Another favorite that I should shoot more is my Dixie Gun Works "Tennessee Mountain Rifle". This one is also a round ball shooter, but in .50 caliber. I use the same charge, 100 grains of Swiss 1.5 Fg, this time behind a .495" dia ball, also with a .015" thick patch. I built this one from a kit as a young man, somewhere around 18-20 years old. I hunted with it off and on for years, shooting a few deer with it.
My main "go-to" hunting rifle was always this Thompson Center "Hawken", another .54 caliber, but with a faster twist for conical bullet shooting. I built this one when I was 17 years old.
Back then, I "knew" that round balls were "ineffective" on big game, and really wanted something that shot conicals instead. This one shoots a 460 grain "Great Plains" bullet from a Lyman mold, where a .54 caliber round ball only weighs 230 grains. Lots more powder, too - 120 grains of 1.5 Fg behind that bullet.
And yes, it kills game with authority. That bullet went lengthwise through the biggest elk I've ever taken, a massive six point bull that was standing about 20 yard away when I fired. He's hanging in the basement now, serving as a gun rack for a couple of muzzle loaders, as a matter of fact.
