Semisane,
I just came here for information, trying to understand why anyone would use a lead roundball when the state of the art passed them by so long ago. What I ended up getting for answers were a bunch of hunting stories, all of them boasting great success (no failures, of course). I could understand it if most places were regulation-limited, requiring the use of a roundball, as PA once did. If roundballs were so uniformly effective, there would have been no pressure to amend the regulations, and all the bullet-making companies would not be competing to come up with better mousetraps. I've done a lot of homework on this, and in years past, shot a lot of newspapers. One thing I found with cartridge arms was there wasn't necessarily that much difference in calibers (.30-'06 vs .270, anyone?), but you darn well better select the most appropriate bullet for the intended usage. I think that is even more important with traditional muzzleloaders. Hence my frustration at getting no answers.
OldBob