well.....my son ethan(12) was asking me if he could use my 7 1/2" ss redhawk with 2x burris for deer hunting this season. i was surprised especially since we recently got him a rem 700 rifle in .243. i told him he sure can, if he practices up, and prooves he can hit a pie plate size target at the range. he's a pretty good shot with the 22/45 from the bench, and does a fine job with a rifle also..........even at 100 yards. now.....offhand/semi rested/field positions.....i don't know yet.
maybe i'm rubbin off on him ........hmmmm, that could have it's good points, or it's bad points. ...........and thats the pistol shootin part. .......not the expert marksman part.

i immediately started thinking about my 44mag loads. all i have EVER shot, were either factory loads, or full house magnum loads. now i'm needin something with good deer power, but suitable for a small frame 12 year old boy.
in stock.....i have Alliant 2400, H110, and Blue Dot powders......along with some 250gr sierra's, cast 240's, 240gr hornady xtp's, 210gr sierra jhp, and a few 200gr xtp's.

what kinnda load suggestions have you fellers got for a youth, deer hunting with a 44mag?

I personally would try a Blue Dot load of some where around 13 to 14 grains. It is not a full power load but it ain't weak kneed either. I would also, at that velocity, use a cast bullet, going for penetration instead of expansion. But like you said absolutely got to be able to make the shot. Just my .02 cents worth. Slim

Do we (the shooters) get an increase in our respective shooting budgets (from our wives) when we add another shooter to the mix. I think we should also get an increased alotment for range time on the weekends - along with a shorter honeydo list so we can dedicate more time to developing this aspect of our kid's life. After all, it is for our kids!

Over the past 14 years I have burnt up more Unique in loading reduced velocity, reduced recoil loads for the .44 Magnum than all other powders combined.

When our Indoor Shooting Range was built everyone (including myself) wanted a low recoiling, low velocity load to use indoors for Bullseye Shooting with our Hunting Guns. I have used Bullseye, W-231, and AA #2, but I always go back to Unique.

After burning up so much Unique one day I decided I wanted to come up with a defense load for my 5" S&W 629 Classic. I settled on the 180gr. Remington Jacketed Hollow Point and started working with Unique. I ended up with a very accurate load that recoiled like a heavy loaded, light framed .357, but had enough snort to do what I wanted.

I'd have to look up the exact powder charge, but it was somewhere around 13.0grs. with the 180's. This load turned out to be quite effective and I even took a couple Whitetails with it at accident scenes. Bullet performance was quite good.

I have also used this load in a 7 1/2" Redhawk, but never did shoot anything with it other than paper and varmints.

While I have shot Blue Dot quite a bit in the .44 also (a buddy uses it exclusively in his .44 Bisley with the 225gr. Speer 3/4 Jacket SWC HP), the recoil and muzzle blast & flash produced by Blue Dot is not a whole lot less than with the powders you have been using, and may be intimidating for a 12 year old.

Good luck in your quest, I'm sure you'll come up with something.

Larry

sounds like someone is trying to get a new pistol ,(let us know what you get KYODE)jim257...(GOOD LUCK)

hehehe! i only wish that was the case. i'd love to have a super blachawk hunter.

don't think it would matter what story i came up with right now.

My old favorite target load was always 8.0 grains of Unique under a 240 gr. hard cast bullet. I was always convinced that I needed the 240 gr XTP over 24.0 grains of H110 for hunting, but I always hated having to adjust the scope for the different loads. Lately I have been loading the cast bullet over Titegroup. Great accuracy but extremely dirty. Now I'm leaning toward just using the cast bullet for everything, but not on top of any Titegroup. I want these loads to be in the 1100 to 1200 fps range. I just tried some loads using AA#5 (my son really likes this powder for his .357) but to get the velocity I'm after, I'll need to use more of this powder than if I stayed with the Unique. So right now it looks like I'll be going full circle and go back to the Unique. I just hope the new "cleaner" version of Unique lives up to its billing.

I'll second Larry's vote for some Unique under a 240 grain hardcast bullet for your son.

unique looks unanimous from EVERYONES opinions. i may have to get me a lb. thanks!
i hate changin site in's too coltfan. may have to setup the redhawk for my son for a while. i'll tune the 14" contender with 240's n h110 or 2400.

I use Blue Dot for my 1100 fps lead loads, Coltfan. they seem fine in my SBH 5.5 steel frame.