"But if we are talking conicals then a 50 over a 54?"

For me, yes. The .50 has a better bc and I don't know of anything a .54 WILL do that a .50 WON'T do.

"Is there any difference in the rifling needed for conicals and sabots?"

Generally speaking a 1:24 to 1:28 is okay for both. 1:24 is better for conicals and 1:28 better for sabots. Of course a 1:24 shoots some sabots great and a 1:28 shoots some conicals great.

Actually much better than just OK!

If it were me, I'd look hard at a .50 cal REGARDLESS of ignition type. Think of all the .50cal projectiles out there. I can't think of ANYTHING a .54 WILL do that a .50 WON'T. But I do know a .50cal conical will always have a better bc than a .54 of equal weight. I also know if I get in a tight, I can always head to a local Walmart and get SOMETHING that will shoot in a .50. .50cal jags/accessories are also easy to find.

I personally think a good-quailty .50 WOULD be the do-it-all muzzleloader...

Chuck,

Good points. As I said I have this funny big bore bias that is still lingering on. So I am trying to learn more about the 45s and 50s.

So you would recomend a 50 even in round ball over a 54?

Thanks for you suggestions!

Yep my solution too buy one of each.

But if we are talking conicals then a 50 over a 54?

Is there any difference in the rifling needed for conicals and sabots?

Thanks CHuck!

The guys that are supposed to know say the 54 has a slight edge for big game over a 50 when using a round ball. Other than that the 50 seems to be the best all around choice. With conicals or sabots the 50 wins hands down.

With respect to ballistic coefficient, the RB is only one step below a brick. Ranges past 75 yds. are considered long and ranges past 100 yds. are considered extreme.
With respect to bullet energy transfer, the RB is king. A full 50% of the projectile surface makes contact with the game.
Bullet energy is certainly required. Energy transfer is an alltogether different theory. If the projectile passes through the target without expending at least 70 to 80% of it's energy, the energy is wasted.
I confess I'm a ball head and very biased. If you want a REAL challenge, go after your game with a ball. If you get it placed correctly at reasonable ball ranges, expect what you hit to go down like a bag of wet sand.