I have the Uberti 1858 Remington NMA with as issued notch and post sights and when I started I couldn't hit a barn door, however with practice I finished 4th out of 20 in our last club comp. It's just down to getting used to black powder guns and the way they shoot.......oh and seeing the target through the smoke.

I got the .44 as it was an ex club gun that was going at a reasonable price. I generally use around 22gr volume of Triple 7in the gun but as I rotate my usage of my target guns i'm hardly likely to run out soon.

The .44 makes a bigger hole than .36 for target shooting!

Good luck with casting your own balls, I wish I could do it but 2 young kids and not enough room make it an impossibility for me.