Had a target hanging at about 65 yards at Hefley Rendezvous a few years back. the .50's and a .54 merely rocked the plate back and forth.

I noted the plate was attached to a ring around a rod, with about a foot of shank to the 8" plate.

Just for the fun of it, I loaded my hutning load 165gr. and let fly with a 480gr. pure lead ball. I got 9 360's out of that shot, with all three companion shooters counting.

That contest (1 miss only) won me a lantern that will take 4" diameter candles a full 12" high. Nice prize. Second place, my brother, shooting his .50 Virginia Rifle, missed 2 out of 22 targets. I was hot that year, winning every event I entered with the .69 (6 of them), except for the long range BP ctg. event where I only placed in the middle of the pack. I'm still happy with that result.

If you can handle the recoil, they can be VERY accurate & have greater accuracy potential than smaller bore sizes. They are also easier to find accurate loads in as long as a few easy rules are followed as to patch thickness and where to start powder wise.