243 kid load

[huntall]

Need a reduced 243 load to shoot at deer for a five year old shooting a light weight single shot rifle. Probably will use a
will use a 80 to 85 grain weight bullet.
Thanks
Huntall

 

[possum1]

You can use H4895. Take the max load of a particular bullet weight and multiply by 60%. Work's great and a hoot to shoot. http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Youth%20Loads.pdf

 

[Nodak7mm]

I built some .243 loads with AA5744 for the same purpose. Used 80gr Rem PSP's, I swear it recoiled less than my std .223. Very accurate also, that particular rifle would shoot cloverleafs with that load.

I have the load data at home, if interested, PM or email me. Based on Accurate Arms data too.

Rod

 

[jimbires]

last fall I was loading for a young boy . I used 17.0 grains of IMR4198 with a 85 grain sierra HPBT bullet and a CCI 200 primer . his dad said the load is accurate . book spec on the powder is 17.0 min - 19.0 max . this info is from the speer # 13 reloading manual . he didn't get a shot at a deer so I can't give you any on game results . Jim

 

[Scott Harris]

You can use H4895. Take the max load of a particular bullet weight and multiply by 60%. Work's great and a hoot to shoot. http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Youth%20Loads.pdf

+1 I have found the loads in the manual are very light and you can bump them up a bit without your kid noticing any difference in recoil

 

[Scott Harris]

I just worked up a load for my 10 yr old (105lbs) and had him shoot it. 31gr of H4895 w/ Lapua brass, CCI BR-2 primers, and Sierra 85gr HPBT Gameking. This produces a little over 2700 fps in my rifle with no complaints from the boy. For a 5 year old, I'd drop it down to 27 -28 grains. Actually I can't really visualize a 5 yr old hunting with a 243.

 

[Kenny474]

Your best bet would be to make the rifle recoil less and use higher power loads. Put a mercury recoil reducer in the stock and add a thick recoil pad and buy the kid a shoulder pad as well. And maybe even add some weight.
The reason being is you are not just punching paper. You are shooting a living animal, which deserves a quick death if you are going to shoot it. I am unsure of the size of the deer in your area, but the .243 has a tough enough time taking down the tough New England Whitetails around here. Loading light will only compound this problem, as will poor shot placement common to inexperienced shooters.

If you want a more capable, yet lighter recoiling rifle, Remington now makes a single shot in 7.62x39. They don't have a ton of recoil, yet provide similar ballistics to the 30/30, which is a proven deer dropper. The added bullet size and weight will make it much more effective at lower velocity than the little 6mm.

If you are going to use the .243 at reduced velocity, the 95gr Nosler Ballistic Tip would be a very good choice. It will still open reliably and have enough weight for adequate penetration. If you are going to load with less velocity, you need all the bullet weight you can get.