- Joined
- Feb 21, 2008
- Messages
- 2,149
- Reaction score
- 2,000
Ok, the MK85 is accurate! Just not with full calibers... So far... My deer load for my Black Diamond works equally well in the '85 A .452 250gr xtp in harvester crush ribs over 70gr of 3f Swiss lit by an 11 gives 1600 fps and right around 2 1/2 inches for 3 at 100. Not too shabby for open sights and 51 year old eyes. However, this rifle makes my Black Diamond look like and Omega when it comes to breech fouling! She's also HARD on caps. Rarely do they stay in place or intact and she blows crud all the way back to the end cap! I'm shooting the original Knight red hot nipple that came with her( 50 shot fired so far...)Also the rare cap that survives( maybe 2 of 10) is usually jammed into the striker face requiring some effort to pick it out. Not good on a hunting gun. Some of this makes me think I'm getting some striker bounce. This is a new old rifle that was on the dealers rack for 20 years minimum and may have been cocked for a considerable amount of that time. Perhaps the striker spring took a set? If the spring isn't strong enough,, the striker will bounce back a bit on ignition allowing the cap to jam in the striker face or be blown to bits. After each range trip, After cleaning the striker face there is a black burn mark left that is exactly the size of an 11 cap. It takes a bit of JB compound to bright it up again. I had an American Knight that used the FPJ's and got my forehead sandblasted at nearly every shot. Swapped it for a nipple plug and shot musket and 11's with no issues.Right now, the only advantages the MK85 has over the Black Diamond is the ability to easily remove the trigger and that the trigger is adjustable for weight of pull. So far i think Ian McMurchy was right about the Black Diamonds" T/C took the best features of all the ( plunger) inlines"More to follow