Its a great gun. And a .54 is the perfect caliber for that kind of timber. Good choice there. If you prepare that rifle before you load it, and keep it dry, it will go off. And a roundball out of that caliber will kill any of them Iowa monsters you want to shoot at. I have heard they also shoot conical bullets like the maxi ball real well. I have a Lyman Trade Rifle in the same caliber. I really love that rifle. A lot of people can say what they want about their inlines, but the them traditional rifles will do the job just as well.