Thanks, Gentlemen.
What I really needed to know was if the ease with which these things went down the barrel was ok. It sounds like that is the case. I looked into casting my own. And while I love the DIY mentality, I'm not sure I need another hobby at this point. Next range session I'll try tapping the load a la Cayuga and the Teflon tape a la smm.
I'll back down on the powder charge, drift my rear sight (which was needed in my range session) and hopefully have a target worth posting for you guys to see.
This really is the best part of shooting a muzzleloader!