RE: Shooting Muzzle loader $$
When cost of shooting is my concern, and it is... shoot something cheaper. Try some Pyrodex RS, Goex 2f, or even Triple Se7en. Find it on sale and it is all the better. One year when Wal Mart had their end of season sale and Pyrodex RS was $8.00 a pound, I bought them out. I think I ended up with twenty somepounds. But at that price it was a great deal. That was three or four years ago, and I have shot all that off long ago. That's cheap shooting.
As for bullets, I could not agree more. These companies that want a $1.00 a pop for their bullets can shoot them off themselves. What I actually do is I find a load that shoots good with these fancy bullets like Barnes, Nosler, Powerbelt, Sierra, Parker, etc.. and then I have a pack of them for hunting. For target shooting, I get bulk.
My favorite bulk bullets are 300 grain Hornady XTP .44 caliber and Green Crushed Rib sabots. These shoot well out of 80% of my inlines and fast twist rifles.
Another thing is get a traditional rifle and some roundball. You can load 80 grains of powder and shoot all day for very little.
As for Black Horn 209 giving you 70 shots.. I would not bet on it. The jug is 10 ounces not 16 ounces (one pound). Also I shoot 100 grains of it. I never weighed that out, but I would doubt I get 60 shots out of a jug of it. I wish I had kept better track of the first jug, but I believe I got 49 shots out of it, but don't quote me...