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Author Topic: Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...  (Read 9907 times)

Offline MuleDeerCrazy

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Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...
« on: June 20, 2013, 03:30:46 PM »
Anybody have any hands on experience with their .52 cal. muzzleloaders?  Seems like it would be a good option between the .50 and .54 for elk.  I have a .50 cal. Austin & Halleck, but seems a little light for elk... maybe I just don't have the right load?

Any thoughts from you muzzleloader buffs?

Thanks!

Offline snowpack

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Re: Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2013, 03:37:37 PM »
Really very little difference between .50 cals and .54 cals, the bullets really don't vary that much in weight and the guns usually use the same charges.

Offline MountainDevil54

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Re: Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2013, 04:02:05 PM »
How is a 50 light for elk, unless you are using a 177 grain round ball?  :dunno:

 A lot of bullets to choose from for the 50cal inline. Caliber size won't make up for poor shooting.

Offline MtnMuley

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Re: Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2013, 04:08:32 PM »
I'd get to work on finding a load with your 50.  That 50 will pack every bit of the punch the 52 will. :twocents:

Offline Sabotloader

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Re: Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2013, 08:10:58 PM »
Anybody have any hands on experience with their .52 cal. muzzleloaders?  Seems like it would be a good option between the .50 and .54 for elk.  I have a .50 cal. Austin & Halleck, but seems a little light for elk... maybe I just don't have the right load?

Any thoughts from you muzzleloader buffs?

Thanks!

I have a 52 and one of the main reasons I bought it was because it comes with a 1-26 twist.  This will allow you to shoot longer heavier bullets and achieve stabilization.

I use .458 (45-70) rifle bullets in my 52 versus the normal pistol bullets.  Barnes and Knight both offer some very good premium bullets.  Sierra - Hornady - Speer offer very good less expensive 458's also.

With all that said the 50 can be used the same way with the same bullets.  The 52 can achieve a bit better velocity but not enough to make a huge difference.

An additional thought about the 52 - it can shoot the even larger .475 bullets.

So it really is a toss up...  but the 50 is certainly the more widely accepted ML and it is easily acceptable for elk hunting...

This is a 52 with a Western Kit installed...





Keep shooting muzzleloaders - They are a blast!!

Offline MuleDeerCrazy

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Re: Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2013, 05:23:19 AM »
Maybe I was just trying to talk myself into a new gun :chuckle:

Yea, I should probably stick with the .50 cal., it's a nice long-barreled gun too.

Thanks.

Offline HntnFsh

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Re: Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...
« Reply #6 on: June 21, 2013, 05:45:56 AM »
.52s can be nice. But the supplies are harder to come by. .50 is everywhere.If a guy bought enough .52 ammo to last awhile he would be good to go.

Offline washelkhunter

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Re: Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...
« Reply #7 on: July 29, 2013, 09:37:07 AM »
Always thought the .52  was more of a  gimmick to just try and get more product out. It never took off.

Offline Sabotloader

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Re: Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2013, 11:15:26 AM »
Anybody that might be interested in a 52 I have one for sale...





http://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=24040

I can put a Western Kit in - right now it is setup with a Lehigh 209 Breech Plug
Keep shooting muzzleloaders - They are a blast!!

Offline fly-by

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Re: Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...
« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2013, 11:29:47 AM »

I use .458 (45-70) rifle bullets in my 52 versus the normal pistol bullets.  Barnes and Knight both offer some very good premium bullets.  Sierra - Hornady - Speer offer very good less expensive 458's also.



Have you had much experience shooting .458s out of a .50?  I have a .50 Knight Disc Extreme and a bunch of different .458 bullets for my 450 Marlin ranging from 300 to 500 grains.  Picked up some .50/.458 sabots but have yet to shoot any as other projects have taken precedence.  Any idea how heavy a projectile can be stabilized at reasonable velocity? 

Offline Sabotloader

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Re: Thoughts on the Knight .52 Cal. Muzzleloaders...
« Reply #10 on: July 29, 2013, 03:11:32 PM »

I use .458 (45-70) rifle bullets in my 52 versus the normal pistol bullets.  Barnes and Knight both offer some very good premium bullets.  Sierra - Hornady - Speer offer very good less expensive 458's also.



Have you had much experience shooting .458s out of a .50?  I have a .50 Knight Disc Extreme and a bunch of different .458 bullets for my 450 Marlin ranging from 300 to 500 grains.  Picked up some .50/.458 sabots but have yet to shoot any as other projects have taken precedence.  Any idea how heavy a projectile can be stabilized at reasonable velocity?

Fly-by, not sure if you were asking me or not but 90% of the bullets I shoot from my 50's are .458 bullets - like you said regular rifle bullets.

Stabilization really depends on length and diameter of the bullet.  I know from a 1-28 stabilizing a 500 grain lead bullet is not a problem, yet stabilizing a long 305 grain brass bullet with a 1-28 can be marginal.

I know Doc White shoots a 600 grain lead conical from a 1-24 White - no problem

mike
Keep shooting muzzleloaders - They are a blast!!

 


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