Youth loads in the Traditions Pursuit Lady White Tail

[schoolmaster]

I finally got the chance to shoot my grand daughter's rifle. I wanted to get the rifle to shoot where the scope looked. I decided to use 50 grains by volume of BH 209 with all bullets. All shooting was done at 15 yards with an improvised rest over the hood of my truck. The roundball load grouped 1.5 inches strung vertically. I adjusted the scope and shot a 185 grain Hornady XTP Hp. into a .5 inch group. I then shot 2 groups with the Barnes 160 grain Hp designed for the 45 Gap. They went into .4 and .5 three shot groups. The Barnes bullet being longer fit the sabot well and loaded with the proper resistance. I had called the Barnes rep earlier and he said that the Gap bullet would expand with velocity as low as 750 ft/s. My next session will be shot at 50 yards which is about her limit. In the 5.75 pound rifle the recoil was mild comparable to her .357 Handirifle.

 

[schoolmaster]

Further testing with the Barnes 160 grain bullet at 50 yards results in 3-4 inch groups and occasional flyers. This bullet does not make the cut. So 4 more bullets were tried. 250 grain shock waves, 200 grain shockwaves, 200 grain Barnes, and 185 grain Barnes all shot 1 to 1.5 inch groups at 50 yards with 50 grains by volume of BH 209. The shockwaves loaded very hard in the Pursuit barrel. The Barnes loaded about right. Maybe 30-40 loading pressure. So next more shooting with the 185 grain Barnes and 185 grain Hornady XTP. I added a pound of lead to the buttstock to lessen recoil from the bench and just for testing purposes. I am really close to a load for this rifle.

 

[GM54-120]

200gr Shockwaves come with the MMP sabot. The Harvester 50x40 dark blue CrushRib will load MUCH easier. Traditions often have very tight bores.

IMO with those light loads, i would try the 40cal 180gr or 200gr XTP in the Harvester dark blue sabot. That load should still be far faster than a 10mm from a carbine.

 

[GoexBlackhorn]

Yep, the 200 Shockwave/SST - the 195gr Barnes Expanders, both of these in the blue 50/40 sabot, is the best of the bunch for me. You can also find the 40-cal 200gr XTP, to fit the 50/40 blue sabot.

A full-bore 50-cal roundball shot with 50gr of powder, can be devastating on deer at 50 yards. It should expand nicely at that speed and produce a pretty big hole.

 

[schoolmaster]

Thanks for the info. The .490 roundball load went into 1.5 inches at 15 yards! I wish that they would work as my daughter killed several deer with them in a TC white mountain carbine using 50 grains of Goex 2F. This rifle is for my grand daughter. She is 10 and stands 4' 10" and weighs 60 pounds, thus the light loads. I am thinking that 50 grains by volume of Blackhorn 209 will push the 185 grain bullet at around 1400 f/s. The Barnes rep says these bullets will expand at 750 f/s. With in her 50 yard range, they should prove fatal on deer.

 

[schoolmaster]

Well after another range session with the various bullets I have come up with the winner. The patched roundball. By going to a .015 patch (thicker) the rifle shot a 1.25 inch group at 50 yards. The 185 barnes I had hopes for shot the smallest group BUT I had a FTF on the third shot. For me this is not acceptable because it will surely happen again at the wrong time. These bullets loaded the easiest and I think did not give enough resistance to ignite the BH 209 powder reliably. I know that the roundball will absolutely work on whitetails at 50 yards with 50 grains of BH 209. So one more range session to make final scope adjustments and the rifle is ready for my grand daughter to start practicing with. Now she can muzzleload hunt with the rest of the family.