trouble with 54 cal

[dewey]

have a 54 cal knighthawk and can't get the bullets to quit tumbling tried powder from 90 to 120 grains with 44, 45 and 50 cal bullets of all sizes. bullets i've tried are speers 44 cal 270 grain bullet with knight sabots and pyrodex rs powder.hornady 44 cal 300 grain xtp with knight sabots and pyrodex.nosler 250 grain and 260 grain bullets and sabots with pyro powder.all of these tumbled from 25 to 50 yards all of these were used with 90 to 120 grains of powder with 10 grain increments.i haven't tried lead with butter or pre lubed maxi,.the prepackaged nosler sabots are .54 cal with the 250 and 260 grain bullets with the projectile diameter of .451 (there's 10 in a pack).any suggestions and help would be grateful.

 

[Patrick White]

What's the twist rate?

 

[dewey]

twist rate is 1:28

 

[Patrick White]

That's very odd. The twist rate you have should be shooting them very well. The only time bullets keyhole is when they are not stabilized. You seem to be using good powder charges. Are they loading ok? By this I mean they load snug and there's resistance all the way down. Are you using bore butter or gun oil? Bore butter can cause problems, gun oil is better. Is the rifling well defined (Lands and grooves in good shape)? Also is there any damage to the muzzle crown?

These are the only things I can think of that might be causing it.

 

[dewey]

it has been doing this since new and that was a few years ago and this year i have more time to look at it again(tried it every year) and they are snug all the way down and no apparent damage.i just use oil to clean it.might try prelubed maxi's next

 

[Underclocked]

May have a messed up crown.

but wait, Patrick already said that.

 

[Patrick White]

I've never heard of the Knighthawk, but it sounds like something Knight might have made. They made a whole slew of short run plunger styles. Being that it's a .54 that's very possible. Honestly from your answer I gather you've had it for a while. From what your telling me it should be shooting. Although the warranty may be gone you might contact the manufacturer. They might be able to offer suggestions or they might want to look at it. The first year you owned it and had problems should have been when you contacted them but it may still be worth a try.

One last question (just thought of this) are you using a scope or open sights? If scope, what bases and rings are you using? And is the scope good? Check all your screws for tightness. If it's actually tumbling then this won't help, but if it's just not shooting accurately this could be it.

 

[dewey]

patrick your right it is a knight(mk-85) and the main reason i bought was the fact it was on sale and it has a thumbhole stock,didn't think much of it the first year as i thought maybe it was just a combination of powder and bullets that were making them tumble.right now i just have open sights on it with the thought of getting it to shoot first then i'd spend money on a scope.i will contact knight for some assistance and i will keep you posted, as well thanks for help so far.

 

[whitesmoke]

dewey,

I was going to say maybe plastic fouling from the sabots but you said it has been doing this from the get go, still you may want to try brushing out the barrel with a good bore brush and solvent if you havan't already. Anyways just a thought :? .

Whitesmoke