Knight Rifles teases new .40 cal “Peregrine”

In December 2020, the Knight Rifles Facebook Page shared a seemingly harmless photo of a successful hunt. Knight fans will notice the rifle itself is a bit different than their other models.

The photo originally shared on the Knight Rifles Facebook

The description on the photo stating:

This 14 pt Iowa buck was taken during the 1st gun season of 2020 while testing a brand new rifle concept which will be released in 2021. Make sure to follow us for more information on the New Knight Peregrine Muzzleloader.

And that was it. Knight gives us a taste, sharing a successful hunt, a slanted photo of the rifle, the name, and goes silent. A good tease, that’s for sure.

The rumor mill started not long after the release of this photo. On the Modern Muzzleloader forums, people began sharing ideas and information on things they had heard.

User GM54-120 replied quickly:

Last thing i heard was they were testing a 40cal. The guy that posted said they got over 2300fps shooting a 40cal 250gr? sabotless and a 300gr was like 2200fps? Loads like that even using just BH209 120grV loads will need a better ignition system. It would be murder on vents and plugs for high volume shooters.

While the forums boiled up and calmed, Knight was quiet, working and waiting for the right time to release.

2021 opened hot and heavy for muzzleloaders. With the cancellation of the 2021 SHOT Show, muzzleloading manufacturers worked on their own to generate hype around new muzzleloaders. Notable competitor in the long range muzzleloading space, CVA, owned by BPI outdoors, announced the new Paramount HTR, the latest in their premium Paramount line. Traditions Muzzleloaders announced some faster 1:24 twist barrels, but that was about it.

Knight hasn’t been to the SHOT Show in some time, so it made sense for them to not tease anything during this time. In a way, their post in mid December was more effective really. December is not a time anyone is looking for new releases. 2021 hadn’t even started and they took the first shot.

Fast forward to March, 2021, Knight publishes their next teaser, a photo with the name and logo related to the new “Peregrine” muzzleloader. A fast twist .40 cal muzzleloader looking to be the most accurate at 500 yards.

Just like December, the rumor mill began running at full steam. We’ve reached out to Knight for more information but they are keeping pretty tight lipped about this new Peregrine muzzleloader. Thankfully, we don’t have much longer to wait until June 1, 2021.

Will this be a full launch date or will it be an online reveal with preorders? With a date so close to the NMLRA Spring National Shoot, I hope to see this new rifle on the range. After all, Knight holds many national records with the NMLRA. Bringing a new long range muzzleloader to the Walter Cline Range only seems appropriate if they plan to continue this competition legacy.

2021 continues to be a bang up year for muzzleloaders of all kinds, this release from Knight Rifles is icing on the cake, we can’t wait to see more.