Modern Muzzleloading and Hunting Articles

Hunter Charlotte Lee goes on her first black bear hunting expedition in Northern Manitoba, Canada with her Knight Revolution Muzzleloader. From her perch in her tree stand she bags a trophy black bear.

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the turkeys! A weekend of turkey hunting and bass fishing is a success for this Illinois hunter on a quest for some muzzleloading action.

Determined to take down a beautiful Indian Blackbuck Antelope, one hunter makes not one, but two trips to Texas in search of these animals. Luckily he had his Knight Rifle on hand when the time was right.

A successful turkey hunting trip on warm Texas morning with a Knight TK2000 muzzleloading shotgun reminds the author of all the reasons a muzzleloading shotgun is an ideal gun for turkey hunting. Reasons to love muzzleloading shotguns include their incredible accuracy and the fact that you can choose your different powder and shot combinations.

Dick Scorzafava makes great memories with his son Tony when he takes Tony bear hunting for the first time. Dick tells the story of taking his son, along with some friends, out into the Alaskan wilderness. Armed with a Knight muzzleloader, they find a bear near a stream. Tony bags the huge bear and both enjoy an exciting and daring bear hunt. 

As anyone who's every tried it knows, cooking bear meat can be tricky. You've got to cook it thoroughly to make it safe, but it dries out very easily. Luckily, Lorelie Scorzafava provides tips and tricks for keeping that bear meat moist and tender. She also provides a bear meat recipe for a mouth-watering bear meat meal.

Tony Smotherman goes to Canada to host a show on black bear hunting for Knight's Born to Hunt TV and learns that crossing the border can offer some unexpected challenges. Despite initial hang-ups, Tony successfully takes down a monster black bear with his Knight muzzleloader.

Wondering why your muzzleloader isn't consistently accurate? These common problems may be to blame. Whether the issue is related to the rifle, load components or shooter, these hunting tips explain how to resolve the issues that cause the most frequent problems.

The pros answer some of the most frequently asked questions about muzzleloader cleaning, maintenance and performance. We also explain ammunition differences and important distinctions you need to make when using your muzzleloader.

Pro staffer Bear Kelly advises muzzleloader hunters on keeping their rifles in top condition despite exposure to humidity and rain. His own Knight Disk Rifle is designed with a watertight seal, and he offers hunters safe shooting techniques and tips for securing the end of the barrel to minimize moisture exposure.

Muzzleloader pros share their tips for packing light when hitting the stands. "Travelin' Hunter" Tony Smotherman and Knight Rifles Marketing Manager Mike Mattly bring limited gear on hunting trips, but their trucks are stocked in case of a last-minute hunting 911.

Knight Rifles Pro Staffers Bear Kelly and Jack Coad take to the fields of the Knight Rifles Invitational Hunt to harvest their first Iowa deer. After a day of extreme northern weather, Coad scouted an 800-acre soy bean field that proved to be the jackpot.

You still have time to plant your fall and winter food plots before deer hunting season arrives. Fall and winter food plots are important because the ensure that deer will have a steady supply of food well into hunting season. Follow these steps for effective food plots.

Larry Self encounters the "deer of a lifetime" in Iowa in December. Read how he takes it down using his trusty Knight Rifles KP1 Muzzleloader.

Tony Smotherman embarks on the trip of a lifetime hunting black bears in the Alaskan wilderness. This is a detailed account of his adventure, from fighting bad weather on an Alaskan fishing boat to tracking down a black bear with his Knight Rifles Muzzleloader.

It was a cold December Sunday, but that did not hinder Matt Hughes. He was in southern Iowa for the Knight Invitational Hunt during first season. Opening day saw over an inch of freezing rainfall, but Knight Rifles are designed for the most extreme weather conditions.

Nine-time Ultimate Fighting Champion (Welterweight) Matt Hughes recently met another champion in Tennessee, and again Hughes was the only one left standing. This time, however, the opponent was a big 8-point buck.

For several days, the snow had fallen so hard that just seeing a deer beyond 50 yards had been impossible, let alone getting a shot. Still, I had hunted. And while I had managed to ease up on a few bedded does and fawns, I had not spotted anything with antlers since the first snowflake had floated down from the heavy cloud cover. Fortunately, the storm had passed through during the second night, and morning broke with a high, light layer of cirrus clouds- and without a hint of a breeze. I knew it was going to be a great morning, and I knew exactly where I wanted to be.

Extremely few of us go through life specifically remembering something seemingly as trivial as a phone call. However, back in late December 1985, I enjoyed a telephone conversation that I will always remember, and one that pretty much changed the rest of my life. That call was from a beginning gun maker by the name of William "Tony" Knight. And he had a brand new muzzleloading rifle system he claimed would change the sport of muzzleloader hunting.

The interstate mile marker signs are flying past at a mesmerizing pace. After only ten hours in the truck seat my legs are beginning to go numb and my back side is getting sorer by the mile, and too think, there is another ten more grueling hours ahead before we get to our hunting destination. Yep, we are heading out west again for the ultimate kick off of hunting season. Wyoming, what a place with tons of history!

With so much interest in hunting with today's modern muzzle-loaded in-line ignition big-game rifles, more and more Eastern and Midwestern hunters are now heading into the West with hopes of tagging an elk with the same .50 caliber rifle most have used successfully to hunt deer. And for the added knockdown power they'll need for an animal that is two…three…even four times larger than the deer they hunt, their first order of business is usually to work up a harder hitting load, and that means loading with a bit more powder and going to a heavier bullet of at least 300 grains.

The most significant advancement in today’s muzzleloaders is the way the powder charge is ignited. By this I mean that for the gun to go off, some sort of fire has to be sent in from the rear of the barrel to make the powder explode. Thus, the reaction to the explosion is the bullet moving out the front of the barrel at a very rapid rate of speed.

Favor for muzzleloader calibers has shifted slightly over the years with a new caliber taking the limelight, then sliding away and making room for a different caliber in short order. The mainstay, of course, is the .50 caliber — a solid caliber excellent for many types of big game. The petite .45 had its day in the sun, and the rotund .54 also made a showing, but the .50 has remained most common. Now, the .52 caliber is on the rise, and for good reason.

Feral hogs are tough. They have tough hides, live in tough country and demand a tough gun and load to bring down. The gun we used on our trip is the .52 caliber Knight Extreme.

Dick Scorzafava hunts a huge bear in remote Manitoba, Canada.