Light load for 300M Junior shooter?

[CodeBasher]

I have a 308 Barnard available for my weekend F Class shoots. I'd like for my son to have a swing at it but being young and slight of build the Barnard will not at all be a pleasant experience for him.

So....

For days when we shoot 300 yards, Would it be a ridiculous notion to prime some rounds down so they are barely supersonic at the 300 yard mark? Not having done the maths yet, off hand would the reduction in kick be significant?

It won't be the most accurate thing there but at would get him in the door if the crazy notion turns out to be possible.

[johnk]

I would be concerned that he (& you) will be put off by the poor results. How vigilant with the adjustments would you be if you figured that it was just the lousy accuracy sending thoise shots there?

Consider the option of adding weight to the rifle to counter the recoil. He's not shooting for a sheep station so nobody should be concerned if the rifle is carrying some extra weight while he's shooting it. Back in the old days of benchrest when one class had a ridiculously light weight limit for a heavy calibre (relatively speaking), shooters resolved the issue by using a rifle with a distinctly short buttstoick & fitting a 7-10 pound bag of lead shot between it & their shoulder.

Surely you could work out how to hang 2-3 kg of lead off the rifle in a balanced manner just for him.

[Lynn Otto]

Or ask your fellow club members if anyone is using a .223 or 6BR that they would let your son have a go with for starters, neither of these "kick". Our 10yo grandson who is very slight of built has no problem with either of these rifle calibres.

[mike H]

My reccommendation is to forget the whole idea, and change tack completely. If you are limited to 300 yards or longer, try and borrow a .223 F/class rifle. Perhaps your club may have one. It will be a lot simpler, and the young chap will not get knocked around, and as well he will be using a rifle that should allow some good hits, providing the coach is up to it.
Mike.

[Razer]

From a safety point of view I was always under the impression that "down loading"[past a certain point] is a dangerous practise as it can lead to, what I recall, as secondary ignition. Maybe someone with more expertise could clarify the issue.
Ray.
PS:being technologically impaired What do I have to hit to get rid of the "edit" once a post has been submitted? Have tried almost every???

[johnk]

PS:being technologically impaired What do I have to hit to get rid of the "edit" once a post has been submitted? Have tried almost every???

Take a bottle of whiteout ........

The edit is an option available to you to change your mind about what you previously wrote, correct a typo you made, add a few more facts, or with creativity & a degree of devilry, continually change a post you made until even you forgot what you wrote originally.

[timothi3197]

I also think a .223 or 6mm is the way to go(I have nearly got a .223 sorted for my son in August) but as an option:

Recoil is directly related to the projectile weight
I often load 125 grain projectiles into my .303 and use the starting load in the ADI tables. I only use a quick powder and magnum primers to be safe.

I have also been known to add 1/2 kilo of lead to my jungle carbine at times as well to tame it a bit

I load the .300 WinMag down to 110 grains using the starting load from the ADI tables for fallow deer (now I don't have a .243)- I assure you it works well.

Neither load suffers for accuracy at 300 meters compared to standard loadings, indeed the 125 grain .303 load is exceptionally acurate for me. The recoil is still there but greatly reduced. But they will never be premium target loads.

The .30 cal 110 grain projectiles should suit the .308 quite well but would be no substitute for real loads at distance.

I have also experimented with lighter than standard loads but only with quick powder and even then I still had the odd cartridge here and there with pressure signs so I now steer clear of loads that aren't listed in the ADI tables.

Just my humble points of view.

[timothi3197]

Just a quickie,

I do have a favorite 125 grain sierra load for my .303 that is much lighter than standard and I use it as a junior load, it was reccomended to me by one of the tech guys at Sierra- Paul was very helpful, if you were to email him with what you are after he would help I am sure. Email address below.

paul@sierrabullets.com

[Razer]

Thanks John, tried white out,not only did it make a mess on the screen but the ***** stuff wouldn't stay on the same spot on the page!!!!!
Getting back to more serious stuff,I have seen the effects of trying to lessen recoil be reducing powder load and it wasn't pretty. I was trying to insert a note of caution that there is a point where not enough powder is almost[if not] as dangerous as too much.
Ray

[AlanF]

CodeBasher

If you want to try the light load idea, use 36.5gn AR2206H and 135gn Sierra MatchKings. This load is from Hogdon "Youth Loads" (see link below). Note that H4895 is identical with AR2206H. Recoil will be very light, and if it doesn't make 300M with accuracy I would increase it gradually until it does.

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Youth%20Loads.pdf

BTW your browser icon tip now works - just took a while to get started.

Alan

[CodeBasher]

Awesome stuff guys.


I'd dearly love to get a .223 but that will definitely have to wait for some time. If I buy another er 'toy' now, she who must be obeyed will string me up from the nearest yard arm.

This is excellent information, I'll let you know how it goes.


PS: Good to hear Allen.