I never bought into the idea of using modern design bullets many years ago so I only have PRB experience, Dad tried them off and on and found little advantage in the close shot oppertuinity we generaly have here, we were sitting on a log for lunch one day and he looked at his TC Hawken and the maxi ball was poking half way out of the bore
this did not cause me to try them,but I did loose a cup of coffee when I choked to keep a laugh down. I think that was the last time he used them.By matching the right cal. with the animal being hunted and getting close as in archery hunting the PRB will do the job, the bores over .50 will extend the range, practice will tell you where your limit is.If you really have to shoot over 100 yds there are some military guns with period bullets that will do the task, or target guns from the last half of the 19th century are a good long range weapon as well.By this time we are into the cartridge era and the everyday use of the ML is dwindling, I suspect that cost determined what one used and if one is still using ML in the last half of the 19th century the ball is a likely choice over the bullet due to the cost factor.