5CM youth loads soon. I bought the 243 for my youngest because the price was right and I plan to go with a good SS tube later in 6.5CM. The 243 isn't my first choice for a deer hunting chambering, but it is rather hard to knock it with good bullet like the Partition or E-Tip. Blood trails are sometimes a bit more sparse than I'd like, but it kills.

And Hanco's grandaughter looks like my youngest in her camo with pink/purple trim and zebra boots.....LOL. That's a dandy buck in that last pic!