In lieu of the more common breech-release lever, the new KP1 uses a cast breech release that has the look of an oversized top-tang safety.
My guide Barry and I had decided to head back to camp and hopefully to a big plate of hot enchiladas after a morning of scouring the New Mexican countryside for a good antelope. Only then did a nice buck, chasing a doe for all he was worth, materialize out of the plains--seemingly out of nowhere. A quick look through the binocular revealed great mass along the entire length of horn and good enough length. I slipped a cap into place, closed the break action, and headed after the buck in a hurried-but-slow, hunched-over stalk.
The doe stopped to look, and the buck, whose eyes never wandered far from the doe, stopped with her. Barry rang up the range at an even 145 yards. I had plopped down into a sitting position and had adjusted the shooting sticks. The instant the buck stepped from behind a tall yucca and paused again, a cloud of blue smoked rolled across the space between us.
After a big lunch, I popped the latches on my Storm case and pulled out a second scoped barrel. In less time than it took my hunting buddies to polish off the last few bites of dessert, I had converted my muzzleloader into a .223 rifle and was ready for coyotes and prairie dogs. The switch-barrel concept wasn't new, but the rifle was. The handy little KP1 from Knight accounted for an antelope and quite a few prairie dogs. It is Knight's first switch-barrel gun and the company's first venture into centerfire rifles.
Rifle with one barrel: $509-$690; combos: $679-$829; extra barrels: $209-$269
The KP1
Knight Rifles did not try to reinvent the wheel with the KP1 the way Tony Knight reinvented muzzleloaders when he introduced the in-line Mk 85 back in 1985, but the firm was able to make some substantial improvements. The gun's familiar single-shot, external-hammer, break action can be converted from a centerfire to a muzzleloader to a rimfire in just a few seconds. Design improvements include a free-floated barrel and a trigger group that can be removed--without tools--for easy cleaning. A shallow receiver and well-designed stock give the KP1 a fast-handling, shotgun-like feel and above averages marks in the looks department. All this comes at a price that does not make one cringe.
Aaron Simms, a product engineer who has worked for Knight Rifles for almost five years, helped design the KP1. He said the gun started out with a strict set of design parameters that took almost two years of work and head scratching to meet.
"The break action is the easiest action to build a multi-barrel system around," Simms said. "But we wanted to eliminate the big problems that other break-action guns have."
The KP1's receiver starts out as either a 4140 steel-alloy or 416 stainless-steel investment casting and is precision machined into its final shape. The buttstock is attached on a 1/4-inch threaded rod with a socket-head cap screw. Moving parts are pretty scarce, save a floating firing pin, breech release, breech-release lever, and locking lug. The receiver is nicely contoured, scalloped in places and has shadow lines that collectively add up to a very smooth and elegant look. There is only one pin through the receiver, and the locking lug hangs on it.
The receiver has a new contour but still uses a half-inch hole spacing that works for most two-piece Weaver mounts. Starting next year, Talley's one-piece base/ring combo machined from extruded aluminum will be available directly from Knight.
North American Whitetall
North American Whitetail is designed for the serious trophy hunter. It provides authoritative coverage of world-class whitetails, the latest approaches to deer management and advanced hunting techniques.
