.52 Cal Knight

[raydog]

I know there is a few threads on here about the .52 cal. I'm looking for a deer/elk muzzy and wanted a knight .50 cal. I got to searching around and found the knight .52 cal. My biggest fear with the .52 cal is that it might end up like the .54 cal and be like a flash in the pan. What really has me interested is the price difference. I can get a .52 cal with a free pack of bloodlines and free cleaning kit for almost 200.00 dollars cheaper than the .50 cal. There isn't big selection of bullets as  lot of guys have stated. I also was thinking the .52 cal is cheaper because knight is trying to get rid of the rest that the have. What do you guys think?

[Dan-o]

IF you buy it, but a lifetime supply of bullets.

The 52 is a thumper, for sure.

Just get plenty of ammo while you can.

[raydog]

IF you buy it, but a lifetime supply of bullets.

The 52 is a thumper, for sure.

Just get plenty of ammo while you can.

That was a thought I had. They sell sabots to run .458 and .475 bullets. I could by a truck load of them. I almost thinking of getting the .50 to not have the head ache.

[cowboycraig]

.50 is the 9mm if black powder

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

[Pete112288]

Agreed. Personally if I could afford it I would pay the difference. Like cowboycraig said, 50 is the 9mm of black powder. My safe has nothing special but everything that I need and easy and less expensive to keep full of ammo. .50 muzzleloader, 12 gauge shotty, 30-06 for big game, .223 for small game, 30-30 for brush, and 9mm for a carry. None will get kudos for the fastest, strongest, farthest, or fanciest. But they all get the job done with no stress of keeping them fed.

[raydog]

I think I want to stick to .50 cal.

 http://www.knightrifles.com/product/mountaineer-shadow-gray-straight-stock-muzzleloader/ 

I drooling over this one!

[blackpowderhunter]

get the 50.
my very first muzzy was a 54, boy was that a pain to get accessories for.
i got it for a 'deal' with a bunch of accessories and such.  I have since sold that off and shoot a knight disc extreme .50 cal.
Love it 

[MuleDeerCrazy]

I know you're not getting many positives on the .52 cal., but I got one a few years ago and love it.  Have several buddies with them now and they love theirs as well.  I had a .50 cal. before that for years and it was fine, but that .52 cal. is off the chart... the horsepower of the .50 cal. isn't even in the same ballpark.  Bullets is the only component that could be a little tougher to get ahold of, but most guys are shooting the sabots anyway, so we're not actually shooting .52 cal. bullets... much more selection in the sabot world.

I was a little nervous when I first purchased mine, but glad I did and wouldn't trade it for a .50 cal. of any sort.  Everybody has their own tastes and preferences, but I certainly wouldn't be afraid to take a chance on the .52 caliber.

It does kick a little though

[floatinghat]

I have Knight 50 and 52's.  The draw back to the 52 is you need to plan a little more.  There are plenty of .458 bullets available so just stock up on the sabot.  Selling the .52 would be a little harder in the future.  IMO, Knight screwed up and still does with their high shipping charges.  If you are just testing ML I would go .50.

[theleo]

MMP makes 50 caliber sabots for .458 bullets. Unless you really wanted to use .475 bullets in sabots or .52 caliber bullets without, I'm not sure why you would go for the 52.

[bear hunter]

If it does flash away. You could buy a replacement .50 barrel to. 

[MuleDeerCrazy]

Ya, I think the only reason a guy might lean towards the .52 cal. is for the sheer increase in energy.  Guys routinely say they're shooting 250 gr. .50 cal. bullets around 2,000 fps.  The .52 cal. is shooting around 2,000 fps too, only difference is the 375 gr. bullet is 67% heavier, which translates to downrange energy that isn't even in the same ballpark. 

Maybe I just never found the right combination for my .50 cal., but have been super impressed with the .52 cal.

Guess that's why they make so many different guns and calibers, people have lots of different tastes...

[sirmissalot]

A little off topic here but speaking of knight muzzle loaders has anyone heard the rumor knight is having a 20% price increase?

[b.roberts]

I have a knight .50, love it.  If you are shooting conicals, might want to stick with .50.  If you want to shoot sabots, the .52 has a faster twist.  Theoretically,  should stabilize heavier bullets.  Probably going to shoot .452 or .458 bullets out of either caliber.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[bear hunter]

A little off topic here but speaking of knight muzzle loaders has anyone heard the rumor knight is having a 20% price increase?

Yea but I think it is more like 50% on some things. Crazy how much the replacement barrels cost now. It went from 150.00 to 180.00. Thats not bad but I looked just the other day and it is like 299.00 now. 

[James E]

From a ballistics stand point, the .52 out performs the .50. Knights recommended load is 150gr loose 777, with a 375 red hot sabot. It kicks like a mule. I started out with a .52 and bought a .50 barrel. I used the .50 for deer and the .52 for elk. I sold it to a buddy, wish I kept it. I used to get ammo through Knight, that was the only draw back.

[fire*guy]

I have a Knight .52 cal the only big draw back for me is finding a way to use speed loaders. I use the butler creek .54 cal tubes but they are really not long enough. They are maxed out with bullet and about 130 grs of triple7.
what do some of you other .52 cal guys use ?     

[James E]

Fire guy, when I get home tonight, I will see what kind od speed loaders I have. They are red and I think they are made by Knight. They worked good.

[fire*guy]

thanks James E,
I will take a look at knights web sight.

[raydog]

I ended up buying a .50 cal. Didn't like the low selection of bullets for the .52 I went with the cva optima and wiliams peep sight from muzzleloaders.com I wanted to try a knight but they are so darn expensive and hard to find right now. My cva wolf treated me pretty good, aside from the breech plug that needs to be replaced yet. So I think I will be happy with the optima. Thanks for your input guys

[Myrtle Creek Inc.]

I ended up buying a .50 cal. Didn't like the low selection of bullets for the .52 I went with the cva optima and wiliams peep sight from muzzleloaders.com I wanted to try a knight but they are so darn expensive and hard to find right now. My cva wolf treated me pretty good, aside from the breech plug that needs to be replaced yet. So I think I will be happy with the optima. Thanks for your input guys

Thanks for the support Raydog!

[MountainDevil54]

I ended up buying a .50 cal. Didn't like the low selection of bullets for the .52 I went with the cva optima and wiliams peep sight from muzzleloaders.com I wanted to try a knight but they are so darn expensive and hard to find right now. My cva wolf treated me pretty good, aside from the breech plug that needs to be replaced yet. So I think I will be happy with the optima. Thanks for your input guys

Wise choice! That .52cal is about as odd as the Uberti .53cal Hawken.

[raydog]

I ended up buying a .50 cal. Didn't like the low selection of bullets for the .52 I went with the cva optima and wiliams peep sight from muzzleloaders.com I wanted to try a knight but they are so darn expensive and hard to find right now. My cva wolf treated me pretty good, aside from the breech plug that needs to be replaced yet. So I think I will be happy with the optima. Thanks for your input guys

Wise choice! That .52cal is about as odd as the Uberti .53cal Hawken.

Yeah, It was a neat caliber to be different the other hunters, but I think it is already done for. Anyhow I love this optima. I put a Williams peep on it and switched the front bead from the wolf on to the optima because it is a smaller bead. Can't wait to go shoot it again!

[MountainDevil54]

If you run out of adjustment, or the peep is hanging over the ramp, just use a plastic pop " or soda, depending where you are from" and cut a plastic shim from it, punch a hole for the screw and add that under the peep sight and screw it back down to the barrel. I had to do that to a couple of my cva's with the williams peep sight.

[Possum197]

If you go with the .52, you can always get into Casting your own bullets. I do and that's half of the fun and gives you something to do in the odd season too!