Well I will just tell you how tickled pink about what I got, about exactly one year ago.
I picked up a Pedersoli Brown Bess "Trade rifle" kit. To make a long story short I am really pleased. Touch hole was located good, kit was not hard to build, etc. Ignition is VERY fast and reliable. Love that big Musket lock. 1" flints! OOOORAH!
I put some old fashioned/timey rifle sights on mine, a full buckhorn on the rear, and just slotted the bayonet lug on the front and put in a blade. She'll group around 3.5" at fifty, and I can keep them on a paper plate at 85 yards. I'm very happy with a 85 yard kill-zone from a smoothbore. With a little more load development I might get that out to 95-100 yards which would really float my boat. At any rate, a properly loaded and sighted smoothbore is more than just a 50 yard weapon.
This thing shoots really tight patterns with shot. I have a Turkey load worked up, but could not get the Turks to come in close enough last season. This fall I took three grouse with it. I took her Elk hunting quite a bit, but did not get a shot at an Elk.
I sure like to carry it, it has super "carryability". Handles and balences so fine.
I'm using a .730" ball over 100 grains of FFg Swiss, and a thin pillow ticking patch. However, I believe a .725" ball and slightly thicker patch would be ideal. Boy a flint smoothie sure is easy to clean too.
In my opinion, I think you'd like a .75, it's 11 guage so it throws a really nice shot load. The .75" calibre really has some authority, no matter what your powder charge is. That ball weighs something like 585 grains!
If we were talking rifles, I'd say .62, but with a smoothie I think the bigger calibre is "more better". Buckshot loads, or even a load of .36 caliber balls is also an option with the bigger bore.
