Hi Bob,
That is certainly right and after the great improvements made in powder at the turn of the 18th/19th centuries, much smaller charges can be used. We find that 80-90 grains of 2F work well from repro Besses with patched round ball. We also have success with the same charge of powder with a felt wad, then bare ball, and then tow or a thin wad on top. Unfortunately, after having built an elegant and well fitted English fowler for myself, shooting a Bess is fun as a curiosity but it does not compare. I recently used the fowler on a woods walk. I had not shot it in a while and was trying to reacquaint myself with the sight picture and not doing all that well. Then I remembered "don't over think it". Just shoulder the gun, place the front sight on your target and shoot. I hit everything after that. No need to think about sight picture because that is automatically accounted for by the fit of the gun.
dave
