45 calibur muzzle loaders

I was wondering if anyone could share their thoughts or experiences with a 45 calibur muzzle loader. Is it better or worse than a 50 calibur?

I was always a 50 advocate, easier bullets & all. I have now mostly moved over to the 45 cal. That's not to say that the 50 can't get the job done. My 50 cal Knight shows a steady 1950 fps across the chrony with 120 grns of B209 & a 250 grn SST. The next shooting trip I plan to check the speeds on my Knight 'Elite' 45 cal. I think I can get the speed up a fair amount with a reasonable powder charge. I mostly use the M-L in IL & want to reach out the best I can, nothing extreme, just to 150 yrds or so. I took two deer last season with my 45 cal, not really a range test since they were rather close. I have a Zeiss 3-9 on my 45 & shoot 200 grn SSTs & Barnes 195 grn slugs. Midwayusa just had a good sale on supplies, including 45 cal sabots. I bring enough I don't have to bum loads off buddies or look to the closest Wal-Mart. I certainly don't plan on selling my 50 cals, but for now I'll use the 45.

Pretty much have to agree with Steve on this one. If you're shooting round balls or maxies I guess you won't have that hard of a problem, but still having to order them most likely. But if you want to shoot sabots good luck. I did the same thing as Steve and bought a .54 caliber then realized that all the good sabots are in 50caliber so I picked up a Savage in 50 cal and haven't shot my Remington 54 caliber since and can't even sell it because no one wants it. I know some guys are raving over 45 calibers with some of the custom smokeless rifles and even 30 caliber.

My only thought about a .45 caliber muzzleloader is availability of projectiles and accessories. I have a .54 caliber that I dearly love to shoot, but unless you shop online, it's tough (i.e. darned near impossible) to find bullets, speedloaders and similar stuff. I would imagine that you'd have the same problem with .45 caliber... I got so tired of ordering and waiting, only to find out the order was messed up that I shelved my .54 and bought a .50 caliber... Formerly Steve @ G & S