welcome to the wonderful world of muzzle loading.
comparing the relative power of a centerfire gun to that of a muzzle loader is, in my opinion, a mistake: consider the example of the legislator (I believe it was from New York) who wanted to 'get control' of all these 'unregulated' fifty caliber guns that could bring down a jet aircraft with 'common sense gun control' ... he thought that my fifty caliber flint lock rifle would be capable of taking out a Dreamliner or an Airbus 300 ... well the day that I can do the damage with my flintlock that I can achieve with an M-2 machine gun, i'll sell that fellow a nice bridge in Brooklyn (right after I run the Zamboni in Hell)...
it's like comparing screwdrivers to dogs (by the way, my dog
is smarter than your dog, and I don't care about your screwdrivers)
:wink:
different tool - different job...
you mention a .410 scattergun: if you want to do smoothbore, I would look at a 20 gauge or larger, if you want something which will do well for small game, I like the .40 caliber, but I would recommend that you look to a .50 or .54 for deer. If all you want to do is put holes in paper (and the occasional soda can), i'd go with a .40. the 'forty' is too small for deer, in my opinion.
remember that muzzle loaders in general and flintlocks in specific are not like center -fire guns - they have a learning curve and will require some tinkering and adjustment ... if possible, get up with someone who can show you the ins and outs, and don't hesitate to ask plenty of questions. there are a number of good books on the care and feeding of muzzle loading guns, and i'd also recommend Dutch Schoultz' method - -here's his link:
http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/
psst ... should we tell him that muzzle loading can be habit forming?
make good smoke!