Second time you asked about Minie balls. The Minie requires a shallow grooved rifled barrel, and must be sized to within .001" of the bore diameter to shoot well. They don't work well in a typical BP barrel bored, and rifled to shoot PRBs. That is why no one has yet responded to your question. The Round Lead Ball is superior in performance on killing deer, in most people's experience. Forget about Maxiballs, or Minie balls for hunting thin skinned game. There is a Maxie Hunter that is better liked, and Hornady also makes a conical that is well received. Both will shoot out of a rifle with either 1:48, or 1:66" ROTs.
Black Powder: You live in Missouri. I don't know where Bourbon, Missouri is. But Graf & Sons is at Mexico, Missouri. And Powder Inc, is down in Arkansas, just across the river from Memphis, Tenn. So, you are within driving distance of two great suppliers of BP. If you buy it from them at their location, rather than having it shipped to you, you can save yourself the Haz Mat fee, charged on all Shipments. And, you can benefit from their volume discount prices. You say you don't have "buddies" who shoot Mlers. I am willing to bet that you have a BP gun club somewhere near you, and you just don't know it, yet.
Join the NMLRA. Go to their website, and look up their list of Charter Clubs. They have clubs in almost every state, and several in Missouri. They also have State Representatives in all the states- and several in large states like Missouri. Those Reps. are great people to know, and they will know where you can find other shooters, people who will help you learn to shoot that new gun, and where to go to acquire powder and other gear. Most of us now pool our powder orders with other shooters, so that we can order a case of powder( 25 lbs.) and maximize our savings on the discounted price. You may only shoot up 2 lbs. a years , and can't think of any reason to buy a case, now. Everyone else is in the same predicament. That is why we pool orders. With both companies mentioned, if you order 4-5 lbs., they will discount the price, but not as much as if you buy a case or two at one time. And, that Haz mat fee is the same whether you order and HAVE SHIPPED TO YOUR DOOR, one pound, or 50 lbs. At $20.00 per shipment, do the math to figure out how much that adds to the cost per pound. Goex has a website, as do both Graf & sons, and Powder, Inc. Go there( see the links section at the top of the index page to this forum), and call them, or the nearest distributor. Graf sells a " house Brand " of powder for about $1.00 less per pound than it gets for Goex. Powder inc, offers another Black Powder cheaper than Goex. We are talking 12-14 dollars a pound, vs. $20.00 or more a pound at retail( when you can find it. BP cannot be openly displayed, so you have to ASK the store owners if they have BP. Its kept in a safe away from customers. Talk about laws discouraging gun ownership by law abiding citizens!)
I will join others in suggesting you look at this forum's sale site for a used rifle, as your first gun. All the " Kinks" will have been worked out of it. The present owner can give you specific load information that will eliminate a lot of time and trouble, and wasted spending on your part trying to work up a good accurate load in the gun for hunting. You will be able to inspect, and shoot the rifle with a return policy if its not what you want.
I like the larger .54 cal. gun for hunting, but it uses more lead, and its a heavier gun than most .50s are. Recoil is heavier, unless we can convince you to use smaller charges for punching paper, and save the larger loads for when you are actually hunting game. The .54 is a versatile caliber, as its throwing 230 grains of lead- more than 1/2 ounce!-- with that round ball. You really don't need any kind of conical unless you intend to hunt dangerous game, like large bears. We have had members here kill small( 250 lb.) Black bears using the .54 and round balls, altho some have used specially cast RBs made with a harder lead alloy, to insure deep penetration. On deer, and even Elk, the RB usually completely penetrates the game, leaving large holes on both sides of the animal to let out a lot of blood fast. There is only so much "Dead" in any caliber, and the .54 does its job well. Recoil- altho more a shove, than a sharp pain in your shoulder-- does affect a shooters ability to accurately place his shot on his game target, and accurate placement is what hunting with a single shot rifle is all about. Don't kid yourself that you can " speed Reload" these rifles to get a second shot on an animal poorly hit with the first shot. Use any available support to steady those open sights when hunting, and make that first shot hit exactly where you aim. :thumbsup:
