A Visit with Tony Knight, the Father of Modern Muzzleloading
Perhaps
no person is more synonymous with the sport of muzzleloading as
it exists today, and I can think of no other person who has brought
more people into the sport, and worked as long and as tirelessly
to promote it as has Tony Knight. I'm delighted that Mr. Knight
consented to visit with us about himself, and his favorite sport-inline
muzzleloading.
RW: Thank you for taking
the time to visit, Mr. Knight. How did your muzzleloading adventure
begin?
TK: Well, after seventeen
years with the railroads, then running my own little archery and
gun shop in northern Missouri, a group of my farmer friends started
the ball rolling back around 1982. They loved to hunt, but there
were few hunts that did not conflict with the farm work. The Colorado
muzzleloading elk season was one they could participate in without
clashing with getting the crops out, so that was the subject matter.
They tried it with relatively common frontloaders of that time,
with horribly frustrating results. So, they wanted more reliability
and accuracy than available at the time. We went to work, and the
culmination of those efforts became what is now known as the Knight
MK-85-named after my daughter, Michelle. Things moved along from
there, and instead of working out of my shop building muzzleloaders
one at a time, we opened our factory in Lancaster, Missouri, in
1987. We desperately needed to expand after about 1-1/2 years due
to growth, and we looked for some assistance from the State of Missouri.
Missouri was less than completely helpful; most everything that
Missouri said "no" to, Iowa said yes to. So, we expanded
with our new plant located in Centerville, Iowa, and we have been
there ever since.
RW: Tony, were than
any particular mentors that you had from the firearms industry?
TK: Yes, actually it
was Roy Weatherby that was a source of encouragement when a lot
of the others were nay-sayers. Roy Weatherby told me all the details
of how he started, what his challenges were, and shared with me
what he felt his successes were due to. Roy helped me along the
right path when others couldn't be bothered, and I'm indebted to
him for that.
RW: What firearms designers
do you admire?
TK: The two that spring
to mind are of course John Browning and also Ronnie Barrett.
RW: Do you have a favorite
action type and the reason why?
TK: Without doubt it
is a bolt action based on fit, feel, function, trigger, accuracy-everything.
RW: Do you have a projectile
preference between sabots and conicals?
TK: Certainly sabots without question based on quick harvests and
accuracy. There are several good bullet makers out there, particularly
Sierra and Barnes. Barnes Bullets has done a fabulous job for us,
they are not afraid to try new things, and they really have the
process of quality bullet-making down pat. We have a great relationship
with Barnes Bullets, we appreciate them and I expect they appreciate
us. I see that relationship continuing for a long, long time.
RW: Is there an ideal
ignition type in your opinion from muzzleloaders?
TK: It is the 209 shotshell
primer, based on weatherproof construction, strength, and reliability.
There is nothing better.
RW: Tony, what about
powder preferences?
TK: I really enjoy the
convenience of pellets, and Triple Se7en pellets would easily be
my top choice.
RW: Do you have a favorite
caliber?
TK: I sure do-it is
the .52 caliber. I've found it to be far more forgiving than other
calibers. As far as downrange terminal performance, the results
I've has have been nothing short of astonishing. In fact, some of
the game animals hit the dirt so fast on video it looks fake; just
too good to be true. It is true, however: the .52 performs like
nothing else.
RW: Do you have any
personal scope preferences?
TK: There are several
scopes that I like, Burris and Leupold among them. My very favorite
scope at the moment is without question the Kahles Multi-Zero-there
is just nothing like it. Once you've got it dialed in, it takes
bullet drop right out of the equation. Just dial in your range,
and put the cross-hairs on the animal. It is an amazing achievement
in riflescopes.
RW: What of binoculars?
TK: Once you get to
a certain level, they are just all good. Zeiss, Leica, Kahles, Swarovski-they
are all superior hunting tools that not only enable good locating
and judging of game, they don't leave you with a headache after
glassing for several hours.
RW: What do you like
about muzzleloading today, and not like about it?
TK: I like the fact
that muzzleloading is more convenient and muzzleloaders are easier
to clean than ever before. What I don't like is much the same-we
can still make muzzleloading more fun, convenient, and easier to
enjoy. And, we are working on it.
RW: Do you have a favorite
place to hunt?
TK: Alaska. There is nothing more gorgeous, more revitalizing than
Alaska. Everyone should experience it for themselves. The State
of Alaska is breathtaking and unforgettable.
RW: A favorite type
of game animal, Tony?
TK: You bet; it is still
whitetail deer. It remains my favorite game animal, and probably
always will be.
RW: What do you see
for the future of muzzleloading?
TK: Growth, growth,
and more growth. Every year, more folks enjoy the sport of muzzleloading
with no end in sight. It is a great way to introduce youngsters
to shooting sports, and to readily understand how firearms work.
Limited range weapons have greater and greater appeal as human populations
and game populations move closer and closer together; game populations
that will always need to be controlled. The sport of muzzleloading
looks to continue to grow vibrantly for the foreseeable future,
and I'm quite excited about that.
It
was a pleasure visiting with Tony; his enthusiasm and passion for
muzzleloading and for hunting is apparent. It sounds like Tony Knight
has a lot of hunting adventures ahead of him, and that's he's ready
to go today. With that, let's leave for the moment with great thanks
to Tony Knight for taking the time to talk with us-and even moreso,
appreciation for Tony Knight's tremendous, ongoing contributions
to the great American sport of muzzleloading.
©
April, 2006 by Randy Wakeman
