RE: .50 or .54??
 

No personal experience, but I've read that there's a tendency for the ball to come loose from a plastic patch and move forward in the barrel. Not a good thing.

RE: .50 or .54??
 

You are doing the right thing, asking about before buying...Many buy a rifle made for one type projectile and then can't understand why they can't shoot another...

As Cay mentioned, 150 yards is a good poke at game with open sights...If I were shooting at Redcoats at 150, I could pull it off, with a deer 125 is my max with my .54...

Now...I only shoot round balls and I cast my own...I've killed about 30 deer with the .54 and a round ball and another 25 or so with a .45 and round ball...My younger brother has a .50 T/C Hawken and has taken several deer with 90gr and a Buffalo Bullet...Frankly, I can't tell that the big conical has any advantage over a .530 ball...It might when you move up to elk, but for deer a round ball into the lungs drops a deer as well as anything that I've seen...

RE: .50 or .54??
 

I shoot a .54 caliber Lyman Trade Rifle... and I see mentioned about powerbelts. One thing my rifle shoots real well is the 405 grain powerbelts with 80 grains of powder. I always figured that would be a good elk load as even at 100 yards its accurate to hunting standards...

That big powerbelt would have to have a lot of clout behind it.

RE: .50 or .54??
 

you know, i have a whole bag of those plastic patchs from 30 years ago.

i dont think you can buy them anymore, i dont know.

i never had ball come out but i bet they could.

i could just see that, there comes ole mossy horns and i shoot and i sting him in butt with a plastic patch.:D

RE: .50 or .54??
 

i really like POWERBELT hollow ones for my .50 cal flintlock hawkins.

boy, they group nice with 70/80 grs of geox 2f.

i like idea i can SLOW THEM DOWN and bullet will open up nice on deer.

no kick to gun, less smoke, noise,flinching and load real easy without bore butter in winter out in woods.

i use 295 gr ones but i heard a lot like the 348 gr ones.

the 348 gr ones are about same length as the best bullet made for years for the .50 cal hawkins, the 370 gr MAXI-BALL .

nothing that will ruin your hunting more than a flintlock that kicks your head off and blows a bullet up on side off deer.

using POWERBELT hollowbullets at high speed and close shooting under 100 yds,is biggest mistake we can make hunting deer.[:@]