I am considering buying a pro hunter 50 cal muzzle loader for myself, and a barrel for my son. He likes the feel of the pro hunter. He is a bit recoil shy and I want to get something that I can in the future use for longer range shooting as he grows and will most likely want a higher caliber gun of his own. I do not reload at this time. I as considering the 6.5 x 284 as well as the 6.5 x 55. Are either of these rounds factory loaded. I have read the 243 has less than desirable performance. My 308 is a bit much for him and I want him to be comfortable in what and how he shoots.

Your thoughts are greatly appriciated.

George K

I think the 6.5 X 284 and 6.5 X 55 would both be good choices. I also don't see anyting wrong with a 243 Win. or 260 Rem. for up to deer sized game.

Other cartridges with mild recoil and good for up to deer sized game would include some of the .22 caliber centerfires like the 222 Rem., 223 Rem. and 22-250. The 7mm/08 packs a bit more punch with mild recoil as well.

In order to avoid buying my son multiple guns as he grows, I bought him a 308 when he was 14. He shoots Federal low recoil loads with a 170 grain bullet. He shoots it well we can go up to regular loads as he gets older and the list of ammo available is endless.
He loves it and does very well with it.

My son has been shooting an Encore in 308 since the age of 12. I bought him a laminated stock set (Gunstocks Inc I think), put a mercury reducer in the buttstock with a Simms Limbsaver pad, cut down the length of pull and he has done well with it.

Of course, you could also use the lower recoil factory ammo and the new ProHunter recoil system my make the 308 quite tolerable.

The 308 Win is a great round that is still practical when he gets older.

The Flex Tech stock for the Pro Hunter truly does reduce recoil. In a .280 Remington with full-power loads, the recoil felt more like a mild .243 WCF or perhaps an upper-end 22-250 load.

The .308 would certainly be a good choice and one that he could build upon once he's able to handle full-house loads. And the managed-recoil loads have been getting good reviews (I can't comment here as I don't shoot factory ammo in any of my centerfires).

Although the 6.5x55 is a great cartridge, you'll be severely limiting yourself if you can't handload it. Soooo, why not get the modern equivalent - the .260 Remington. There are several good factory loads available, and it should be accurate and effective on game without knocking the heck out of him. When he's a bit bigger, move up to .308 or .06 barrel. That's the beauty of the Encore, you can swap and switch barrels to your hearts content.

So much of this is subjective. I would lean towards a .243. I have taken a bunch of deer with this round and it is totally effective on deer sized animals. I've even taken a couple of caribou and it worked but for sure to light.

Anyway my reasoning for this is because later on when he's ready for somthing bigger the .243 will then be a good varmit barrel for him.

TKhanks alll for your insite
George K