Hodgdon youth loads-what bullet?

[montana_native]

I'm going to try my thirteen year old behind my 300 win with one of Hodgdon 'a youth loads. What would be a good 130-150 grain bullet that would have decent terminal ballistics at low impact velocities? I'd like her to be able to take an elk.

 

[Michael Courtney]

I'm going to try my thirteen year old behind my 300 win with one of Hodgdon 'a youth loads. What would be a good 130-150 grain bullet that would have decent terminal ballistics at low impact velocities? I'd like her to be able to take an elk.

Youth loads will work fine on deer with many bullets, but elk are a different deal. Distances for elk tend to be a lot longer and the critters are a lot tougher.

I wouldn't hesitate to load a 125 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip at 2400 or so for deer, but most bullets that are stout enough for elk, won't expand reliably at those velocities. The 150 Nosler Partition is probably an exception. It has a soft lead core in the front half and will likely expand down to 1800 fps yet hold together well due to the partition design.

 

[mtwarych]

Nosler makes a 125 gn accubond. I feel if proper parameters were set and adhered to, I think the reduced powder and bullet will do the job.
I have a 257rob that I lent to a friend so his sons had a rifle they could handle and both young men killed elk. Their shots were limited to 200 yards and they were shooting 120 gn Nosler partitions.

It will be your job to determine if the load is lethal to an elk and you are responsible the young lady shoots those loads well.

With your coaching and sneaking the load up little by little the young lady won't even realize the loads she is shooting are getting stronger and stronger.

I love hunting with my children, I bet you are the same way.

Good luck
semper fi

 

[montana_native]

One of the areas I hunt usually presents an opportunity to shoot a young cow or a calf at 100 yards or less. I might give the Accubonds a look Thanks.

 

[Kennibear]

Barnes 130 grain TTSX. Back off to a midrange load between starting and max. Not my choice for a Royal Bull but cows will drop just fine.

KB

 

[mtwarych]

My son and I use a 150 nosler accubond when we hunt with our M1 Garand.
The reason why I am writing this is because of the M1 gas system won't handle full 30-06 power loads. We use 46.7 grn of H4895 and that give us about 2600 fps.
Every animal we have taken with the M1 were DRT and all had exits. Maybe you could use the 150 instead of the 125 if the young lady is up for it.
There would be no doubt in my mind about shooting the reduced loads at elk at the distance stated.
Good luck to You and your Daughter.

 

[Timber338]

I'm in the same position trying to figure out the best elk cartridge/load/bullet combo for my son.

Overall, that's great to hear you are going to take your daughter out hunting. Out of my own lack of knowledge, what kind of velocities are you talking about? I would personally lean towards the Barnes .308 150 grain TTSX and keep the muzzle velocities starting out around 2700-2800 fps... essentially duplicating the performance of a 308 win. I think at reasonable distances, the TTSX bullets are tough to beat because of the high penetration they provide in low-for-caliber weight bullets.

Have you considered looking into buying one of the Savage youth rifles chambered in 308? The stock will fit your daughter better, and the rifles really are very affordable. Another great option would be a 7mm-08 shooting a Barnes 145 grain LRX.

I'll load up some reduced velocity loads for practice at the range, and then also develop full power loads to hunt with. The range is where they'll develop a flinch, I'm not worried about a bit more recoil in a hunting situation.

Good luck!

 

[mtwarych]

I think it is pretty cool when after the shot the young hunters don't remember the recoil of the shot and can't remember the sound of the rifle going off. I guess we are all like that sometimes.
Gentlemen, good luck with the hunts with your children. My children are now 27 and 25 years old and I still look forward to hunting with them. My daughter doesn't shoot a lot during the year, but, she kills everything she aims at. My son shoots a lot and he kills everything he aims at.

JW
Semper Fi