Local shop has a Knight DISC rifle in syn/blued and a T/C Black Diamond in stainless on the shelf, the prices similiar, the Knight has more pitting in the bore at the breach. Both are discontinued models as I recall.
Any thoughts on either one, anybody using one and care to share your thoughts?
Can you replace an older Knight barrel?
The Knight hasn't been discontinued as much as it's been upgraded. It's called a Disc Extreme now.
I would only take a pitted bore M-L if it was free. Spend a bit more & get one in good shape. I do like Knights.
It's not bad, just enough to see it's there. And, if the rifle is ten years or older and a hunter, it's not a surprise.
So, back to the original question: can the Knight barrel be replaced if needed, or is it a use and dispose rifle only?
I see the barrel kits on the Knight website, but not if they interchange with other models.
The knight kit will work but the new one has a forked lug so you will have to remove some in front of the lug in your stock and all parts will work off your barrel.
Thanks, sir - not much information out there on the older models. The Knight forums are pretty quiet.
My buddy had a Black Diamond that shot well.
Whichever you choose, don't pay anywhere near $200 for the BlackDiamond. Not because they are not good guns but because you can still buy one new at 3rdgeneration shooting supply for about $210 in SS.
BlackDiamond SS NIB $210
Years ago I bought a new Extreme barrel for a Knight that had been in a fire, got if from Knight. I'd imagine you could now almost buy a NIB older Knight for not much more than the barrel price.
My favorite is a Knight Elite in 45 cal.
Aside from the plastic stock which I replaced with a walnut one, my Black Diamond has always shot exceptionally well. I'd take it over the Knight any day.
I have a stainless Black Diamond and I love it. It has never misfired and it is very accurate. I really don't think that your average in-line will shoot with it.
Folks - thanks for the inputs, I think I have a better knowledge base to make a decision with.
Given the posts and the links, both are probably a bit over-priced for age and condition.
I have no experince with the Knight, but I owned two Black diamonds at 23" and a 26XR, both stainless. Both were reliable and accurate.
The only thing I didn't like about the black diamond was that its bolt action design collected powder residue and cleaning was a bit more involved than the break action CVA that replaced it. This seems to be an issue common to the bolt action designs.
I have no experince with the Knight, but I owned two Black diamonds at 23" and a 26XR, both stainless. Both were reliable and accurate.
The only thing I didn't like about the black diamond was that its bolt action design collected powder residue and cleaning was a bit more involved than the break action CVA that replaced it. This seems to be an issue common to the bolt action designs.
Wrong, its a common issue in
plunger gun designs. A true bolt action ML can be extremely clean. I will put my DISC based Knights with a Lehigh bare 209 conversion up against any mass produced ML in terms of clean. My Savages stay extremely clean also. A NULA, BadBull or Ultimate are basically spotless in the breach after firing.
My new flintlock will be....ummm....errr.......not clean.
Hmmm. It sounds like older muzzleloaders aren't worth dragging home. I've been trying to sell an unfired Black Diamond locally for $200.00 with powder, pellets, sabots, and bullets for the past month. No takers. There's probably $100.00 in accessories alone.
Doesn't sound like you are out of line, especially if the rifle has all of the parts and wrenches with it.
Blued or stainless barrel?
Blued. It is complete and ready to take out.
I have owned a few Knight disc rifles. The disk is a pain in the butt but no complaints otherwise. The only Knight that didn't shoot for me was the original 45 cal. Personally, I would never buy a used muzzleloader unless I knew who had it or I was allowed to shoot it first. Sadly, most folks I know take very poor care of their MLs. I can't recall ever seeing pitting in any of my MLs.
I have owned a few Knight disc rifles. The disk is a pain in the butt but no complaints otherwise. The only Knight that didn't shoot for me was the original 45 cal. Personally, I would never buy a used muzzleloader unless I knew who had it or I was allowed to shoot it first. Sadly, most folks I know take very poor care of their MLs. I can't recall ever seeing pitting in any of my MLs.
The Black Diamond came for consignment while I was looking at the Knight, the seller wanted to deal direct in the shop in front of the owner. I declined, and came back later, which went over very well with the shop owner. However, his consigned BD was spotless inside and out, the tools were present and bagged, the scope install was perfect, and you could tell from the care that the owner went an extra degree to take care of his firearms. The owner's book had all of the purchase data card filled out. The proverbial "only shot on Sunday" rifle...
Shoot me a pm and let me know what you are looking for. I'm going smokeless next year and I have three nice muzzleloaders I could part with.
As for the knight/black diamond thing, I have multiple knights, have had one black diamond and have had multiple other TC's.
For me personally, the knights are better made rifles. But the TC's shoot just fine and I don't really have any issues with them other than that.
an old model DISC with corrosion aint worth even $100. I've got some clean, non-corroded ones that are only barely used to sell. T/C Triumph, DISC Elite, etc. Might even be persuaded to sell my White Super 91.