Son's first hunt

cgoose · 11-13-2011, 05:54 PM

This year will be my 10 year old son's first time hunting deer with
a gun! I have him shooting 240 gr xpt with 70 gr of blackhorn 209
for practice and he is driving tacks! I am planning on using my regular hunting load of 250 gr Barnes spit-fire and 100gr of blackhorn
for him and me to hunt with he has never shot 100gr before and my
thinking is when he shoots at a deer the extra kick wont be a problem. What do you guys think?

P.S I have told him that when we hunt there will be more kick.

Josmund · 11-13-2011, 06:10 PM

You know your son best.

I'm sure most will agree that 70 grains of BH 209 and a 240 XTP will serve you well. Wouldn't be nice to say it's the same load you're comfortable with? You don't want him puckering up because of an unknown load.

cayugad · 11-13-2011, 06:14 PM

The only concern is if you use scopes. Sometimes in practice you get used to a load's recoil. When it is suddenly changed without you really learning to adjust to it, it can cause the scope to teach you a nasty lesson. Especially in the excitement of hunting when shots are not off a bench and sometimes in an awkward position where you are not solid behind the rifle.

If you suddenly spring the fact that you've kicked the load up thirty grains and a different bullet, he might panic. Especially if he's board line recoil acceptance at the current time with the other load. He might start to worry about the new load instead of concentrating on the deer hunting. If he is shooting 70 grains and has an accurate load.. I would just let him use that. Enjoy the hunting together.

cayugad · 11-13-2011, 06:23 PM

On a different forum a person posted about shooting 40 yards at a buck with 60 grains of FFFg of powder and a patched roundball. He got a complete pass through on the buck. So what would 70 grains of BlackHorn 209 and a 240 grain hollow point have done in the same situation. Good shot placement and deer are dead.

josh...just josh · 11-13-2011, 06:29 PM

some full grown men use that kind of load. 70gr is plenty

cgoose · 11-14-2011, 06:05 PM

Thank you for the input. I have settled on 80gr of blackhorn with the barnes bullet
i shot them today and they grouped awsome and recoil good.

lemoyne · 11-15-2011, 07:00 AM

My first concern would be the POI if you change the load it needs to be sighted in with that load and since he will be using it he would need to shoot it.
70 grains will do the job at normal ranges and he should have confidence in it if that is what he has been using.

7.62NATO · 11-15-2011, 07:15 AM

Good decision. Even though you are only upping the load 10gr in each department, I would still have your son shoot it. The difference to you as a full grown man would be negligible, but maybe not to your 10-year-old boy. cayugad hit the nail on the head with regard to shooting in awkward positions in hunting situations. I shot a deer on Saturday from a treestand, and even though the position didn't seem awkward at the time, my nose still got hit pretty good by the scope and I discovered a bruise on my right bicep from the buttstock. The point being that even a not-so-awkward shot still may result in not being able to get behind the rifle properly, and a good scope bite - even from the load you worked up for your boy - could result in him being afraid of the rifle the next time he shoots.

In the end, you know your boy and we do not. You are the one best equipped to decide for him, and it sounds like you have a good combo there.

oldsmellhound · 11-15-2011, 08:01 AM

My hunting buddy's daughter has used 70 grains T7 with a 240 grain XTP for at least the past 7 years. She's taken at least 5 deer in that time. The only time we had to track the deer and finish it off, the shot placement was off- bullet hit too far forward, took out 1 shoulder and part of 1 lung but missed everything else. Every other time with good shot placement the deer went down fast...