I see NO reason to shoot conicals, much less those of these heavy weights on a steady basis out of any MLer rifle. If you are hunting buffalo, or Elk, or Bear, or Wild Boar, they might be needed, and are worth the cost. The recoil IS substantial- but different than shooting Smokeless powder loads in large caliber guns. How it will feel to you depends on you, how you hold and mount a rifle, and the design of the stock.
Wattsy is right. Fill the hollow base with bore butter, and then use a good OP wad between the powder and bullet. It will give you much better accuracy, and it does shrink group size at the longer ranges measurably.
Forget the notion that you are going to reload these "bullets" faster than it takes to load a PRB. DO fill the bases at home, and carry the bullets in a separate case, or container, or in a modern " speedloader". This is to protect the base of the bullet, from dust and lint, and save you from having to carry the grease, and tools to use to fill those hollow bases in the field. ML hunting is a basic, One shot per game animal deal, for the most part, no matter how we try to change that fact. Animals are wise enough to not hang around to get shot at twice if the first shot misses.
I would not recommend using conicals that cost this much for a target, or " plinking " load to any shooter. If these were given to you, use them wisely. A load of 70 grains of FFg powder will deliver enough velocity and energy to any game within the range of a BP rifle using iron sights to kill effectively. Shooting a 400 grain slug over 70 grains of powder will get your attention, even in a .54 caliber gun.
Go ahead a try a couple of these hot loads recommended here. See what they feel like and make your own judgment as to whether you aren't being the victim of the same kind of guys who hand you a 10 gauge shotgun when you are 12 years old, tell you " just hold it like your .22 rifle ", and have you pull the trigger. You may not land on your Butt, but you will know that the gun went off! And your shoulder will remind you of that fact for several days that follow. I am not suggesting that these recommended loads are dangerous, or don't provide better groups in some guns. I am saying that they are not necessary to kill game, and if you follow Wattsy's advice, you get better velocity, more complete burn of the powder, and a better " seal " between the bullet and your rifle's bore than using these conicals " As is ".
In some cases, I believe that some of the folks shooting the heavier powder charges are having to do so because so much gas is getting past the bullet and being lost. The Use of OP wads greatly improves the gas seal of any rifle, and reduces the need to substitute the use of more powder to achieve the same velocity. :hatsoff: :thumbsup:
