MK85 barrel twist?

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Jackalope

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A lot of MK85 questions lately , so what’s one more.

I’m going in the morning to look at what the seller says is a early MK85. I asked him if it was early enough that it might not have the Green Mountain barrel. He had no idea. From my research if it had 6 land grooves it was not a Green Mountain and would have either 1-48, 1-32 or 1-28 twist. If it had 8 lands then it was a Green Mountain it would be a 1-28 twist. I will obviously look for the GM logo. Any other ways to tell what barrel it might have. Also he said he upgraded it so you can remove the nipple and he changed the striker ( plunger?). Any idea what he might have done?

It’s a wood stock blue barrel .50 cal.
 
The vast majority are 1:28. I don't know how to tell what the other barrel makers are, but most out there will be a GM. Only the newer barrels actually say GM on them, for many years they didn't. If it happens to be a 6 groove, you will have to manually figure out the twist I guess.

Only thing I can think of is possibly he changed the ignition to 209, but the description doesn't make much sense.
 
Sounds to me like the guy doesn’t know what he has and is only trying to jack up price saying it an early version.
Tell him to send pics you can post, we have enough wisdom on this site to figure it out.
 
He may have added the 209 primer conversion which I can take or leave. Actually, I have a MK with both set ups and I used the 209 this year.

I'm a big MK fan. You can find them fo about $200 in great shape if that helps you any.

The older barrels were Douglas I believe and work just fine.
 
Ive never seen one with a Douglas. Ive seen them with Wiseman, Lothar Walthar and Green Mountain. Ive heard of them with Numrich/McMillan barrels (really early and slower twist) but ive never seen one of those.
 
GM54-120 said:
Ive never seen one with a Douglas. Ive seen them with Wiseman, Lothar Walthar and Green Mountain. Ive heard of them with Numrich/McMillan barrels (really early and slower twist) but ive never seen one of those.

You are correct here...
 
It appears that McMillan back then were actually Wiseman barrels too. Bill Wiseman bought "McMillan Barrel" in the early 1980s.

http://yarchive.net/gun/politics/mcmillan_family.html
When my Uncle Pat sold his barrel company to Bill Wiseman back in the
early 80s he sold Bill the name "McMillan Barrels". Bill later
registered the trademark "McMillan Barrels". Harris started advertising
"McMillan Barrels" around 1990

I have no idea who actually made the Knight Numrich barrels. I saw it somewhere once but cant find it now. In the mid 1970s they made them in house on old Savage equipment.
 
I took a look at it and ran a patch through it. The patch came out with a little rust on it. I dropped a light down the barrel and it showed a couple spots of putting. It has a 209 conversion in it. He had the #11 stuff still. I walked away from it for $75 worried about the barrel and a crack on the stock. Started to drive away and he came running out and gave it to me. As well as 5 Pounds is misc powder and 8 packs or 480gr power punch conicals. I felt bad and tried to tell him no. I ended up giving him $30 for the bullets. I feel pretty bad but he wanted it put to use instead of sitting in his closet.
 
I have two pretty early mk's with the Numrich barrels on them. The Numrich barrels have an odd crown that is a funnel going outward and then a little bevel on the inside. Both of these are 1 in 32 inch twist. I have, I think, about seven mk 85s, they are all pre Green Mountain barrels. I like them all. There is nothing magic about the Green Mountain barrel but there is nothing wrong with them either.
 
It is no secret that i am a dedicated Sidelock guy, I just haven’t been bitten by the Inline bug hard enough to take the plunge. When i first started playing around with Muzzleloaders a few years ago I remember my dad saying he didn’t understand the Allure of the Inlines? He personally felt if a guy was gonna go that route he might as well use a centerfire rifle, And Truthfully i feel EXACTLY the same way. Dad told me he could remember the commercials/ads years ago when Knight first hit the market, and their 200 yard accuracy claim, Dad said it seemed far fetched to him? But After watching me shoot my Green Mountain LRH fast twist Sidelocks, and me explaining to him what i have learned about the old MK85, and the components that went in to building them, he fully understands now that those old commercial/ads were right on

While I don’t have any interest in the new stuff of today, i fully intend to own a Nice old Stainless MK-85 one day, preferably a .50 Cal, but a .54 would be just fine. Just for the simple fact that they are an Iconic old rifle, that was ahead of it’s time
 
IIRC TB said only about the first 137 MKs had the 1-48s. He made some in 1-32 before the switch to 1-28. Its possible the 1-32 is even more rare than the 1-48s.

I would take a Wiseman or LW barreled MK in a heart beat if i was in the market for a MK. The rare dog is the 45cal 1-24.
 
GM54-120 said:
IIRC TB said only about the first 137 MKs had the 1-48s. He made some in 1-32 before the switch to 1-28. Its possible the 1-32 is even more rare than the 1-48s.
Possible but I am pretty sure the 1-32 is more common. Honestly I can't say for sure.
 
Jackalope said:
I took a look at it and ran a patch through it. The patch came out with a little rust on it. I dropped a light down the barrel and it showed a couple spots of putting. It has a 209 conversion in it. He had the #11 stuff still. I walked away from it for $75 worried about the barrel and a crack on the stock. Started to drive away and he came running out and gave it to me. As well as 5 Pounds is misc powder and 8 packs or 480gr power punch conicals. I felt bad and tried to tell him no. I ended up giving him $30 for the bullets. I feel pretty bad but he wanted it put to use instead of sitting in his closet.

Merry Christmas to you :D

A little pitting probably won't affect a thing. Clean it up good, JB the bore and test her out! :yeah:
I prefer the #11 ignition in mine, they just work.
 
Here are a couple pictures of the gun. As you can see the barrel needs some work. From talking to the gentlemen he has hunted with it quite a bit and as you can see it shows.

KlqfHR4.jpg

MjZIUnw.jpg

UDKWEEh.jpg

0kuSsuz.jpg
 
Yep, definitely not pristine...but I bet it will still shoot fine.
That is an older model, has the half moon safety. I've seen the wood and laminated stocks crack in that location before, its real thin there. Won't affect a thing, even if it breaks off. Worst case from a cosmetic standpoint if it doesn't clean up to your liking you could always dip it or black ice it. Time to get to work on her and see how she cleans up :D
 
I bought one in similar condition. The barrel had pitting where the charge sits and a little light pitting ahead of the bullet position. The gun shoots great anyway.
 
The rifle itself is a little rough around the edges, but the Timney Trigger is probably worth the $75 asking price. The crack in the stock is probably from someone forgetting there is a set screw in the back left side of the receiver that locks the old plunger/strikers in position. There is evidence in your pictures that indicate that someone tried to use pliers or similar to remove it, probably while still in the stock, thus cracking it. Happens more than you would think on these older models.

Looks like an early 90's rifle to me, with a 8 land and groove barrel. Delrin ramrod, Williams Sights, Timney Trigger with the crescent safety lever, Knight MML logo stamp are the same as the late 80's with the 6 land and groove barrels, but the 8 land and groove barrel says 1990 or newer. Should be a 1:28 twist, without any doubt. Serial number should be higher than 7000?

Those 8 packs of White/MTI 480gr Power Punch Bullets are also worth more than the $75 asking price. You certainly didn't get hurt at $30.

Not a show piece anymore, but could still shoot just fine? Clean up the bore, and shoot it like you stole it! :wink:
 
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