Kid friendly muzz loads??

[schmalts]

Was thinking of a few units for my son who will be 9 this year and some muzz tags have youth only. Problem is he is 80 pounds and muzz loads I have shot would hurt him and he would not want to practice with those.. Anyone do any really light loads that would be kid happy??
I have never shot round ball or any other lighter stuff, and have no idea how it kicks. My son will be using it for Lopes and deer, so I don't need really big lead.

 

[JohnCushman]

What kind of muzzleloader? Most of the new inlines have really good recoil reduction. My CVA Optima kicks less than my 30.06 with a 130 grain load.

 

[schmalts]

I have an Omega, but I have a NIB traditions that I have 2 stocks for and will cut one down shorter for him. I suppose I could get a real thick recoil pad for it too, but it still has a lot of push from those bigger projectiles. I never tried anything leass than 250 and I see they make a few lighter than that but don't know how much less recoil it would have.

 

[----]

I've never shot a muzzleloader so can't help you too much. But one to think about is that a lot of the times flinches and perceived recoil has more to do with the noise and muzzle blast of centerfires than it does the actual physical recoil.
Your son could surprise you and be able to handle more than you figure.

 

[Bambistew]

I'd work on a 70-80gr load with a 220-240gr sabot. There will be little recoil velocity so it shouldn't kick bad at all. I have a 45cal that I shoot 195s and 80grains in that is very mild to shoot... Similar to a 20ga with a light load.

 

[JohnCushman]

Limbsaver makes an incredible recoil pad. I agree that your son might just surprise you and can handle more of a load than you might think. My buddy's 12 year olf put a doe down with a 100 grain load with a 295 grain bullet. I don't think he'd shoot it multiple times a day, but he took the shot pretty well. With the lighter load, you might not want to go too light with the bullet. I'd try like a 295 grain power belt with an 80 grain load. It's going to take alot of playing around to find what's accurate, just like reloading bullets.

 

[schmalts]

I made the mistake last spring when Me and My brother and his 3 boys were doing a youth Turkey hunt weekend. The boys were patterning and practicing their guns the day before and I let my boy shoot my 2 3/4 with a magnum turkey load. He was on shooting sticks and it hit him so hard he dropped the gun and you could see his eyes well up but he didn't cry. After that he was even hesitant to shoot his .243 until I coaxed him into it and he remembered that one doesn't bite.
I just don't want that to happen again.

 

[JohnCushman]

give the limbsaver recoil pad a try...it's amazing. Start him with a small non huntable load and work him up to where he's comfortable

 

[cornfed]

Go to midwest whitetail and do a search.Bill Winke's son uses a muzzle loader with one pellet or something like that and has very good results and he is just a little pee fart.

 

[1_pointer]

I'm guessing it applies to MLers, but in centerfire rifles, the amount of powder has a bigger effect on recoil than the bullet weight. I'd get him started with the lighter bullets and about a 50gr load and work up. Depending on how much you'll limit his shot distance, I'm guessing even 50gr would be enough to thump a pronghorn/deer to about 50-75yds. Cabelas lists .50cal sabots with bullets as light as 200gr.

Found this with a quick google:
http://www.mdwfp.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=39295

 

[JohnCushman]

alot of states have a minimum bullet size/weight, though

 

[twodot]

Both of my boys shot their first deer with .50 cal and 50 grains of powder. One used a 180 grain round ball, the other used 460 grain super slug. Very dead deer at 40 yards or under. The eldest boy was 7 years and only weighed about 35 pounds. Recoil was not a problem. For kids it is really hard to beat 50 -60 grains of FFG and a roundball. They will love it!