The "pellets" you see are compressed Pyrodex. They are designed for use in In-Line guns and will not work well in a sidelock style rifle.
There are several different powders you can use in your rifle.
The FIRST is traditional Black Powder. This comes in various granuale sizes. These are graded by a number of "F" s followed by a lower case g. They will look like "FFg" or "FFFg". The more "F"s in the grade, the finer the granuale size is.
Most books recommend using the 3F in guns .45 cal or smaller and the 2F in guns .50 or larger.
Many people at this site have found the 3F (FFFg) creates a little less fouling when it is fired.
Either the FFg (sometimes called 2F) or the FFFg (3F) will work in your gun.
The biggest problem with real Black Powder is it is not easily found in Gun Stores in a lot of citys. Ordering it from Mail Order houses is also rather expensive because of the Hazardous Shipping fees.
The SECOND Powder available at a large number of gun stores is called PYRODEX. It will work well in your Precussion gun and doesn't foul as badly as real black powder.
This comes in three grades.
"PS" (very similar to 3F in its burning rate). The P stands for Pistol but it will work in rifles as well.
"RS" which is made for rifles (and shotguns) will work well in your gun.
"Select" which is RS with IMO a higher price tag and no real benifits except sometimes it is all that is available.
The THIRD Powder which is fairly new on the market is called
"777". It is a little more powerful than Black Powder or Pyrodex. IMO it is really made for the In-Line guns but it will work in Precussion sidelocks as long as it is in granular form. Some like it, some don't.
You will need precussion Caps. These look like little copper cups and they are placed on the nipple prior to firing the gun.
Caps come in three sizes. #10 (for pistols) #11 (for rifles) and "Musket". You will want the #11 size.
In the #11 size, there are the regular Caps and Magnimum caps. Both will work for you. The reliability of the gun will be a little better with the Magnums.
You will need projectiles.
For economy, I would suggest using Round Balls. In my town they run about $8.50/100.
These come in various diameters and the thing to remember is they must be smaller than the bore of your gun (.50 cal). Most people start with a ball which is .010 undersize which would be a .490 Diameter for your gun.
You will need patches.
Patches seal the gap between the ball and the rifling. They grab the rifling in the bore and impart spin to the ball for good accuracy.
These are made of cloth and have two requirements. They must be made of Cotton. No man made material or mix of man made material and cotton will work well.
They must also be the right thickness. Too thin and they won't seal the rifling grooves. Too thick and they are hard to load.
You can buy patches at many gun stores and some of them are Pre Lubricated. I would recommend these pre lubricated patches for the beginning shooter. The thickness you should look for (if you use a .490 diameter ball) is between .014 and .019. I would lean towards the .015 for starters.
You should buy a good ramrod. The ones that come with most factory guns will work but many of them are not made right and will break. If they break they can poke a nasty hole in your hand.
I recommend a steel ramrod with a sliding plastic cone on it. This cone fits in the muzzle during loading and will protect it from abrasion.
If you cannot find a good metal ramrod a fiberglass one will work temporarly. Most people think fiberglass is too abrasive at the muzzle but if it has a tapered plastic guide that should not be a problem.
The end of the ramrod will need a "cleaning jag" made for your guns caliber. This screws into the end of the ramrod and provides a good surface against the ball when your ramming it down against the powder. (The ball MUST be firmly seated on the powder charge.)
It also is used along with cleaning rags/patches (not the shooting patches, use the same kind of soft patches you would use in a regular rifle) to clean the gun when your done shooting.
A Powder Measure
Although Black powder is measured in grains, it is done using a volume method, not on some scales. You can get pre set measures or adjustable measures.
You will want one which is made to measure 50 grains or more for your .50 caliber gun. I would suggest getting the adjustable style.
Most people use a Starting Ball or block to start the bullet/patch into the bore and shove it down about 3 inches.
These look like a wooden ball with a 3 inch long dowel and a 1/8 inch long dowel sticking out the sides.
The short dowel is used to start the Ball/Patch in the muzzle and the 3 inch long dowel is used to push the load down the barrel so the ramrod will align properly.
Lubrication
Patch Lubrication is intended to ease loading, protect the patch from burning and provide a material which will keep the fouling soft after the shot.
It doesn't take a lot of this lubrication on the patch. Just enough to coat all of the surfaces.
Many commercial products are on the market.
For a first time shooter, you can use Crisco or spit.
A patch well moistened with saliva will work and some shooters are convinced it it the best. I prefer the Commercial lubes because there is less chanch of rusting the bore of the gun and they leave lubrication behind to keep the fouling soft.
Shooting glasses
Any will do but they are important when firing a muzzleloader.
When the precussion cap fires, it is often blown to pieces and you really don't want one of those in your eye.
Well, If you have all of this stuff, your almost all set.
As I mentioned, the powder charge is measured by volume.
For a muzzle loading gun, the best place to start is with the same amount of powder as the bore of the gun.
This would be 45 grains for a .45 cal, or 50 grains for a .50 cal. gun.
As with any gun, each one will shoot best with it's own special load. If you start with 50 grains and the group size is determined, change the load to 55 grains and try it.
I would guess somewhere between 50 and 80 grains you will notice the group size getting smaller and then opening up.
The gun will give a maximum load, and it will be about 100 grains. This load is best for hunting but will rarely give the best target groups.
Well, for now that is about it. I know you will have more questions, so, as I said before, feel free to ask.
