My son (age 11) is interested in hunting with the smoke pole this fall, and i am wondering what a good load would be for him? i am shooting a 250 gr bullet and currently shoot about 120 gr powder. How low do i dare go before loosing to much energy?

thanks.

120 gr is a lot of powder. You're probably blowing away about 20 grains or more with every shot depending on your barrel length. Heck I shoot 80 gr with a 300 gr bullet and no deer have complained yet!

How about a 60 gr for the son? not sure on ballistics down that low?

just curious but which 250gr bullet? It really matters that we know what bullet brand it is.

Well I am not sure what bullet you are shooting but 65 grains might be enough to get the job done, if you keep the range under 100 yards. Also aim center mass. With a low powder charge, don't go trying to break bone. Have your son put that behind the shoulder into the vital organs.

I believe it's better to go with a smaller caliber bullet with enough powder to do a good job.
My son and daughters all used a 40 caliber bullet with 90 gr of powder to start with.
I recommend the 200 gr 40 caliber Shock Wave, the 200gr Lehigh and the 200gr XTP with a practice load of 80 gr and a hunting load of 90gr. in a 50 /40 sabot.

Thats what i as thinking too.

A 40-200gr SST or ShockWave with 80-90gr in a full sized gun has very little recoil and shoots a bit flatter.

There are several 200-225gr .429s also including a few Barnes that should do very well in a reduced recoil load.

My friends son is using the 250gr GoldDot over 80grs but its in a big Win Apex. I was going to let him try some 40x50s but he shot that one really well.

My wife is very recoil shy (she doesn't even like to shoot a 20ga). However she has no problem using a 270 gr. PowerBelt with 90gr. Pyrodex.

Yes I know PowerBelt's don't have the best ballistic performance, but with the lower charge and hence shorter range I'm not worried about smashing through bone. Shot placement is much more important.

I talked with Sabotloader about putting a new bullet powder load togeather for My Wife this year. She had Surgery on her Wrist and I needed to lower down the recoil.
Like Lemoyne also stated as did Sabotloader the 200gr Bullet is a good choice. I ordered the Hornady 200gr HP-XTP 10mmcal. .400" dia. I have yet to test them Im waiting for the Sabots, but that combo with 70gr's of Pyro should do the trick and be more like shooting a .22 than a MLer.
For now She's sighted in with a 240gr XTP with 70gr's of Pyro RS, it's not bad, she can shoot it without difficulty. She will limit her shots to 75yds and under and only take broadside shots. With the 200gr XTP she'll be able to stretch it out to 125 and beyond. I'll let you know the results.
(BP)

buddy got his son into shooting blackpowder this yr, and I recommend using the 200gr shockwaves for is 50 cal, and experiment with powder charges from 65gr to 90gr to see what flies best and what he is comfortable with.

I shoot the 250gr shockwaves in both of my 50 cals and 200gr shockwaves in my 45 cal all being pushed with 90 gr of powder