BlackKnight .54 with a badly rusted barrel...can something be done?

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I posted some info about this rifle a couple of years ago...and got some great responses...but due to the rusted barrel it still sits in the corner of the closet and is not doing anyone any good.

I bought a "Pig in a Poke"....it was listed as a 50 cal MK-85 in good condition but with a seized breech plug...what arrived was a Black Knight/BK92 in .54cal with a badly rusted barrel, rust on rust on rust. I tried to return it, and that didn't work out, so I thought I could scrub it and try to clean it up. The action and exterior cleaned up OK but the barrel is just really bad with corrosion layerd up...not just rust but corrosion built up in the bore. So I thought well the stock is OK the bolt and action are OK the sights are OK...I'll part it out I am into the whole thing about $45 bucks. But no takers for the parts, seems there were lots of these rifles around and not many folks looking to restore them or much value in an effort at restoration/repair. So here are my questions. Can the barrel be replaced and if so at what cost and by whom? Can it be bored out to a larger cal safely and if so what cal, 58 or??? is any of it worth it...I really only have $45 in it now...so would it be just throwing good money after bad?

If I could find a barrel and have it re-barrled in 50, it could go to my SIL, if I could re-barrel it in 54 or bore it out to 58 or so...I would likely keep and use it.

You all are more experienced than me, so I welcome your thoughts.

Thanks
 
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Send the barreled action to Bobby Hoyt, along with a functional breech plug in good condition, and have him install a liner in the rusted out barrel. This would be contingent upon the threads connecting the barrel to the action themselves being in good condition.

Since it is a .54 caliber, dending upon the outside diameter of the barrel at the breech, it might be possible to have the rusted out barrel bored out, reamed, and re-rifled to .58 caliber.
 
Throwing good money after bad you called it. I’d list the parts in the classified section. It doesn’t cost anything for the ad. Good luck.
 
Salvage the good parts, there are alot of Knights that the parts interchange and its always good to have extra parts. You can find deals on plunger Knights all over the place if you look for them. Pawn shops, etc. I'm with HC, not worth throwing money at it, imho. Barrel could make a solid tomato stake though 😁
 
If that is a threaded barrel, with a little ingenuity you should be able to swap it out. You do not have to worry about headspace, so it should just be a matter of finding a replacement barrel, screwing one out and the other one in. There a a billion examples of building a barrel vice and action wrench online.

More valuable than the rifle would be the experience. From strictly a money point of view, it probably is not worth the amount a new barrel would cost.
 
Send the barreled action to Bobby Hoyt, along with a functional breech plug in good condition, and have him install a liner in the rusted out barrel. This would be contingent upon the threads connecting the barrel to the action themselves being in good condition.

Since it is a .54 caliber, dending upon the outside diameter of the barrel at the breech, it might be possible to have the rusted out barrel bored out, reamed, and re-rifled to .58 caliber.
I thought that Mr. Hoyt did not do inlines?
 
I thought that Mr. Hoyt did not do inlines?
At one point I was considering having my Optima V2 pistol bored out to .62 caliber, and rifled for patched balls. A phone call to Bobby Hoyt gained me the knowledge that inline weapons are limited in how far the bore diameter may be opened up, by the diameter of the removable breech plug.

He told me that virtually all inlines had breech plugs with 5/8"-24 threads designed to be used with .45 caliber & .50 caliber barrels. With .50 caliber being the most common for inline rifles since the re-introduction of the inline action to muzzleoading in the 1980's.

He advised me that with the CVA Optima V2 pistol that .54 caliber was as large as he could bore, ream, and re-rifle the barrel due to the 5/8"-24 threaded breech plug. The cost would have been the same as any of his traditionally breeched sidelock muzzleloading rifles.
 
What threads? The barrel and action are 1 piece.
My bad. I stand corrected.

I just assumed, there's that troublesome word again, that all modern inline rifles had a barrel separate from the action. My limited knowledge regarding inlines led me to this belief, and thus my statement.
 
At one point I was considering having my Optima V2 pistol bored out to .62 caliber, and rifled for patched balls. A phone call to Bobby Hoyt gained me the knowledge that inline weapons are limited in how far the bore diameter may be opened up, by the diameter of the removable breech plug.

He told me that virtually all inlines had breech plugs with 5/8"-24 threads designed to be used with .45 caliber & .50 caliber barrels. With .50 caliber being the most common for inline rifles since the re-introduction of the inline action to muzzleoading in the 1980's.

He advised me that with the CVA Optima V2 pistol that .54 caliber was as large as he could bore, ream, and re-rifle the barrel due to the 5/8"-24 threaded breech plug. The cost would have been the same as any of his traditionally breeched sidelock muzzleloading rifles.
Maybe he could reline an Optima pistol to .45 for me. I will have to give him a call this winter.
 
Not sure why he said "Virtually all inlines have 5/8"x24 Breech plugs"? :think:
I can't speak for CVA since I never had a CVA Inline but most all Knights have an 11/16 x 20 Breech plug, there were a few with 5/8s but not the majority.
Could he really be referring to the Breech plugs in Sidelocks since that is what most have reported that he works on?
 
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