I never used a muzzleloader, but I find this quite interesting. I would not have thought that a round ball was so ineffective. I did shoot a deer with my 40 pound recurve and had missed and hit it in the shoulder. The arrow knocked a hole about an 1 1/2 round through the shoulder bone (cut the deer up later) and continued through the heart. The deer ran about 50 yards and appeared to be using only 3 legs but it happened so fast I am not sure. Do muzzle loader balls only break a hole through the shoulder bone like that? I have shot plenty of deer in the shoulder with .300 Savage,6.5 Japanese, 6.5 Swede and other light cartridges and those deer go right down even if running. It is enough to break the bone. Not my preferred shot, but sometimes it is the best shot and it does not damage much meat really.