I shoot the .54 caliber Lyman Trade Rifle flintlock. I use the 3/4 Tom Fuller Black English flints and get excellent ignition. As for conicals, I discovered that 80 grains of Goex 2f and the rifle will really do a good job with 405 grain Powerbelts. It shot some maxiball also but the powerbelts better. I standard load is 90 grains of Goex 2f, and a .530 ball and patch combination with 4f as the flash. A real good shooting rifle and dependable.

As for the recoil, the Trade Rifle due to the shape of the stock is a sweet shooter and the recoil IMO is nothing compared to my Renegades...