To me they are worth it. Last year was my first year muzzleloader hunting. About 30 minutes before end of shooting hours I got my first black powder deer(a doe). Ever since then muzzleloader season has become my favorite season. Not as many hunters in the woods, less pressured deer. If your interested in casting your own ammo, get a 50 caliber muzzleloader and shoot round ball. The ball should stop in the deer and you can recover both your deer and ball and re-cast your ball into a new bullet. There are some.that say round ball is inadequate for deer, that is far from the truth. Round ball is a good deer ammo you just have to know your limits and know your gun. A good starter gun would be a inline that is compliant with the regs of your state. Out of an Inline I would shoot sabots or powerbelts. If you want a traditional looking gun (caplock/flintlock) use round ball(some caplock can shoot conical ammo. Check your twist rate in your barrel. Conical ammo shouldnt be shot out of anything with a twist slower than 1:48, round ball should be shot out of a 1:48 and SLOWER twist 1:60 and slower is preferred for roundball, but 1:48 will work provided you find a good load that likes the medium twist). I personally prefer a caplock over an inline but that just my preference. And as previously mentioned Muzzleloading is ADDICTING.