I believe the original question was about the effectiveness of a .50 caliber round ball. Some of you are using a .54 and I have little doubt of how lethal that projectile is. As you might already know, I just purchased a .54 caliber rifle to give the .530 cal. round ball a try. But again, with my experience with a .50 caliber round ball, I can not advise anyone to use one to harvest a deer with. As for Daniel Boone and the likes of him, their lives depended on harvesting game and were more than likely much better at hunting and tracking game then the average individual is these days. No doubt they were much better at it then I am. So I don't see how they and what they used then to harvest deer with can be related to the average weekend warrior of today. In the end it will always be each individuals decision as to what load to use to EFFECTIVELY harvest deer with, within the limits of their state and or local laws, and I wish them all the best of luck with what ever bullet or ball and powder load they decide to hunt with.
Sincerely,
pluckit