KNIGHT
KP1 .50 Caliber Muzzleloader
Some measurements:
Weight - 7 lbs 4 oz per digital fish scales
Overall length 43”
Barrel length 27 11/16” -
Barrel effective length 25 7/8”
Ramrod length 24” diameter .355” ( 23/64” ? )
Scope base slot spacing (centered slots) 2.5”
Action pin diameter .375” -----
length 1 1/32” with inward dimples on ends
Attempted to measure trigger pull with a fish scale - result invalid
due to angle – I estimate the pull to be
in
the range of 3 to 3.5 pounds.
As best I have determined at this point, land to land
measure in the bore is very close to .5035”.
Fit and finish are both very good. Metal work looks excellent. Lock up of the action is very solid. I could
detect
no play of the barrel when attempting to move it either in the up-down or
side-side direction. The
synthetic
butt stock arrived with a minor ding on one side - small and easily
overlooked. The supplied
ramrod
looks nice enough but it is a flimsy affair made of hollow aluminum tubing with
press-fit brass
inserts. Knight continues to disappoint with their
supplied ramrods. I will soon order a
proper sized
Hunter Super Rod made of Delrin
with very nice features. It’s a pity
Knight doesn’t supply such a rod
from
the get-go as most owners would gladly pay a bit extra for a superior
ramrod. Rifle is definitely
nice
looking and balances very well. The
basic lines of the rifle look right to my eyes.
The gun feels
lighter
than it actually is, while the weight is already less than the 8 pound spec by
a good margin. The
butt
stock and forearm feel solid and their lines compliment the metal. The butt of the rifle is finished
with
a Kick-Eez recoil pad. The Kick-Eez pad is
a pre-fit and I find those to NEVER be quite right. This
one
is no exception but the fit is reasonably close and acceptable. Stock has the outline of a checkering
pattern
impressed in the synthetic but a more roughened finish replaces checkering.
Effective and
looks
very nice in my opinion. Comb is correct
for scope use - the included irons are fine but you must really
get
down on the stock to use them. The
installed iron sights are of the fiber optic variety and I’m glad to see
a
third retaining band on the front fiber insert.
Such inserts are otherwise very easily broken. The rear
sight
is easily adjustable for bothwindage and
elevation. My eyes dictate the use of
optics, so iron sights
are
always removed when I mount a scope.
Red
insert fiber optic rear sight
Green insert fiber optic front
sight
Safety features. There is no
half-cock position on the hammer.
Cocking involves very short hammer travel.
The safety lever position is a bit counter-intuitive but the
hammer is marked with an S and F appropriately.
Given the apparent function of the transfer bar, it would
seem all but impossible for the firing pin to be actuated
regardless
of the safety position. The safety adds
an additional margin by locking the trigger striker back thus
preventing
its contact with the transfer bar. In
the uncocked position of the hammer, it appears the
transfer bar
itself
holds the striker back as well.
The trigger is a completely new design and is not user
adjustable. There is considerable
take-up before coming
to
the actuating point. The take-up
requires only a small pull and is smooth throughout. At the actuating point,
the
trigger is very crisp and clean - quite nice but somewhat heavier than I would
normally prefer. I can only
guess
the pull weight without a proper trigger gauge, but would estimate it at 3
pounds or so.
The trigger/hammer assembly
Accessories included: owner’s manual, 209 breech plug (FPJ plug was
installed as delivered), TWO identical small
hammer
extensions, some scope/sight hole filler screws (none installed as delivered),
ramrod extension and
matching
cleaning jag, ~20 red FPJs, a $10 Knight bonus bucks
certificate, and a Knight sticker.
Included accessories
Disassembly
of the rifle is pretty straightforward and easy to accomplish. The cheapo
ramrod is removed - then
the
forearm latch (easy to operate yet holds the forearm securely with no rattle)
is pushed back to release the
forearm
- open the action using the tang mounted release (works great) - if the FPJ
extractor is installed the
instructions
call for its removal at this point.
Forearm release latch
Vertical
picture of 
barrel under lug
FPJ
breech plug setup as received
The extractor (used only for the plastic jackets) is removed
by pulling straight back and out.
Although the manual
suggests
using the thumb and index finger, I found a bit more secure hold was
required. A short, small hex wrench
was
used to hook and remove the extractor.
The breech plug may then be removed with the included tool.
Knights breech plug tool is considerably heavier duty than
most and should allow one to be able to exert more
than
sufficient torque for removing a stubborn plug.
As you can see in the above picture, the rifle comes with
an
overly generous supply of grease on the breech plug.
I recommend new owners first read the included owner’s
manual, then disassemble and thoroughly clean their rifles.
Be sure to put a good anti-seize grease on the plug’s
threads before reassembly.
Next the action pin is pushed out to either side (the manual suggested
using the long end of the now-removed extractor
to
push out the pin. I attempted using the
extractor end but found it inadequate as the action pin has a very snug fit.
Breech
end of barrel, under lug and hinge pin
The trigger-hammer assembly is then removed (after removing
hammer extension if installed) by pressing the
latch
located inside the trigger guard in the forward direction. The instructions
indicate this is a one-hand
operation
but I found that suggestion to be pretty optimistic. Once the latch is pushed forward, the
assembly
is
rocked a bit to and fro to free it from the rifle.
Above shows trigger/hammer assembly release lever ahead of
trigger.
Action interior showing firing pin holes – pin is in centerfire position.
To change to rimfire, the rifle’s trigger-hammer assembly must be
removed which exposes the firing pin set screw.
Two turns in the loose direction frees the firing pin such
that it can be removed. I found a small
paperclip bent straight
to
be an assist in removing the pin itself.
A small push from the action opening and the pin fell into my hand.
Firing pin retaining set screw
The firing pin is shown in the picture below sitting atop
the action. You may also notice the hole
where the pin
fits
in the action from the hammer side.
The firing pin is simply rotated 180º before reinserting in
the hole. Not shown above is a
cross-slot on the back of
the
pin which allows the pin to be positioned easily. Once the pin is back in place, tighten the
firing pin set screw.
The conversion is actually simple and easily performed.
The only remaining disassembly would be breech plug removal,
using the supplied 7/16” hex tool or a deep socket
of
the same size.
Above shows regular 209 plug
installed - extractor is not used with that plug
Reassembly
is basically a reversal of the above steps. I nearly freaked out trying to put the
hammer-trigger
assembly
back in the rifle as several tries bore no fruit. The instructions again
suggest this is a one-hand
operation. No way!
I finally succeeded by keeping the lever forward while rocking the
assembly AND giving a
slight
upward pull forward while pushing down at the rear. THAT was not what the book
said! But
once you
master
that particular move, reassembly should become much less a challenge. Another point of difficulty
was
encountered reinstalling the hinge pin. That thing is close tolerance! A dummy pin to help align the action
pin,
made from a piece of rod and slightly undersized, would be invaluable as a time
saver.
Nothing rattles! I shook the rifle up-down-left-right and heard no
rattles. Everything goes together nice and
solid.
The synthetic stock seems very well done and is much more substantial than the
Encore’s.
The very good news is the rifle’s bore - superb in appearance!! There is no recess at all at the muzzle, just
a
nice
crown. Jeff Weedling’s
496 grain cast conical “Trashcans”, which my micrometer says are .5038” started
easily
and
only very lightly engraved the bullet. My own 445 grain cast UC Short conicals are coming out of the sizer
at
almost exactly .504 and those also started with ease, also yielding just a bit
of engraving. I will later test
some
of Bull Shop’s nicely done cast conicals for fit
including some sized to .5045”. The
slightly larger bore size
should
also allow sabot loads to be more easily seated as compared to some very
tight-barreled models you
might
encounter. This rifle’s bore looks great
and my guess is the rifle is going to shoot very well.
A
bad picture of a good bore
Mounting a scope: Weaver Grand Slam bases (S15) do fit a round
top Knight. There
had been some question
of
fit in my mind prior to ordering those bases. The curvature match is not
perfect but they certainly provide a
solid
fit. Knight is coming out with a couple of new bases at least one of which will
be a one-piece for the rifle
in
the near future (Knight part numbers 900781 and 900778). I’m hoping other mount makers will follow
suit with
some good one-piece bases that allow mounting flexibility.
My initial impression of the KP1 muzzleloader is that Knight
has produced a very well engineered and close tolerance rifle.
Appearance of fit and finish are excellent (save for one
minor rub in butt stock probably incurred during transport).
If the KP1 performs on par with its appearance – Knight will
have a sure-fire winner with this model.
Look out Encore!!