Knight Peregrine Stock Fit Questions

[Cedarmtnqlguy]

Sorry this is long winded. I got my new Knight Peregrine the other day. Overall, I'm pretty excited about it. My first muzzleloader was the Original Disc, but I haven't owned a Knight since then.

There is a nit-picky issue I notice about how the barrel/receiver fits in the stock. It's not very centered. On the left side, there is a .010"-.020" gap between the stock and the receiver. Obviously the barrel is fully free floating on the left side, which is good. On the right side, the barrel is free floated all the way back to about the logo stamp at the top of the picture (in other words, a 2 inch section of barrel in front of the breech plug area is not free floating), and then the stock is also pretty much tight against the receiver on the right side.

These are my questions.
1. Concerning the barrel portion, is this difference in free floating barrel Left vs Right enough to have an impact on accuracy and harmonics, or is it close enough to the breech that it won't really matter? Is it worth it to try to remove stock material on the right side near the logo to completely float the barrel? I have never worked with carbon fiber before, so I'm not sure how easy it is to sand, or if it would need re-sealing/painting afterwards to protect it.
2. The receiver/lug sits in a machined aluminum bedding block that is embedded in the carbon fiber. It is obviously designed for the primary receiver-to-stock contact to take place within this bedding block, which makes sense. I don't have any experience with Knight's bedding blocks. Is any additional bedding necessary? Would it be wise to bed it to close up some of these gaps between the carbon fiber and the receiver before doing any load development? I know some of you bed your guns right out of the box. And I too don't want to waste a lot of powder and bullets at the range, attributing problems to bullet type or charge weight when really the solution lies in the bedding. However, I also don't want to do something that could void a warranty (not sure if bedding falls into that category or not). Perhaps I should ask Knight these questions?

Do any of you that have Peregrines have this same stock fitment issue?

I appreciate any tips.

 

[ElDiablo]

That’s a bummer when you spend that kind of money. Sloppy quality control. All good questions. My inclination would be to shoot it and see. It may have no effect on your dispersion. I suspect that the barrel free-float forward of the recoil lug is what really counts.

 

[white eagle]

no problems with mine other than finding the powder I want for it
.010 is hardly sloppy and probably in their tolerances
your gun if you are worried about it spend more money and bed it mine shoots like a high end tack driving muzzleloader the way it came from Knight

 

[michiganmuzzy]

If you do find yourself sanding that carbon fiber stock, wet sand it to keep the dust down(just use plain old tap water). And wear a dust mask. That material can be more toxic than many other synthetic materials. Worse than fiberglass, but not quite as bad as asbestos.
For me, just for piece of mind, i would sand or remove a little material on the tight side, then bed it.

 

[snapbang]

Shoot it first. If your not happy then do a little removal.

 

[Cedarmtnqlguy]

That’s a bummer when you spend that kind of money. Sloppy quality control. All good questions. My inclination would be to shoot it and see. It may have no effect on your dispersion. I suspect that the barrel free-float forward of the recoil lug is what really counts.

Yeah, it is a little disappointing. However, I do understand that it is still not a custom rifle, and there has to be a tolerance to allow for universal fitment of components. I suppose mine just happens to be one on the outer edge of acceptance. I will at least point it out to Knight, and see what they say about it.

 

[Cedarmtnqlguy]

If you do find yourself sanding that carbon fiber stock, wet sand it to keep the dust down(just use plain old tap water). And wear a dust mask. That material can be more toxic than many other synthetic materials. Worse than fiberglass, but not quite as bad as asbestos.
For me, just for piece of mind, i would sand or remove a little material on the tight side, then bed it.

Thanks for the tip! I didn't think about wet sanding it. Would doing so expose fibers that would need to have a seal coat reapplied for protection? I have no understanding of carbon fiber.

 

[Cedarmtnqlguy]

no problems with mine other than finding the powder I want for it
.010 is hardly sloppy and probably in their tolerances
your gun if you are worried about it spend more money and bed it mine shoots like a high end tack driving muzzleloader the way it came from Knight

I would say the gap is probably closer to .020 than .010. I didn't have a plug gage handy. So my measurement is based on my calibrated eye ball. But maybe that is within their tolerances, or at least I'm sure that's what they will tell me.

I have seen some of your posts of your groups. What ended up being some of your favorite loads?

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Thanks for the tip! I didn't think about wet sanding it. Would doing so expose fibers that would need to have a seal coat reapplied for protection? I have no understanding of carbon fiber.

Not really. Its very much like fiberglass in that is an epoxy like resin(for rigidity) with strand(glass or carbon) material in it for strength. Just dif chemicals. As long as you are sanding where the bedding will be, or it won’t be seen, you wont have issue. You could try to give a polish to any spot that looks rough, but im not sure you would have much luck. Sand a small spot in an area that you won’t see (barrel channel or receiver channel, to find out.

 

[280Bravo]

That would be unacceptable for me I would contact Steve and send him pictures.
for what you payed for it you shouldn’t have to do anything to the stock.
That a bell & carlson stock so it’s a stock issue or the barrel lug issue but I’m thinking a stock issue.

 

[Cedarmtnqlguy]

That would be unacceptable for me I would contact Steve and send him pictures.
for what you payed for it you shouldn’t have to do anything to the stock.
That a bell & carlson stock so it’s a stock issue or the barrel lug issue but I’m thing a stock issue.

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more bothered I am. I went into a Scheels today and looked at dozens of guns trying to find one with a stock fitment that is as offset as this one to try to make myself feel better, but I was unable to do so, even amongst a number of much less expensive rifles. I will email Steve on Monday. I will let you all know how it goes. I assume you mean Steve Bryan, the GM?

 

[white eagle]

so far 130 gr of Blackhorn 209/ W, with a 300 gr Peterson bullet
but the gun shoots many different brands of bullets equally well
I also like the 250 gr Fury's

 

[280Bravo]

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more bothered I am. I went into a Scheels today and looked at dozens of guns trying to find one with a stock fitment that is as offset as this one to try to make myself feel better, but I was unable to do so, even amongst a number of much less expensive rifles. I will email Steve on Monday. I will let you all know how it goes. I assume you mean Steve Bryan, the GM?

Yes Steve Bryan and please let us know I’m planning on buying one in December.

 

[Cedarmtnqlguy]

so far 130 gr of Blackhorn 209/ W, with a 300 gr Peterson bullet
but the gun shoots many different brands of bullets equally well
I also like the 250 gr Fury's

Cool. My plan was to start with the 250gr Fury's, and go from there.

 

[Cedarmtnqlguy]

Yes Steve Bryan and please let us know I’m planning on buying one in December.

Will do. Thanks for your help.

 

[Cedarmtnqlguy]

So I got back home from being out of town for the weekend, and I did a little more investigating. The bedding block has the exact same rightward shift as is seen with the receiver. The card shown in the gap measures .021 thick, and it goes in easy. I'm going to ask Steve if they will swap the stock out for me. I would be a lot happier if they did.

Another thing I notice is that the forward edges of the bedding block are not demurred. This is a much easier fix, but if left alone, can sure chew up the end of a ram rod in a hurry.

 

[Cedarmtnqlguy]

Steve got back to me really fast. Sounds like they are going to get me fixed up! Thanks for all the tips, everyone. Now the wait begins... again.

 

[birdog]

I expected nothing less from Steve and Knight Rifles. They go above and beyond in my opinion.

 

[white eagle]

I agree my experience with them has been nothing short of stellar
made in America

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

Well what happened. Like a movie with a shitty ending