Author Topic: bought a Knight American..... (Read 601 times)

ebonitekid767 · « **on:** August 14, 2005, 01:04:22 PM »

first muzzle loader iv owned so im not to sure what kind of bullets i should try.....i was thinking the SSTs.i am going to use this for deer hunting and it will be my primary gun.ordered a 3-9 scope for it also.what kind of accuracy SHOULD i expect from this rifle?

Two Bears · « **Reply #1 on:** August 15, 2005, 07:17:18 AM »

I have owned several Knight rifles and they shoot great.
My favorite load is the Hornady XTP 300gr with a black HARVESTOR sabot
pushed by 2 pyrodex pellets ( 100 ) and you will find that will give you very good results on paper and on deer, elk, bear.
With iron sights I have great accuracy at about a raquett ball size group at 100 yards and I am sure that if I had a scope on it it will do much better.

Two Bears

TN.Frank · « **Reply #2 on:** August 17, 2005, 10:20:36 AM »

I'm really thinking about going with Knight. My local dealer has a Wolverine that I'd like to have. I'd rather spend the same amount of money on a low end Knight then buy a top end CVA and end up with junk.
As for scope, I'll probably go with the 1.5-4.5x32 that I've got on my Model 7 right now. Since most of my hunting will be at woods range the 1.5x will come in handy and if I do get a 200yrd shot the 4.5x setting will be more then enough scope for that. Remember, at 4x a 200yrd shot will look like a 50yrd iron sight shot. If you can shoot irons good at 50 yrds then 4x is enough for 200 yrds. In Frith.

Mark whiz · « **Reply #3 on:** August 17, 2005, 08:25:48 PM »

You can expect exceptional accuracy from your USAK as long as you find the load it likes.
Here's a link to a few targets shot with my now 5yr old USAK:
http://community.webshots.com/album/66414501RJKYAr

As far as specific bullet choices, other than those PR bullets in the pics, I've had great results with Hornaday's 300gr XTPMags & SSTs over 80gr of 2fg 777 loose powder. The first 3 SSTs I shot with that load all hit the same hole at 50yds - that was all I needed to shoot. :grin: And the XTPs are my baseline bullet, anything that doesn't shoot at least as good as they do, go to the back of the range box for later plinking only.

I've found the keys to getting good results with mine to be:
1) Heavier bullets work best.....300gr to 400gr give better accuracy
2) Stay away from "magnum" powder loads. If you read the comments on those pics, you'll see my preferred charges are 80gr of 777 with 300gr bullets, 90gr with 350gr bullets, & 100gr with 400gr bullets. All of these loads run about 1500fps from the muzzle - which seems to be what the rifle likes best.
3) Accurize the barrel before getting "serious" on grouping. This can be done by shooting 20 to 30 lead conical bullets or patched round balls or by working 8 to 10 patches of a cleaning paste (like J-Bs, Iosso, Flitz, etc) through it and then cleaning it well afterwards. Either method will take care of any rough spots in the bore and have it ready to group well.

I too have a 1.5X 4.5 scope on mine which has been just fine up until now since my hunting area was shorter distances. Personally, I think a 2X7 would be about the perfect range for muzzleloading..................so your 3X9 is close to that mark as long as you don't have any WAY up close opportunities. Even then, if you use see thru mounts (like I do) you won't miss the shot.

TN.Frank · « **Reply #4 on:** August 18, 2005, 01:08:14 PM »

If you have a 1.5-4.5x then why do you need See Thru Mounts on your rifle? At 1.5x it's not much over no magnification at all so you'd get the same sight picture as having no scope at all. All the See Thru Mounts do is mess up your parallax and put the scope higher above the bore(always a bad thing, you should always mount a scope as close to the bore as possible). :roll: :shock: :?

retrieverhunter · « **Reply #5 on:** August 18, 2005, 03:04:49 PM »

I don't know much about the Knight American but have had a few years experience with a Knight Disc rifle. My "pet" load for my Disc is 130 gr Pyrodex and a 250 gr Barnes Expander. This load has performed flawlessly for me with excellent accuracy out to 200 yard. Congratulations on your new purchase.

Mark whiz · « **Reply #6 on:** August 19, 2005, 11:34:07 PM »

TN.Frank.......................
The main reason I went with the see-thru sights is my vision. In the low-light/close quarters conditions I often hunt in, I typically can see better with the naked eye & open sights..................can't explain way, it's just how my eyes work.

Normally I would agree with your assessment about mounting a scope close to the bore...........................but practice at different distances makes that a moot point. I know exactly where my load is gonna hit at 10yds, 25yds, 50yds, 50meters, 75yds, & 100yds................with the right practice - you could mount a scope on a tripod over the barrel and not have a problem (as long as your head is about 2ft tall so you can get a good cheek weld on the stock :eek: :wink: ).