If you want a .50, so be it. If you want conicals, so be it. There is a price to pay for conicals, recoil, for one and more importantly, bullet drop at ranges game may be normally shot. And, that seemingly small 50 grains more weight in the .54 is actually very noticeable when whacking steel, given a similar impact velocity. Without me rattling on here at length, go over to a forum that specializes in black powder sports and read up. Some factors I would consider before making your decision, expected range of your quarry...conical or round ball and importantly from that, the best twist rate. At the risk of stirring the pot here, compromise twists, 1 in 48", are like the old saying: compromise does not do anything perfectly, but it will do everything more or less. The original rifles of the opening of the west were not conical shooters, most being somewhere around 66'' to 72" twist, and those old round ball rifles stayed popular with hunters long after conicals came into common use in military and target work. Short range...round balls. Conicals, longer range, adjustable sights, range finding ability, recoil tolerance.
