New Knight Wolverine and a few Q's

[cheatermk3]

Hi All--just getting back into blackpowder shooting/hunting and a lot has changed in the 20 or so years since I put up my 58 cal Zouave!

That's gone now so I picked up a Knight wolverine in 50 cal.--It came with a nipple for a #11 percussion cap.  I wanted more spark so I picked up a T/C "flamethrower" musket nipple; but now I'm wondering if that's a good idea--It extends into the breechplug about an inch and would put the spark into the powder charge a bit  rather than at the base of the charge so I'm not sure this unit is OK to use in the Knight.  Also, I heard that the flamethrower nipple is designed for pelletized propellent but I will be shooting loose powder.

Anybody else got one of these things?  I got some saboted bullets with the gun (it came in a plastic bubble-wrapped kit) as well as grease and wrench, powder measure, etc.  Also got some Hornady great plains bullets.  However, since I'm such a cheapskate I'll also be trying some hand cast minie balls since I have moulds and etc.--I useta cast 58's for my Zouave and it was minute of pop can at 100 over 110 grains of FFFg Goex.

Any suggestions for bullets/loads?  I think the 50 cal minies drop at about 350gn of pure lead.

What caliber bullet would you shoot saboted in a 50?  44/429?  45/458?  either one with the correct sabot? 

Man I got a lot to learn--this is gonna be fun!

[Reese]

I have an MK-85 that I have used the TC musket flamethrower nipple in.  I did several patch tests using the Knight red hot and the TC nipples.  The TC seemed to send more flame to the patch.  I shot the rifle with the TC nipple in it and had no problems. 

I also tested using #11 nipples with the TC #11 flamethrower creating a better burn on the patch.  I used Remington (40% hotter) and RWS 1075+ #11 caps and Triple seven loose powder with no problems or concerns with the combination.

My sabot and bullet recommendation for whitetail deer up to 150 yards is Hornady 250 gr (.452) XTP (not mag), Harvester smooth black sabot and 80 - 90 grs of FFg Triple seven. 

Although tweaking ignition can help, I found that the amount of efficiently burnt powder was more influenced by the length of barrel.  The shorter the working barrel, the less powder it seemed to completely consume.

[cheatermk3]

Thanks for the reply Reese

I shot the wolverine yesterday using the TC  nipple and musket caps just to get used to the gun--I live in the "country" and am able to shoot here.  My son and I shot the rifle a total of nine times, at paper to get the sight lined up and then at a small punkin and an old 5-gallon bucket filled w/water. 

I shot the Hornady 385-grain Great Plains HB HP bullet over 100gn of FFF Goex, had to patch after 3 rounds.  I'm gonna switch to Shockey gold (SP?) to get away from the fouling issue.

So if I'm reading your post correctly, the #11 flamethrower produced a better more consistent ignition in your patch test?  The thing I like about the musket caps is that they are easier to handle I need a capper to set the #11 caps on the nipple.

I have a large supply of .458 bullets; is there a sabot that will work with the rifle-sized bullet?  This may be a non-issue since I'm not sure that saboted bullets are legal for hunting here in WA state. If my minie balls shoot well in this rifle I may just go that route.

[Reese]

I mentioned the #11 TC flamethrower experience just to backup my opinion that the TC nipple will work fine in a Knight MK-85 and Wolverine.  It looks like the musket caps are working well for you so stay with them.  I was getting very similar burn marks from #11 magums and musket caps.

If the minies work well in your rifle, keep using with them.  If you want to try sabots, a source for .458 bullet sabots for .50 cal muzzleloader can be found here;

http://www.mmpsabots.com/

[cheatermk3]

Thanks for the link.  I see they don't give them away, do they.