The New 2013 Knight Vision

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sabotloader

Keep Shooting Muzzleloaders - They are a Blast
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I have one! A new 2013 model Vision? Actually it is Grouse?s, he just had some minor back surgery done and is pretty much disqualified from doing much right now. I assume most of you saw his initial post about his outing with the gun and the table that was posted that showed the items that have been changed in the rifle. All of these changes were made to make the rifle more reliable and to provide a smoother operating gun.

Grouse has already expressed his thoughts on the price of the rifle that surely makes it very competitive with the lower end of other makes and models. But the big question is ? is it as good as one could hope for a $300 American made rifle?

I do have a problem with it, right of the top; I am not a break open fan at all when it comes to rifles. They are OK when it comes to shotguns, do nothing for me for big game hunting. So remember that if I get critical of something one of you might like.

The gun and scope arrived last week and yesterday was really the first time I got time to really look at it. Not going to say much about the new Redfield Revenge Accra-Ranger scope at this time save that for later when mine gets here.

When I unpacked the rifle and had it in my hands it really showed me nothing different than the original Vision that I had in 2009. I looked mostly the same except for the new scope rail that Knight has added to the line.

In 2009 I really was expecting a fairly light weight and inexpensively built rifle, not totally what I got. Then and today the rifle with its 24? Green Mountain barrel weighs about 7lbs 9oz, it is hefty but because if the slim line stock and the balance of the rifle it really feels to me like an easy packing rifle. It certainly is not a Featherweight or an Ultra-Light but I think it would be a very good mountain rifle or pack rifle. Weight? there is no aluminum in the working mechanism that I can find, it is all steel.

Since I had the time yesterday, I decided I wanted to take this new rifle down and see what it was all about. At the time I really did not know what it would take to take it apart.

The first thing I removed was the Trigger Assembly. Simple? remove two screws on the right side of the receiver lift up and back on the trigger guard and you have the snug fitting trigger assembly out in your hand. Really makes it a simple cleaning process.

TriggerAssembly.jpg


I really like how clean the assembly is and how simple the whole is. The new machined parts are very smooth and fit together very well. Two spring a hammer spring and trigger/sear spring work the system. I am a bit disappointed in the strength of the trigger/sear spring but more about that later.

Next I took the one screw on the left side of the receiver out and removed the barrel locking assembly. It also fit very snugly inside the receiver. Not much movement at all. This assembly has the barrel opening lever and latch assembly neatly tucked in a small space. Again machined parts the fit very well and operated very smooth. This assembly also blocks the hammer from reaching the firing pin if the rifle is not locked up tight and safe. And of course there is a solid trigger bar safety.

IMG_2065.jpg


So that is three screws and the majority of the receiver group is out in my hands, easily accessible and easily cleaned.

There is one other screw holding the firing pin mechanism in place. The Allen head screw located in the face of the receiver hold the firing pin bushing in place and the internal parts of the hammer.

0fe5fded-340d-4216-83c7-da67498c83d0.jpg


The next screw was in the forearm, remove that screw and lift the forearm off, well like pry it off, the forearm socket is bedded to the barrel lug very tightly with no excess movement.

With the forearm off break the rifle open and apart. That?s it!!! Five screw take down! It is an incredibly simple working rife.

One thing that I like but hate since it is a break open? in the pictures below look at the mass of the barrel pivot lug and the pivot column in the receiver of the barrel. I know they wear every time you open and close them but good luck wearing this combination out in your life time. I lubed the all the appropriate surfaces and working joints and put the rifle back together. It went back together as easily as it came apart.

I could not or did not have time to go shoot it today but I did grab a handful of W209 primers and headed to the garage. I wanted to see how much blow back I might get up the sides of the primer. I pulled the trigger on 4 primers ? not one of them came out dirty. So I went and got some more and repeated the process. Only this time I paid more attention to the muzzle of the rifle as the discharge occurred? Like the 4th of July the W209 primer was sealed so well in the BP all the heat and flame was being directed through the BP and out the muzzle, nice fire column.

I wanted to try one more thing to prove that I could get dirty primers out of that standard BP? I went in and got some shorty Federal 209A?s and gave them a go. Now they really did give a Fourth of July show in a dimly lit garage ? lots of fire! But, no dirty primers, just as clean as the Winchesters.

OK! You know it had to be coming? A negative ? a non-adjustable trigger pull. The mechanism does have a little bit of take-up or creep in the trigger and it is a heavy pull bt most standards. A heavy pull for me anyway as I am use to a 2 ? to 3# adjustable pull. With my two-bit scale I measured the pull at 4lbs 11oz. Hunting I would probably never feel it. Target shooting I definitely would feel it. So next I broke the rifle open and measured just the trigger/sear spring strength. The scale measured 3lbs 8oz. So without reworking that spring I was not going to get the pull down to 3lbs?

These pictures are sort of composite of all the things I saw. The last picture shows how well the gun can shoot. Got to give Grouse the credit for shooting the target.

2013Visionpg1-1.jpg


2013Visionpg2-1.jpg
 
Thanks for the write-up. I just mailed my check from my fantasy football winnings and once it clears, I'm in the hunt for another ML (my second, first is an X7). The Vision is definitely on my list.

I know you are not a fan of BH209 due to price per shot but any chance you'll be shooting some? It's one of my needed criteria. What?s the breech plug face look like?
 
SteveH said:
Thanks for the write-up. I just mailed my check from my fantasy football winnings and once it clears, I'm in the hunt for another ML (my second, first is an X7). The Vision is definitely on my list.

I know you are not a fan of BH209 due to price per shot but any chance you'll be shooting some? It's one of my needed criteria. What?s the breech plug face look like?

Actually I was planning on shooting BH with this rifle the first time i get to the farm with it.

Grouse has shot it with BH and it did very well.
 
GM54-120 said:
What?s the breech plug face look like?

Good Question.. should have got a picture - next time it is out I will...

Flat face - flash hole right on the end. Normal length Knight Breech Plug..
 
GM54-120 said:
What?s the breech plug face look like?
Its flat and the flash hole was increased many years ago for better ignition. I have never had a problem with any of my Visions with that plug and BH209.
 
You refer to a piece as the Lock Up Safety Stop Lug. Is that the piece that actually cocks the action?

Okay, I have another question being as I am the incessant tinkerer (that isn't the word TB used but I think that is what he meant). Grouse mentioned the trigger could have been improved upon - my take on his words. It appears to me the hammer sear has perhaps too much engagement with the sear facing on that intermediate piece between the trigger and hammer. I wonder if you could do a bit of experimenting using layers of tape between that intermediate piece and the trigger piece to improve the trigger?
 
Underclocked said:
You refer to a piece as the Lock Up Safety Stop Lug. Is that the piece that actually cocks the action?

Thanks for asking - and yes working the lever cocks the hammer and releases the barrel.

Okay, I have another question being as I am the incessant tinkerer (that isn't the word TB used but I think that is what he meant). Grouse mentioned the trigger could have been improved upon - my take on his words.

He did and I am not sure he ment by me or him or that he wanted Knight to improve it..

It appears to me the hammer sear has perhaps too much engagement with the sear facing on that intermediate piece between the trigger and hammer.

I would say you are correct... and I am thinking it is another one of those liability things to make sure of a positive sear/hammer lock up.

I wonder if you could do a bit of experimenting using layers of tape between that intermediate piece and the trigger piece to improve the trigger?

Now that might be a thought.

TriggerAssembly.jpg


IMG_2065.jpg


I am not following where you might suggest the tape application. I have honed both surfaces which did help the release.

Take the picture and draw some arrows to the application point.

It is not my rifel so I can not do anything permanent.
 
Mike, I tried to indicate in red where the tape would go between the two pieces. The tape should fit a bit farther back on the top surface of the trigger than I show, perhaps all the way to the downward radius. That should lift that intermediate piece a bit and reduce the engagement if my understanding of how that moves is correct.

When you pull the trigger, which appears to me to be held downward by that intermediate piece (looks to be under spring tension from the hammer spring at the end opposite where it contacts the hammer), it seems to me that as the trigger piece rotates upward at that rear surface, the intermediate piece is also pushed upward until the sear surfaces no longer mesh and the hammer spring snaps the hammer forward.

So, you are fighting that distance plus spring tension from both ends of the spring. I think the tape would cut down the distance of required movement while having little impact on spring forces.

2j35zd3.jpg


I think tampering with spring tension applied to that intermediate piece would too risky.
 
Well that changes things. I was looking at the other pic thinking the two surfaces met there where I showed the red area. Big difference. I would have to see this thing live to say much else. :)

Is it that cross pin that pushes up or does it push up after the slack produced by the sear tension spring is compressed? Is there some spongy feeling travel in the trigger pull before it gets to the point where it actuates?

You're right - this is a definite lawyer inspired design.
 
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