Knight LRH?
 

Does the non thumbhole stock have a cheek piece or cast off? Can it be shot left handed is what i'm trying to find out.

Also, what sort of ammo is available in .52 cal?

Never mind. It seems only sabots are available.

I guess Knight doesn't think lefty's and Colorado hunters are worth the bother.

Parker productions makes some very accurate hydracons lead conicals and regular conicals for the 52

I missed those, but 530gr!!! No plans to hunt elephants.

Thanks for info.

Most businesses don't spend energy retooling their products for 1 group that doesn't come near the majority.

I've said for the longest time that the people of CO (my family included) should be speaking to their representatives and going to CDOW meetings.

I've talked to the DOW a lot about this problem. They seem to think they have a primitive season right now, and have no plans to change it. It's a lost cause.

why is that?:confused0024:

because the only guys still shooting these 52s are the ones working for knight. Every one else that i see who buys them sells them months down the road. The mountaineer is getting the same treatment for some reason.

Stick with a 50

the market is definitely dominated by the 50 cal that's for sure.

Really??? I'm not sure about guys selling those Mountaineers so quick?? A few have been sold, sure, that is in any new item that comes on the market, you always have some that buy just to buy and then sell them. The Mountaineer is a very good product in my opinion.

I think he means the 52caliber Mountaineer.

So long as Knight is the only company making .52's it will always be the Red Headed Stepchild with very limited projectile options. I don't see that changing.

I think Knight used to make left-hand versions of their muzzleloaders, not sure if the present day Knight does or not.

I know what you mean, though. I shoot left-handed due to a dominant left eye. If a manufacturer doesnt make a left-hand version of a particular gun that I'm interested in, I don't buy from them. This is a big reason why I like break-action guns.

Since it's a bolt action ML. You have no option for a quick 2nd shot. The bolt on the wrong side is not a big deal. However, they could offer a stock with a LH configuration. That wouldn't be such a big expense for them, and the sales to lefty's would make up for it.

The .52 cal is too specialized though. You pretty much have to shoot sabots.

A guy on gunbroker sells 52cal conicals in a few weights that are lighter than the Parkers. The 52cal is a bit specialized but it does what it was designed to do very well. Sabots are limited but you dont have to experiment with which ones fit your bore.

My favorite load is the 325gr FTX over 130grV of BH209. Its barking on the heals of my smokeless Savage load. Granted i don't push my smokeless load to the max but it isnt needed with that bullet. Recoil gets a bit brutal with the max the Savage can handle. Its starts getting pretty close to a 458 WinMag or .404 Jefferys recoil levels. :D

Im not a Lefty but I feel your Pain Muley.....good to hear from you!
(BP)

Muley, the straight Knight DISC stock is built to be righty/lefty. That is why they moved away DISC Original stock. Doesn't help you with the action, but it was specifically built to work with both shooters.

I know everybody laughs at the 52 cal but I have one and it would be one of the guns that I would hang on to. The main reason is the 1-26 twist - accuracy is outstanding - especially at long ranges. This twist and the 1-24 twist in my White are worth a bunch to me with the bullets that I shoot.

There is not much in North America that you could not hunt with a 52, probably a bit over gunned for white tail - but for some of those larger Muley buck... the 52 could be worth it.

As someone has already suggested there are a couple of people that build conicals for them... Here in Idaho I am forced to shoot non-209 guns, no scopes, and lead conicals during ML season... The Bull Shop 460 grain frieght train is my bullet of choice for both deer and Elk... plus the cost of them does not break the bank.

Hope you find something that works for you...

I kinda view the .52 like a wildcat cartridge in the centerfire world. They perform admirably for the purpose they were intended. Probably better than the average person who has never tried them will ever understand. The .52 is kinda the same way in my opinion. The majority of shooters will probably never buy a .52 just like the majority won't ever use a wildcat cartridge but those who do will probably not give them up and will be extremely satisfied with their performance once they experience it.

That is an excellent analogy... I guess I never thought of that or even 'wildcat' cartridges... and you may have guessed I do even have one of those wildcats - a 30-06 Ackley Improved... Not many people bought into that one either...

I think one thing that folks kinda overlook is that the 52 basically uses 45-70 bullets and reaches near or some cases surpasses modern 45-70 ballistics.

Well Sabotloader, I shoot 45-70 bullets from my .50's. But I have to bow in reverence to the advantage of the 1:26 twist on your .52.

Now, if only I could convince Green Mountain to produce a run of .50 TC Hawken drop in barrels in a 1:24.

Correct you can, but can you shoot 375 grain projectiles with 150 grains of T7 or Bh and can you ignite the powder column in the middle of the column instead of the bottom of the column. This center ignition provides a more efficient burn and increases velocity and energy.

This ignition system was developed for BP artillery loads, them Knight backed it way down in size to work in a muzzleloader.

:s14: Well, no. I can't shoot those loads. :s10: And in my world of 175 yard maximum I can't think of any reason why I would want to. ;)

But the great thing about this game of ours is the option to play with whatever tickles your fancy. We could shoot side-by-side, you with your .52, big bullets and Blackhorn, and me with my .58 with round balls and GOEX and both be happy enjoying the company and the day.

I got one last run , if they would produce the barrel only it would be even better. When I got mine I had to buy it with the long Malcolm scope on it. Nice barrel for sure.

I was just on GMB's website yesterday. They have the .50 1:24" twist listed in stock. Unfortunately it still has the scope on it and is $599. Seems like they would sell a lot more of them if the scope was optional.

To me it is interesting that Knight decided to go with a faster twist with the 52 instead of with the other calibers. Doc White correctly increased the twist rate as the caliber decreased in size. I wonder why Knight is so stuck on a 1 in 28 inch twist in their 50 caliber barrels. Is the changeover to a faster twist so expensive that it makes it cost prohibitive to change or at least offer a choice or is it just stubborness? :s4:

Agree, with you i would not shoot those loads around here either... but what if you were in Canada or Alaska hunting Brown Bear or Grizzly or real Canadian Moose. Those might be a little more appealing at 100 yards. My point is the 52 gives you the option of really big game or just a plain old Whitetail with a .458-200 grain bullet. And with the twist rate it shoots them all very well.

It is not a very popular caliber, it never will be but it does offer some options, especially if you like ML hunting the really big and dangerous animals, or even hunting regular animals.

but, grainted your 58 will make a bigger hole :arms: and that use to be a pre-requisite for shooting a PRB's. Ah darn, the good ole days where have they gone?

I probably would not be shooting Black Gold, but it still would be fun... fun for a few shots anyway - then the shoulder might not agree.

Art, I do not think so.. when they were making plans for the re-entry into the market several people suggested the 1-24 twist for the 50, but it came down to the fact the majority of the population were trustful of the 1-28 very successfull twist. It is very hard to change public opinion and they could not afford not to produce a gun that would not sell or create questions.

Same for the 27" barrel on the Mountaineer... why 27 instead of 26... because it seemed that more people wanted the longer barrel versus the shorter... market appleal drives a lot of companies to change good things.

If I was hunting brown bear in Alaska. I'd have a gun with more than one shot in it. :)

Thats why they make double barrel blackpowder rifles.

Glad to hear that Grouse. Now I don't have to pine for a 1:24 .50. :s2:

So I take it you like the power stem breech plug. I switched breechplugs right away so I never tried it with the powerstem. maybe I should put it back in and try it.

No I do not use the Power Stem with any regularity, but I do have a few just in case, I wanted to squeeze that little extra out of the load.

I use strictly the Lehigh Gen II plug.

I did shoot a few loads through the chrono with it both in the 52 and the 50... It did provide a bit cleaner burn and some additional velocity but because of the way I shoot T7 - I want to be able to run a moist patch to the face of the BP.

That's the main reason I never used it. I swab after every shot and felt the powerstem was a detriment for that

Correct...

I shoot a 52 and I don't work for Knight.

IMO Knight went with the faster twist in the 52cal because the main bullet they wanted to sell was the huge 375gr .475 copper Barnes made for them. That bullet has been tried in the Harvester 50cal sabots but results were not as good even with huge amount of BH209. The 52cal is probably fine in a 1-28 with most other bullets and so is a 50cal with nearly all bullets except maybe huge conicals. Then a 1-24 probably starts to show an advantage.

Granted that Harvester 50x475 sabot was short and thin for that 375gr bullet but its a very long bullet and it needs a faster twist. Its not always the weight but the length of a bullet. Look in some old Knight or Barnes manuals. They even advise not using some of the longer bullets unless the ML meets certain fps and twist requirements.

I agree that it is the length more than the weight. Of course with the new non-lead bullets the length is longer for the same weight so therefore I would think a faster twist would be appropriate.

It's the image of the 1:20 that would need to be reversed and considering the 45 cal isn't very popular to begin with,bringing the 1:20 back isn't a sound business move IMHO.the 1:24 makes a lot more sense if Knight wants to move away from the 1:30.the 1:28 & 1:30 .45 cal rifles shoot about every bullet offering on the market well,with very few exceptions.a lot of folks are having great success shooting 45 cal PT golds,SST and Barnes bullets naked in the .250 gr weight class out of the 1;28 & 1:30. it's more about lack of heavier .40 cal bullets,than the twist IMHO.

I never did understand why the 1:20 always seemed to be controversial. I have several 1:18 and 1:20 sidelocks and inlines and most of the people I know who shoot long range all shoot one of those 2 twists. Granted I shoot heavy lead most of the time but the twist is more versatile Thames many think and a whole lot more accurate than many think