Well I think a lot depends on your intended use. I have four percussion revolvers and enjoy shooting them but I don't so much enjoy cleaning them. With blackpowder you have to clean the gun quite soon after firing even one shot or it will be ruined. I carry my 1860 conversion while hunting and I may fire a shot at a jack rabbit today, a couple of shots at something tomorrow and leave the gun in the holster for a month. With smokeless powder I can get away with that, with black my gun would be a mess if I didn't clean it every time. It's one thing to go out and fire a couple of dozen rounds, go home and clean the gun, but quite another when I come home dog tired from a day spent tramping through the weeds. So that is the attraction to cartridges for me, the fact that I can burn smokeless and postpone cleaning until I feel like it.