driftrider

I had a Knight DISC, wouldn't buy another. It was a worthless POS, and that's the nicest way I can put it. Accuracy was mediocre at best, with groups ranging between 4" to all-over-the-paper at 100 yards. I tried a dozen different bullets, in different weights, with two different powders (Pyrodex and T7) in both granulations (2F &3F) in charges ranging from 70 grains to 150 grains. I also went as far as to superclean and lap the bore with JB Bore Paste and it still wouldn't shoot.

To make matters worse, if I didn't stop to disassemble and reapply anti-seize to the breechplug every 3 shots, the breechplug would sieze every time. I even tried the expensive copper based anti-sieze agent that is used in high performance racing engines, with no luck. It was also the dirtiest shooting muzzleloader I've ever seen. After 5 shots there would be enough blowback into the receiver and bolt that the bolt would start to feel gummed up. Crud would just be caked on everything. The DISCs do a good job sealing out the elements, but they blow out instantly when the rifle is fired and the primer and blowback fouling goes everywhere. The DISC idea was a novel and interesting idea, but there are much better ways to seal up the breech than a little (and relatively expensive) piece of plastic. It's just one more thin to carry around when hunting, and one more thing to forget when you go out to the range.

I got so frustrated with it that i literally THREW IT AWAY. I permanently disabled the rifle, disassembled it, and threw it in the trash. Something I've never done before and hope to never do again, but I simply could not bring myself to sell it off to another unwitting and unfortunate soul.

I then bought my Savage ML10-II, and it's the best investment in muzzleloading I've ever made. It's all the fun with half the hassle and frustration. It's very accurate, clean shooting (with smokeless powder, of course), has very little blowback into the action, has outstanding performance, and is very economical to shoot (T7 runs $19/lb here, and at 100grains/shot will give you roughly 70 shots/lb, or about $0.27/shot. VhitaVouri N110 costs $18/lb, and at 41 grains/shot will yield 170 shot/lb or $0.11/shot).

I'd highly recommend the Savage to anyone. Granted, you become somewhat of an outcast in the ML community because you use the original "black powder substitute." The crustly old whining geezers who also complained about the terrible nature of sabots, Pyrodex, and in-lines see the ML10 as a genuine sign of the end times, and the gullible ignorant believe the marketing scare tactics propagated by companies like Knight and Hodgdon (who just happens to make BOTH major black powder substitutes, think about it) because they see the Savage as a major threat to their market share and performance superiority. The Savage can do everything a Knight can do better and cheaper, and it the ML community accepted the Savage as the superior product that it is, they'd take a major hit in the old pocketbook. It's funny how the "pioneers" in the field suddenly become the biggest nay-sayers of progress when it's their asses on the line.

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox and leave with this...I would not own another Knight if one were given to me with my name engraved on the bolt, but I'd gladly buy another Savage in a heartbeat. Oh, and if you really insist on having your sight of your games flight obscured by a cloud of smoke, you CAN shoot any of the non-smokeless "muzzleloader propellants" you'd like and get less performance for more money if that's what trips your trigger.

Mike