Most of the calibers I have gone this with, shot their top loads with slow burning powders.( IMR 4831 or IMR4350) First thing I do is drop to 4895 or 4064. This gives you a drop to start and they aren’t quite so slow burning. Then I start with beginning load in the manual for that powder. It is easy to shoot 2700fps instead of 3000 fps. That 10% helps much in terms of recoil snd blast.janesy wrote: ↑Thu Dec 24, 2020 6:22 amGood to hear your experience. I edited my post to remove the 60% loads, I always catch myself calling it that. That's bad lingo to use on my part...is it 60% or reduced by 60%? People will try anytingflightattendant100 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 23, 2020 7:49 pm]
I love my 7/08. I also have a little experience with lighter than normal loads. Colton is tiny and was even tinier when he started hunting. I have found that about 90% loads will do about anything full loads will and that 10% cuts recoil snd noise quite a bit. I have used IMR powders and 4895 and 4064 both work great for this purpose.. Truely reduced loads can be a bit dicey. Make sure everything comes out of a manual. Have fun!
Anyhow, 90% was pretty close to my plan. Based on Hodgdon info I was planning on taking the starting load and reducing it by the Max-minus-Start spread, and then that again. 5.5 Grains total reduction from 40.5 which would be about 88.5% of max load.
Then work back up to Start load to see if there is a node it there it likes.
Also make sure that the shooter has good glasses and muffs. Taking blast and noise away helps a new shooter much. Make sure!!!! A small kid or a small lady, if you put normal size shooting glasses on them, the glasses can keep the hearing muffs from sealing. This defeats the purpose. They sell smaller glasses and they are well worth the few dollars they cost to keep a smaller shooter comfortable.
Best thing I did w Colton shooting was to get an AR carbine. Stock adjusts easily for small stature and there is about ZIP recoil. Once he go used to that, moving to a larger caliber wasn’t a big deal. He went to a 243 then to a 7-08 like nothing to it!
The good ol’ days!