Effect on POI using lighter sabot under 80 yards.

[Northslope Nimrod]

My muzzle loader is sighted in with heavier sabots. I believe they are 350 grain. If I use 250 grain there will be less recoil. My son will use my muzzle loader next week. He is 12 and quite small. We only have close shots, under 80 yards. My question is this: how will the POI change in 80 yards if I simply load it with a 250 grain sabot and not resight the rifle? I'm using two pellets of triple seven. 100 gr total. I will be using the muzzle loader just days later with the heavier sabots.

 

[Curator]

Most likely the POI will be lower for the lighter projectile but maybe not much lower. The only way to be sure is to take it to the range and try it out. More recoil and longer barrel time will make the heavy charge shot higher due to muzzle rise before the bullet leaves the barrel. A smaller shooter will not provide the recoil resistance that a larger, stronger shooter would have. Most in-line muzzle loaders are not all that heavy, so he may experience as much or more muzzle rise with the lighter load. He needs to shoot it to determine wher it shoots with the different load.

 

[J-Bar]

For the animal's sake, don't guess. You surely don't want to have your son risk wounding and losing an animal because the rifle was not sighted properly. This is not the way to raise an ethical shooter.

 

[Ifishsum]

Thing is it could shoot to a different windage axis as well - I see it all the time. A given bullet just won't always leave the muzzle and fly exactly the same as another, so you really can't assume only elevation change without shooting the rifle to verify. I wouldn't risk taking a shot without verification on target first. Anyway, if he gets Bambi in his sights he likely won't even notice the recoil in all the excitement. Good luck with the hunt!