zmason1002

Knight Mountaineer .50 cal. I did notice on the 4th bullet I loaded there was a spec of plastic left from the sabot. It shoots them really well, but they are just a pain to load. I'll switch over to the .452's over the summer. I have it dialed in now with the 275s I can deal with it for now. I also noticed the 275s fly right with the 200 grain tc shockwaves, maybe I'll use those for now.

sabotloader

OK so this does concern me a little bit or maybe it doesn't.... but... I have 3 Mountaineer's and many other Knights and do not have the problem with the 275 you are having - well maybe???

My first question is how difficult is it to load the very first bullet? You should be able to push that one through the crown with the gun rod and a handle of some sort. Once through the crown then it should go down the bore with 35-40 lbs of pressure.

Since you are shooting BH - normally this eases the loading pressure on subsequent shots from the bore. BUT... BH does contain a small amount of both Potassium and Sulphur... These two ingredients could cause some additional fouling if your bore has a significant amount of petroleum products in the bore. Really do not see this much at all.

You might try wiping the bore with an Alcohol patch before shooting and see if this does not ease the problem. After using the alcohol patch probably should pop a primer to insure that the breech plug is clear before loading the first shot.

Getting some petal shaving at the crown is not totally uncommon especially is the bullet was not started through the crown straight. Really should not effect accuracy significantly at all.

With all of that said and because of the tolerances that a ML barrel can be made with - you just might have a slightly tighter bore than normal.

You could then polish the bore using JB's bore paste. This can make a huge difference in loading pressure. I have routinely ran the JB's paste treatment on all new bores. In the case of Knight and the fact that they coat the bore with Bore Tek - you need to make sure that it is totally heat cured before doing the JB treatment. Usually takes one good range outing shooting 8 to 12 shots.

Second thing - How old is your Mountaineer, although it really doesn't matter since they have a lifetime warranty, You could contact Justin @ Knight Rifles - let him know your problem and more than likely he would deliver you a return voucher to get the rifle to Knight and he could check the bore diameter and work the bore if needed. I am pretty sure he could cure your problem...

Just some thoughts as I sit here watching (listening) to the news on the tube!

You might even take a chance and tell him I suggested that you contact him...

zmason1002

I've had it almost 3 years. This is the 2nd muzzle loader season. 1st and 2nd are tight but I can load with the ram rod if I'm careful. After that I have to use a bullet starter. That's not swabbing between shots. I'll try cleaning the barrel first. Shooting the Hornsby sst, xtp,and the tc shockwaves never had to swab. I have 2 weeks left of muzzle season so I'll use them for now since they shoot well.

WV Hunter

The 250 bloodlines will likely load better for you as they are smaller out of the gate, and you have more sabot options.
Bloodlines are devastating bullets. They work incredibly well. Well worth the money and then some.

bronko22000

I've always had great luck using 300 gr Hornady XTP bullets and Harvester CR sabots. That being said however I don't use BH209 and don't push them too fast. The Bloodlines are designed to have the petals fragment and IMO driving them faster is likely to their benefit (and yours).
Pushing an XTP too fast may lead to separation of the jacket/core. But they are a great bullet when used properly.