A cast breech release replaces the more-common lever found on other rifles and has the look of an oversized top-tang safety. Pushing it straight down toggles a lever connected to the locking lug rearward and pulls it out of the barrel lug's matching recess. This allows the barrel to tip up for loading or priming. A hardened dowel pin holds the halves together and is hidden by the fore-end.

The barrels are easily switched by removing the free-floating fore-end, which is attached to a tang on the barrel lug, and tapping out the pivot pin.

The trigger group contains--you guessed it--the trigger, hammer, transfer bar, decocker, and associated coil springs, levers, and pins. It is removable--a nifty feature first found on Knight's Revolution muzzleloader introduced several years ago.

"The removable trigger makes the gun so much easier to clean," Simms said. "You can't clean out the extremely corrosive blackpowder fouling unless you can get the trigger group out of the gun. We thought that was a big weakness in some other designs."

A hardened dowel pin extends through the trigger-group housing and is attached to the trigger-release tab. Matching receiver cuts, barely visible when the trigger group is in place, allow the pin and the rest of the trigger group in and out of the receiver. When the trigger is replaced, the pin, under the pressure of a coil spring, rides up small ramps cast into each side of the receiver to pull the trigger group into its recess.

"A small tab on the front of the trigger group, called the breech interlock, prevents you from closing or opening the gun when the hammer is cocked," Simms said. "It locks both the breech block and transfer bar in place."

The KP1 features a removable trigger, that facilitates cleaning. The author says the trigger group can be easily removed with one hand.

Removing the trigger group can be accomplished with one hand. Simply grasp the trigger group between the thumb, which pushes the release tab just ahead of the trigger forward, and the index finger, which wraps around the front of the trigger guard. Then pull straight out. Replacing the unit is a little tricky. A little experimentation revealed the key was rocking the hammer back slightly and inserting the back end of the trigger group into the recess first.

One feature very unique to the KP1 is located on the hammer. The decocker is a two-position lever that fits neatly in a recess in the hammerspur. It does not drop the hammer as the name implies, but it prevents the rifle from firing if the shooter's thumb slips while trying to lower the hammer.

"When pulled to the rear, the decocking lever locks a plunger in place that protrudes from the face of the hammer," Simms said. "The plunger strikes the transfer bar, and that strikes the floating firing pin. The hammer is nonrebounding and acts as an additional safety."

When in the "Safe" position, the plunger sits flush with the hammer's face. An extension of the hammer body above the plunger strikes the receiver, stopping the hammer's forward motion. Since the tab is longer than the plunger, unless the plunger is locked into place in the "Fire" position, nothing contacts the transfer bar. The hammer also has a small tab under the spur into which an extension can be screwed for left- or right-handed shooters using a scope.

The sample rifle's nonadjustable trigger broke around 4 pounds and was fairly consistent. Similar to a two-stage military trigger, there was about 1/8 inch of take-up before the pull began in earnest. There was very little overtravel.