The REAL conicals do shoot well. In .54 caliber they come in the 300 grain and 380. In the 1-48 twist rifles, we hunted the 300 grain with about 70 grains of Pyrodex RS. Never had a deer that did not get a pass through, so I have no idea what the bullet looked like after the fact. I have a friend with a .54 T/C Hawkins, and that is the only bullet he hunts with. He drops a lot of deer with a REAL. But then our shots are not all that far either.