Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Help! New Rifle Recommendation?

I am absolutely new to muzzleloading, never even held one before. I am, however, a very experienced rifleman. I am looking to purchase an outfit to take advantage of the early deer seasons in several states. I have an opportunity to pick up a used outfit for $450, ready to go, used for only one season. It's a Knight stainless Mk 85 in .54 caliber w/ a 3x9 Nikon Buckmaster. Is this a good deal? Is .54 too stout for deer? Is a 3x9 scope too big? Will the rig be too heavy? Can I use Pyrodex pellets (how many?) and saboted bullets in this gun? Does it use shotgun caps? Like I said, I don't have a clue! Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img]

First of all you will need to check with those states you plan to hunt to see if the have restrictions as to the type of lock design you can use. By lock design I mean sidehammer, flintlock or in-line. Pennsylvania is limited to flintlock only.<P>Knight makes a good weapon. I am not familar with the MK 85 but I believe all Knights are in-line by design. A 54 caliber is not too big for deer and is just about right for elk. Make sure before you buy the gun that supplies (sabots bullets) are available in your locale. There are no 54 caliber supplies within 100 miles of my home and I live in an urban area.<P>As to the price of the MK 85 I don't know if that is good or not. By comparison, Cabela's has a (new) Knight 45 caliber Super Disc stainless steel black stock for $479.99. They also have a TC Black Diamond XR 50 caliber SS/Blk stock for $319.99. If all you are going to do is deer hunt either one of these two rifles will serve you well. And supplies are readily available. Were it me I would opt for the TC 50 Caliber and with a few dollars more mount an Atec 3x9 scope for about the same money. You may even have an old Redfield 6 power in you gun locker that is looking for a new place to set. The 50 caliber can be loaded to take elk also if the occasion arises.<P>If that MK 85 is an in-line you can shoot pyrodex pellets. If it is not you can not shoot pellets in the gun. The pellet type powder was designed for in-lines only.<P>The rate of twist will determine the type of projectile to use in the gun.<BR>Sabots are used in twist 1:20, 1:28 and 1:32.<BR>Mini and Maxi balls (conicals) are used in 1:48<BR>Round ball and patch is used in 1:66 and 1:72.<P><B>Never say never, never say always</B> when dealing with a muzzleloader, but that is the generally accepted rules for rate of twist and projectile.<P>I don't know if the MK 85 will take a shotgun primer or not. Either one of the two firearms I mentioned above will take a shotgun primer. In my opinion, TC and Knight are right at the top of the totem pole as far as production firearms are concerned. Both offer good, quality workmanship and good service to their customers.<P>You need to find a copy of Sam Fadala's book <I>The Blackpowder Loading Manual 3rd Edition Expanded.</I> A mountain of information for a nominal fee.<P>Hope this helps.

Wall gave you some pretty good advice. I'll just add a couple of things.<P>Here's a link to Knight's web page if you want to check things out:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.knightrifles.com/default.cfm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.knightrifles.com/default.cfm</A> <P>I'm not sure if they make the MK-85 any more, but if I recall correctly it was an upper end gun. The price seems okay, but I wouldn't necessarily consider it a bargain either. Definitely look at the regs for the state's you're interested in hunting in. Some like PA don't allow anything other than flintlocks. Others have restrictions on in-lines and quite a few don't allow scopes. As for scopes, I'd recommend something in a fixed power like a 4X or 6X. You're not going to be shooting at extremely long ranges. I have a 4X on my Knight Wolverine and it does fine.<P>That rifle was originally spec'd out for #11 primers, but Knight does sell conversion kits that will allow you to switch over to musket caps or shotgun primers. This will not turn your gun into the DISC rifle they produce which will allow you to load up to 150 grains of pyrodex and extend your range. I think Knight recommends to 50 grain pyrodex pellets as the maximum charge.<P>There are alot of varying opinions on black powder vs. pyrodex. I used to use the pyrodex pellets in my Knight, but switched over to BP since I already it on hand and it allowed me to tinker with the loads more and improve my accuracy.<P>The .54 caliber is fine for deer. I have a .54 caliber TC Hawken and a .50 caliber Knight Wolverine with a SS barrel and a synthetic stock. I've killed deer with both and have had a complete pass through with a patched ball in my Hawken. The knight kicks like a mule with a 100 grains of pyrodex and I'm considering switching over to a wood laminate stock. I use the Knight more for hunting, but the TC Hawken is MUCH more fun to shoot.