You've gotten some really good advice here. Like Ron T. said, the .54 is a very powerful caliber and will shoot a round ball with plenty of oomph for about anything that you may be hunting. I like Bull3540's load advice. That is what my rifle likes. You may need to experiment just a bit to find if yours likes the same thing. But, I bet you will find that Bull3540 is pretty near spot on. 2 Tall pointed out that a 1:48 twist rate will shoot either patched round balls or conicals. Even so, I prefer to shoot only patched round balls. Keep in mind what Ron T. said. As Smokin 50 pointed out, you will find that your rifle has two sweet spots with regard to the amount of powder that you use. Mine likes 65 grains and 90 grains best of all. The others are not too bad but my groups tighten up when I use either 65 or 90 grains of 3f black powder. I use mostly 65 grains because it gives less recoil and my pound of powder goes farther than when I shoot 90 grains. While 65 grains will get the job done when hunting, I choose to use the 90 grain charge. The trajectory is only marginally different until you get past 75 yards. At 100 yards, the 90 grain charge is 6 inches low with a 50 yard zero and the 65 grains charge is a bit over 8 inches low at 100 yards.