Reduced load for 7mm08

[CD]

I need to work up a deer load for a 9 year old. He shoots a 20ga., but the 7-08 with factory rem 140 is a bit much he says. I have some hornady 139gr that I was going to try to load around 2400 fps. Anyone have any loads they have used ? Thanks

[Ridge Runner]

CD, you do know that if you load H4895, you can load down anywhere to 60% of the max load listed don't you? The starting load of 39 gr calls for 2678 fps so I'd go about 36-37 gr and see what that gives you.
RR

[Power]

If he shoots a 20 guage shotgun but doesn't like the 7mm-08 I'd recommend NOT having him shoot the rifle off a bench. Instead, have him siton the ground and shoot over his knees. Just let him shoot at milk jugs full of colored water for fun, or clay targets, or baloons or whatever. You might want to do the sighting in for a few years until he can handle the recoil.

Trust me, once that deer walks out there, the last thing he'll think about is the recoil when he shoots.

[ShatoDavis]

Here's a link to Hodgdon's:
http://www.hodgdon.com/data/youth/7mm08rem_y.php

though it basically says the same thing RR said earlier.

I used hodgdon's youth loads last year for my 9y.o. when his 243 was "too much". Use the lighter bullet also, thiswill help with recoil.

[Doe Dumper]

At lower velocity wouldnt the 120 ballistic tip be the perfect deer pill from that gun?

[Ridge Runner]

the 120 ballistic tip works well for deer in full power 7/08 loads, as does the hornady 120 gr spire point.
RR

[48thguns]

9 years old is very young to be firing a high power rifle......he may need to wait a year IMHO. If he is complaining about a 7mm-08 recoil, it won't matter how much you reduce the load....which could be dangerous by the way. Any loads under the lowest published data could cause detonation. I know you don't want to hear this answer, however, this has been my experience working with kids for many years. The one option would be to have him shoot a slug in his 20 ga since it doesn't bother him. I assumehis max rangewill be50 yards or so. Good luck and regards, Rick.

[CD]

Thanks for the input. Hope to do some loading next week

[BamaBB]

I started my son off at 8 years old with a 260. I loaded them down and let him shoot jugs with it and when hunting I put the full load in and he never felt it when hetook his deer. I bought him an encore in 7mm08 for Christmas last year and loaded some139 grainHornady bullets with25 grains of SR4759 for a velocity of 2280 fps. I let him shoot jugs with that load and during hunting season he took 2 deer and 1 hog with full loads and never noticed it.