I would like to post this here but remember, here in Idaho I can use a modern equipped muzzleloader to hunt with during our regular rifle season...
The Knight step child - a DISC Extreme n 52 cal. I know a lot of people see no real use for this rifle, but I just can not make myself move it. Even with the new Ultra-Lite, I still have an attachment to the 52. So much so I was headed to the Rock Pit this morning to shoot the ULite again but changed my mind and took the 52 instead.
The thing that peaked my interest in the first place was the twist rate of the bore. The 1-26 twist should work very for stabilization of the longer bullets. Basically I really only shoot .458 bullets for elk hunting or even deer. I like the thought of shooting actual rifle bullets instead of handgun bullets. The fact that I am shooting these bullets at 1950 fps. seems natural to shoot a rifle bullet. The second thing I considered was the sabot. The Knight/MMP Grey sabot is heavier and can with stand much more pressure than the thinner .458/50 cal. sabots. Then of course since the rifle is so darn accurate with just about any powder charge or projectile - including heavy loads of T7, it just seems natural.
One other option if you so choose to do so is to shoot the bigger .475 bullets in a Knight Maroon sabot. I guess if I were hunting elk, moose, and big bear or even big cats a high percentage of the time the 52 would really be a good rifle. You can run the powder up to 150 grains of loose if needed but I will pass on that for now.
One other thing that should be thought about is BH 209. In the 52 with heavy bullets - that would up your velocity 150-200 fps with the same weight powder charge.
It was a good day shooting even though shooting 100 yards at a near 3" target does not seem like a problem at all anymore. This fall after harvest I will be able to shoot more at the farm and much longer distances. That will certainly increase the challenge.
I did shoot two set-ups of clay birds this morning and then worked on some bird chips...
