The .54 is the superior round ball hunter. The .54 caliber is an excellent choice for a hunter who uses a patched round ball load....
As an example of the performance capability of the side hammer round ball rifle I loaded a Traditions Springfield Hawken with 85 grains of Goex FFFg black powder and fired two, seventy yard groups with Buffalo 220-grain patched round balls and the Buffalo 338-grain Maxi Ball-et. I knew from past experience that this load would do very well. The patched round ball group was two inches and the Maxi Ball-et group was slightly over two inches. I have no idea of how many deer I have taken with this round ball load over the last 25 years but the number is significant. In practical whitetail hunting situations this degree of accuracy, dependability, light recoil, and terminal performance makes such a rifle and load combination an excellent choice....
I know a Traditions .54 with 1:48" twist will group 425-grain Buffalo bullets inside of two inches at that range with a powder charge of 85 grains of Pyrodex RS because I've done it for years with a number of .54 caliber Traditions rifles. That has been my favorite .54 caliber deer hunting load for nearly twenty years. However, the performance of the Maxi Ball-et was surprisingly effective and I used it in this rifle during whitetail deer season.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/54_caliber_muzzleloader.htm