my son that is nine asked to try shooting my omega. I wasn't sure if he could handle the recoil ? At what age would it be fine to let him try it at some targets

There is no exact age,you can try with a very mild load and light bullet like 195 or 200 gr.
If he can shot it easily,increase the load.
Don't over do it or you might injure your son or scare him from shooting again.
Good luck
Taureau noir

Thats right no exact age, just make sure they understand about safety. Prb's or sabots with 35gr. powder and up to about 50gr. should do the trick. Keep target close so when young'un hits it you can see their excitment and tell them how good they are doing. Have fun! Best thing having fun and taking time,lots of time with child. They really enjoy bonding with you and the things you do. I am waiting on my grand children to start asking me! Oldest is 7 now, won't be to long.

Rhody,

All kids are different when it comes to shooting a firearm. My son, now 10, has taken three deer with my 30-06 (the first one at age 8). He had never shot the gun even once when he made a perfect 100-yard shot on a small buck. Recoil doesn't seem to bother him at all, but I think he is the exception rather than the rule. I have helped other kids get started in hunting and have seen kids afraid to shoot a .22 rimfire. You never know until you get out there and put them in front of a gun. The key is to start them out slowly with small caliber guns and build their confidence from the ground up.

How much has he hunted and what has he shot thus far? If the answer is nothing, I would not consider starting him out on a .50 caliber muzzleloader. The noise, flash, and smoke may scare him more than the recoil. If he has shot other guns and you think he is ready, easehim into the gun by using reduced charges (one 50 grain pellet for instance) and smaller bullets (200-250 gr). If he shoots that well you can move up to bigger charges, but you really don't need much more than 75-80 grains of powder.

Good luck

When he's big enough to shoulder the gun & fire it without losing his balance. Get a pack of roundballs, lubed patches and 40-45 gr. of powder should hold nice out to 50 yards & have hardly no recoil.

If your Omega is scoped, then surely you don't want to keep re-adjusting the crosshairs -- so in that case.... be a real nice daddy & go buy him a youth muzzleloader.

If you need help finding one, start a new thread here.

A lot of good ideas and suggestions so far. What I would suggest is, instead of letting him shoot your Omega, which might require a sight or scope adjustment.

Find a youth model rifle or something inexpensive likea CVA Bobcat in .50 caliber. Make it fit him. Tell him its his his rifle and his responsibility. He needs to learn to use it safely, load it safelyand to clean and maintain it. After all it is his. They make a great teaching tool for hunter safety, and really make the young people feel important. My friend did this with is son and the boy (although 17) is still deer hunting with his Bobcat.

Load the thing light with no more then 60 grains of powder and a patched roundball and let him have the time of his life. We had the kids shooting our hawkins, kentucky long riflesand renegadesso young that they had to put them on a railing to hold them up and yet they still fired them with ligh charges very well. All of them kids are now hooked in muzzleloading.

Rhody Hunter- You can make an early Christmas for your young man with this Knight Wolverine Youth package. It will set you back a whole $100.00. Check it out on the Knight Rifle website: http://www.knightrifles.com/productDetail.aspx?id=326752

i was 7 years old the first time I shot a 12 ga and a 30-06. sure i was a bit big for my age at 4'9" and 85 lbs. Apparently I handled it well because ive been hooked on shooting since.

...... that offer is only good after purchasing a Knight ML first.

http://www.knightrifles.com/

Goes to show one needs to read the not so fine print, sorry.[&o]