Kimber Montana

[eburgtrapper]

I have a kimber Montana in .280ai and I've been having troubles getting it to group. Ive put quite a few different loads through it with not much success(or what I'm hoping for) I started reading threads on different sites about the bedding of the barrels and I tried the dollar bill trick. Right where the stock begins I noticed it was awfully tight so I decided to take the stock apart from the action. In the pictures I'll post there is a good amount of rubbing. I was wondering if that've bad enough to cause problems with my bullets not grouping. Thank you in advance for any input. 

Jordan

[JJB11B]

Grab a dremmel and get to sanding

[Angry Perch]

Grab a dremmel and get to sanding

Noooooo!

[Stickerbush]

I'd imagine a high end gun manufacturer would help out with repair. Maybe give them a call

[eburgtrapper]

I called kimber yesterday but they told me it would take 4-6 weeks of not longer to get it back.

[ndcasla]

Some gun makers build a front pressure point into their stocks. I don't know if Kimber is one of them.
I'd find out before starting carving.

[RadSav]

I love my Kimbers, but they never grouped worth a darn out of the box or upon second hand purchase.  The barrel taper just sucks if you are trying to float it.  Way too whippy unless you find just the exact harmonic load match.  After reading details about NULA rifles I finally started full length neutral bedding all my Kimbers.  Now all three are half inch guns!  I can run a five shot group out of the 325WSM and still never have strings more than 3/4".  And the best part is they now group with a number of factory ammo choices incase I find a need to salvage a hunt with store bought ammo.

[Rick]

I'm not saying there isn't something that can fine tuned on your rifle,but ultralight rifles aren't easy to shoot well.  I really need to pay attention to technique to get my Montana to shoot well.

Here are some easy things to check.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/8486078/1

[jjhunter]

My wife bought me a Kimber Montana as an engagement gift.  I never could get it to shoot so I just rebarreled and bedded it (since I could not get rid of it).   I also epoxied in some aluminum rods to stiffen the fore-end.   It shoots/feels so good now that I never leave it home.   They are a great platform for something semi-custom if you decide to go that route.   

[CaNINE]

I have a Kimber Montana in 280AI.  Mine is completely free floated from the factory.  Looks like you ended up with a bad bedding job.  Easy enough to fix.  Take some sandpaper and relieve the barrel channel until your barrel floats.  You should be good to go.  My rifle like 140 AB and 140 TTSX.  Both are half MOA loads with H4831SC.

[JDHasty]

I have a kimber Montana in .280ai and I've been having troubles getting it to group. Ive put quite a few different loads through it with not much success(or what I'm hoping for) I started reading threads on different sites about the bedding of the barrels and I tried the dollar bill trick. Right where the stock begins I noticed it was awfully tight so I decided to take the stock apart from the action. In the pictures I'll post there is a good amount of rubbing. I was wondering if that've bad enough to cause problems with my bullets not grouping. Thank you in advance for any input. 

Jordan

Before doing anything else, recheck the scope mounting hardware and then put a different scope that is known to be reliable on it and make sure it is not a scope issue.

This takes so little time and effort and quite frequently it does end up being an internal scope issue.   

 

[jrebel]

It is very interesting to here how these kimbers are not shooting.  I have always loved my kimber 45's and they have always performed and been super high quality.  For years I have read that the rifles are very hit and miss for out of the box accuracy.  Well last year I came across a Kimber Mountain Ascent in .308.  A month ago, I finally started working up loads for it and it flat out shoots amazing.  Sub 1/2 groups all day long.  Maybe I got a good one??  If were me...I would contact kimber and see what they say.  They are a very reputable company and will definitely make right by their product.  If it will take a while to get it back....that gives you an excuse to buy another rifle so you always have a back-up.   

[b23]

eburgtrapper, when you say "I've been having troubles getting it to group" what does that mean, are your groups just kind of scattered all over, or do they string and go vertical or horizontal?

Maybe I missed this information so if you've already mentioned it my apologizes, but is this gun new or just new to you, has it ever shot groups you were happy with?  Do the groups get worse the more it heats up?  Are you shooting hand loads or factory ammo, and what are they?

There's a buttload of different things to check but if you can give a bit more detail as to what you're shooting in it and what the groups are doing, you'll likely get pointed in the right direction to start with instead of checking/working on 25 other things first.

A few of the basic and easy things to check first are, as was mentioned, make sure your scope and its mounting setup is tight and working properly.  How does the crown look?  After the guns been fired a few times the crown should have a consistent amount of soot in kind of a star pattern around the muzzle.  If the gun has been apart did everything go back together properly?  Is the gun a hinged floor plate design or does it have a detachable mag?  If it has a hinged floorplate check to see if the internal magazine box is loose or tight, if it's tight it could be pressing against the action and putting it in a bind, actually bending the action around the action bolts.  When the action is assembled and torqued to the proper spec, hold you finger under the barrel at the end of the stock, then slowly loosen the front action bolt.  If you feel the barrel/stock springing away from each other, that's not good and you should have it properly bed or better yet, pillar bed.

These are the things I'd check first.

[JDHasty]

eburgtrapper, when you say "I've been having troubles getting it to group" what does that mean, are your groups just kind of scattered all over, or do they string and go vertical or horizontal?

Maybe I missed this information so if you've already mentioned it my apologizes, but is this gun new or just new to you, has it ever shot groups you were happy with?  Do the groups get worse the more it heats up?  Are you shooting hand loads or factory ammo, and what are they?

There's a buttload of different things to check but if you can give a bit more detail as to what you're shooting in it and what the groups are doing, you'll likely get pointed in the right direction to start with instead of checking/working on 25 other things first.

A few of the basic and easy things to check first are, as was mentioned, make sure your scope and its mounting setup is tight and working properly.  How does the crown look?  After the guns been fired a few times the crown should have a consistent amount of soot in kind of a star pattern around the muzzle.  If the gun has been apart did everything go back together properly?  Is the gun a hinged floor plate design or does it have a detachable mag?  If it has a hinged floorplate check to see if the internal magazine box is loose or tight, if it's tight it could be pressing against the action and putting it in a bind, actually bending the action around the action bolts.  When the action is assembled and torqued to the proper spec, hold you finger under the barrel at the end of the stock, then slowly loosen the front action bolt.  If you feel the barrel/stock springing away from each other, that's not good and you should have it properly bed or better yet, pillar bed.

These are the things I'd check first.

Is the barrel clean of copper fouling.  This can be a big deal particularly with, but  not limited to, some of the monolithic bullets and also w/older Nosler Partition bullets.  Copper fouling can get real bad real fast. 

[b23]

eburgtrapper, when you say "I've been having troubles getting it to group" what does that mean, are your groups just kind of scattered all over, or do they string and go vertical or horizontal?

Maybe I missed this information so if you've already mentioned it my apologizes, but is this gun new or just new to you, has it ever shot groups you were happy with?  Do the groups get worse the more it heats up?  Are you shooting hand loads or factory ammo, and what are they?

There's a buttload of different things to check but if you can give a bit more detail as to what you're shooting in it and what the groups are doing, you'll likely get pointed in the right direction to start with instead of checking/working on 25 other things first.

A few of the basic and easy things to check first are, as was mentioned, make sure your scope and its mounting setup is tight and working properly.  How does the crown look?  After the guns been fired a few times the crown should have a consistent amount of soot in kind of a star pattern around the muzzle.  If the gun has been apart did everything go back together properly?  Is the gun a hinged floor plate design or does it have a detachable mag?  If it has a hinged floorplate check to see if the internal magazine box is loose or tight, if it's tight it could be pressing against the action and putting it in a bind, actually bending the action around the action bolts.  When the action is assembled and torqued to the proper spec, hold you finger under the barrel at the end of the stock, then slowly loosen the front action bolt.  If you feel the barrel/stock springing away from each other, that's not good and you should have it properly bed or better yet, pillar bed.

These are the things I'd check first.

Is the barrel clean of copper fouling.  This can be a big deal particularly with, but  not limited to, some of the monolithic bullets and also w/older Nosler Partition bullets.  Copper fouling can get real bad real fast.

Good call and this can often be a bigger problem with factory barrels that didn't get a proper breakin cycle.  Aftermarket barrels are hand lapped, at least the good ones are, so it's usually not as big of a problem, but factory barrels are a whole different animal and usually benefit from a proper breakin procedure.