Redheaded Stepchild
 

That's pretty much the way the Knight 52 cal. get treated,.



I decided to shoot the 52 today,





I used the old bare primer conversion that the Old Knight company included with their guns.




A lot of people don't take the 52 serious. I have heard all kinds of reasons or excuses. The main one being there aren't many bullets available.
Maybe there aren't as many as for the 50 but there are plenty of selections that I guarantee a person can find one he likes and that will shoot lights out. For example
I have the following


From left to right . 325 gr FTX, 350 gr Expander mz, 375 gr Red Hot by barnes,and the 530 gr Hydracon by parker.

You can also get the parker Traditional Hunter in 530 gr , Knight offers the Bloodline in 4 different weights. 220,275,300,and 350

That's 9 bullets right there to chooses from.
Most of the time a person finds the one load that the rifle likes and that is what they hunt with. So I think there are sufficient bullets to do that
The other reason I Like the 52 is because I think it has the best ballistics for long range shooting. It outperforms the 50 and the 54

I only shot at 50 yards today , to lazy to walk far in the heat :s4:





This was with 110 gr triple 7 and the 325 gr ftx.
The gun actually shoots better, especially with the heavier bullets , with higher powder charges. I get the best performance with 130 gr .

With 130 gr or even 140 gr and the 375 gr bullet there aint much you couldn't take down even at 200 to 300 yards.( my opinion of course)

The only thing I don't like about the 52 is of course the twist rate.
It is a 1:26.

My personal opinion is that it would have been better to go with a 1:24 at least, especially for long range shooting.

But I prefer fast twists which is why I'm partial to Whites and the Knight 1:20.

I think the 52 is under rated and gets a bad rap. I remember Shill Toby did some write ups on the 52 when it was new and even though I ain't no fan of his he did have some excellent ballistic info to prove the point I'm trying to make.

For Elk I would choose the 52 all day long; Or for that matter even for deer if I thought I might be making a long shot .:s4:

You know I think this is the year for me to hunt with a .52. :s4:

Sharpshooter

One of the reason I went with the 52 was the 1-26 twist, and I like you agree the 1-24 would have been the best. Both of the 52's I had were excellent shooters were very good guns. With Lehigh building really quality 458 bullets the was an excellent selection of high quality hunting bullets for the rifle.

With other companies offering additional 458 bullets I think you can find the bullet you might want for the rifle.

It is really unfortunate that the 52 did not catch on the way Tony Knight envisioned it might.

Try 91gr by weight of BH209 (130gr by volume) and that 325gr FTX. It thumps and IIRC it clocked 2050fps+ in a LRH barrel. I think it was nearly 2100fps but its been awhile since ive shot mine. The Barnes 300gr 458SCOM and Lehigh 275gr did well also.

The bullet i really wanted to try is the Speer .458 350gr. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/579...nose-box-of-50

Personally, i love the MMP 52cal sabots. They are super strong.

Is that winter mimicry camo pattern ? It sure is a nice pattern .

It is that pattern, I really like it also. This are two newer ones - the brown you see on the 52 has been changed to a greenish color.




The bottom one is one I had done for Grouse

Redheaded stepchild for sure. Where the heck do you get sabots for a .52 caliber? I looked at both MMP and Harvester sites and could not find them.

Not to be a smart ass, but other than the 1:26" rate of twist (nice, and I agree a 1:24 would be better) what's the advantage of shooting a .458 diameter bullet out of a .52 over shooting it out of a .50?

Im not a fan of tbe 458 so i couldnt answer that . Im a fan of the375 gr bullet which is . 475 bullet which and gives over 3000 ft pounds energy

A 325gr FTX at 2050fps MV is good for 3032fpe at the muzzle and roughly 1000fpe at 300 yards.

It might not fly quite as flat as the 375gr will though. I dont know its actual BC so im not totally sure.

The 52 cal sabots are made by MMP for Knight and oddly enough Knight sells them at a very good price excluding shipping. If Knight were to fail again them MMP could sale the 52 sabot through their systems.

Originally Tony Knight envisioned the rifle as being that perfect BIG game rifle for hunting large animals. With the development of the 52 and the original 'Power Stem' breech plug the 52 would burn powder more efficiently and achieve greater velocity. The intent of the power stem came cannon technology - igniting the powder in the center or near the center of the powder burn created a better powder burn - more efficient. The current method of starting the powder at the bottom of the powder is not nearly as efficient - except with BH and the progressive burning properties it has. Then with the size of the bore and the better ignition it could burn more powder with a less peak pressure.

The bottom right picture shows a 'Power Stem' BP.



I think the use of the 458 or 475 bullets were to add to the power and range of the rifle. I really like 458 for elk hunting and I like then as they are closer to bore diameter even in a 50 cal. I seem to getter better more consistent accuracy with near bore size bullets.. So for myself and elk hunting 458's are good.

This is the current 458x305 bullet I am using and because of its length the 1-26 twist of the 52 works very well. I can shoot it and I do shoot it from a 1-28 but I need to have a 120 grain powder load.

Right and the 375 still has around 1900 ft pounds at 200 yards so either bullet is a good long range bullet . Even a 1000 ft pounds at 300 yards is better than when i shot an antelope at a little over 300 yds and i figure i had only around 600 ft pounds . I only shot her because i saw her limping around with her front leg broke and bleeding, but the fact that the 52 would be better in a situation like that is a definite plus in my book .