I have a couple older .50 caliber percussion cap rifles, but bought a .45 Traditions Lightning a few years back (10?) and would like opinions from anyone who has experince hunting and taking game with a .45 muzzleloader. I get great accuracy with Powerbelts, but constantly read about their ineffectivness on deer.

I have only taken 2 deer with black power (real black powder, not substitues) and a .490 round ball. Both were close shots and the deer went down quick with a modest charge of 70 grains.

My real interest is to learn about the bullets and sabots that are used with effectiveness from a .45 bore, modern front loader like my Traditions Lighting. Like I said, at the range the gun seems to be flawless, but I've not tried any bullets on deer yet.

All opinions are welcomed, as I'm new to the "modern" front loaders.