Kimber rifles and full bedding

[pilsner]

Oh yeah sorry that didn't come out the way I meant. Yes that would be asking alot I was looking more for 3 quick shots

Ive got a Hunter in 3006 that loves 180 grain fodder of most every stripe. First 2 rounds are a figure 8, #3 opens the group to around an inch due to vertical stringing, and I have no idea where the 4th round goes as its off the 4" Shoot-n-See target.
I was also wondering if it woulds do any good to try to bed a rifle with a bendy plastic stock?

 

[Buckbrush]

Ive got a Hunter in 3006 that loves 180 grain fodder of most every stripe. First 2 rounds are a figure 8, #3 opens the group to around an inch due to vertical stringing, and I have no idea where the 4th round goes as its off the 4" Shoot-n-See target.
I was also wondering if it woulds do any good to try to bed a rifle with a bendy plastic stock?

What I've noticed was that a full length bed makes the rifle alot more picky about the loads it likes. The 270 Montana would group the 130 gr accubonds great but the loads before full length bedding would group worse. The only thing I can say is try it. Worse case is you sand it back out. Take some 60 grit and 120 grit screw driver or Allen wrench with you and do it while your out shooting. Maybe try a business card under the barrel first.

 

[pilsner]

Dunno why I didnt think of just shimming it with a business card first
*face palm*
Might as well try the free sample first so to speak.
thx.

 

[Buckbrush]

Dunno why I didnt think of just shimming it with a business card first
*face palm*
Might as well try the free sample first so to speak.
thx.

If the hunters are anything like the montana's. I would check magazine box pinch. That won't help if it has a removable magazine. Also check the screw lengths and see if they are to long and bottoming out before they tighten all the way down. For the scope mounts and the recoil lug screw. And a piller bedding the action can't hurt or just a skim bed if it already has pillers in place. Kimber's can be fantastic guns if they shoot well. And a total pain in the but if they don't. Hope you figure it out. I called mine good enough with a 1 1/8" groups @ 100 yrds. Good luck with it. Let me know what you come up with.

 

[pilsner]

Mine shoots quite well off the bench but i struggle with stock flex when shooting out of a ground blind window sill or off of a fence post. Vertical shifting of POI vs POA. Want to try it off of a tripod but am concerned about loading the tripod and getting the same vertical shift.

 

[Buckbrush]

Mine shoots quite well off the bench but i struggle with stock flex when shooting out of a ground blind window sill or off of a fence post. Vertical shifting of POI vs POA. Want to try it off of a tripod but am concerned about loading the tripod and getting the same vertical shift.

I had just the opposite with horizontal stringing. I think I would try the business card pressures point trick. And if that don't help mabey do a cheap full length bedding with JB weld. Other than that I would suggest a better stock.

 

[Don Fischer]

Ive got a Hunter in 3006 that loves 180 grain fodder of most every stripe. First 2 rounds are a figure 8, #3 opens the group to around an inch due to vertical stringing, and I have no idea where the 4th round goes as its off the 4" Shoot-n-See target.
I was also wondering if it woulds do any good to try to bed a rifle with a bendy plastic stock?

I think your rifle should not be doing that that bad. I like to shoot a new rifle then check bedding. I find a lot of new rifles can be improved with bedding, but then, maybe I just like the bed rifles. I don't think bedding will hurt a rifle but good chance it will improve it. Then again you might find that you like the way a rifle shoots even without touching the bedding! If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Only you can decide if it's broke or not! For myself your rifle shoot pretty darn good for a hunting rifle. 1" for three shots just ain't all that bad! How many animals gonna give you more than three shot's before leaving the country? If you see yourself as a long range hunter, your rifle doesn't shoot very well but then if you were you'd already know that. I've never heard of it happening but at long range you miss with the first three and then you'd need the fourth, maybe more!

Rifle with a plastic bendy stock. If the bendy stock was the only problem I would thing the first three wouldn't shoot as well as they do! But maybe! I did a 700 ADL plastic stock that could not have been bendy. Barreled action was so tight rear stock bolt to the barrel channel tip I had to beat it out of the stock. I considered filling in the stock with J.B. Kwik Weld but didn't right away. Simply got it all bedded in so I could simply lift the barreled action in and out of the stock. Sanded down the barrel channel to free float the barrel. Then tried shooting it, shot great! If the stock bent and bothered the accuracy, I suspect it would be in the barrel channel. I have read of guy's epoxying a push rod out of their wife's car in the forend and they claim it works. I would think simply releaving the stocck away from the barrel a bit would do the same! My though is a stock bending and ruining accuracy is not bending all thet much and relieving the barrel channel a bit should fix it. Now If it doesn't, you can still reinforce the barrel channel and bed it! A bending stock would hurt accuracy because it bends enough to let the barrel bounce off of it. Like the barrel bouncing off a tight spot in a wood stock, same thing.

My though for you is float the barrel and check the action. Tighten down the action screw's and watching either at the front of the action or end of the barrel channel, the barreled action and loosen the front guard screw fairly slowly. It the reciever is in a bind the front of the action and the barrel at the tip ot the stock will rise. For that I would definately bed the action or have it done. You would be looking at a bind in the reciever, easy fix! With the rifle just the way it is you might try sliding a piece of typing paper down between the barrel and stock. Everyone recommends a dollar bill but I like a bit more relief. Floating the barrel channel I use two pices of typing paper. If the paper slides easily to the action, then make sure the actin screws are tight and loosen the front one watching for movement as said above.

if the rifle was shooting well enough even a pressure point may or may not make a difference. Knew a guy years ago had a full stock rifle, it really shot well. We pulled the stock off and readily visable was the tip of the stock bending into the barrel severely. But the rifle still shot very well. If it works, don't fix it!

Don't know that the problem comes up any more or not but, years ago I had a Parker Hale that blew shots way out of the group after a few shots. I was told the problem was back then Parker Hale did not stress relieve the barrels and as they heated up, they walked the group. I suppose that is possible but so I'm told, everyone stress relieves barrels today. Might be worth looking into though.

Two more maybe problems are to thin a barrel that simply vibrates to much and to much cartridge. To much cartridge for you may be causing you to flinch without realizeing it after a couple shots! I've no idea how much a 270 WSM recoils and not sure it even matters. Take the right person and give them a 243 to shoot and they can't, could be it's no more than the noise of the rifle shooting that's causing the flinch. Please understand I'm not saying that's your problem but rather something to consider. I've seen a lot of guys shooting magnum rifles over the years that simply didn't shoot them well and I suspect it was from flinching due to recoil or noise. When I shot a couple magnum's years ago, I had to shoot a lot and be pretty critical of myself to handle them. recoil was simply to much with a 7mm Rem Mag and couple 338 Win Mags. You can overcome it but you have to realize it's needed first.

 

[Buckbrush]

I think a lot of it is same with mine is just barrel heat. Two touching and the third out. And it depends on the loads as well one load will print three shots evenly in a horizontal string 3/8" apart. The other load will put 2 touching then the next two high and right about a 1 1/4" how or why is beyond me.
But they do it constantly at least. Maybe it has to due with the way they rifle their barrels or stress in the steel. I think the Kimber rifles your paying alot just for the name and the smaller action. But that's just my opinion.

 

[pilsner]

I think your rifle should not be doing that that bad. I like to shoot a new rifle then check bedding. I find a lot of new rifles can be improved with bedding, but then, maybe I just like the bed rifles. I don't think bedding will hurt a rifle but good chance it will improve it. Then again you might find that you like the way a rifle shoots even without touching the bedding! If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Only you can decide if it's broke or not! For myself your rifle shoot pretty darn good for a hunting rifle. 1" for three shots just ain't all that bad! How many animals gonna give you more than three shot's before leaving the country? If you see yourself as a long range hunter, your rifle doesn't shoot very well but then if you were you'd already know that. I've never heard of it happening but at long range you miss with the first three and then you'd need the fourth, maybe more!

Rifle with a plastic bendy stock. If the bendy stock was the only problem I would thing the first three wouldn't shoot as well as they do! But maybe! I did a 700 ADL plastic stock that could not have been bendy. Barreled action was so tight rear stock bolt to the barrel channel tip I had to beat it out of the stock. I considered filling in the stock with J.B. Kwik Weld but didn't right away. Simply got it all bedded in so I could simply lift the barreled action in and out of the stock. Sanded down the barrel channel to free float the barrel. Then tried shooting it, shot great! If the stock bent and bothered the accuracy, I suspect it would be in the barrel channel. I have read of guy's epoxying a push rod out of their wife's car in the forend and they claim it works. I would think simply releaving the stocck away from the barrel a bit would do the same! My though is a stock bending and ruining accuracy is not bending all thet much and relieving the barrel channel a bit should fix it. Now If it doesn't, you can still reinforce the barrel channel and bed it! A bending stock would hurt accuracy because it bends enough to let the barrel bounce off of it. Like the barrel bouncing off a tight spot in a wood stock, same thing.

My though for you is float the barrel and check the action. Tighten down the action screw's and watching either at the front of the action or end of the barrel channel, the barreled action and loosen the front guard screw fairly slowly. It the reciever is in a bind the front of the action and the barrel at the tip ot the stock will rise. For that I would definately bed the action or have it done. You would be looking at a bind in the reciever, easy fix! With the rifle just the way it is you might try sliding a piece of typing paper down between the barrel and stock. Everyone recommends a dollar bill but I like a bit more relief. Floating the barrel channel I use two pices of typing paper. If the paper slides easily to the action, then make sure the actin screws are tight and loosen the front one watching for movement as said above.

if the rifle was shooting well enough even a pressure point may or may not make a difference. Knew a guy years ago had a full stock rifle, it really shot well. We pulled the stock off and readily visable was the tip of the stock bending into the barrel severely. But the rifle still shot very well. If it works, don't fix it!

Don't know that the problem comes up any more or not but, years ago I had a Parker Hale that blew shots way out of the group after a few shots. I was told the problem was back then Parker Hale did not stress relieve the barrels and as they heated up, they walked the group. I suppose that is possible but so I'm told, everyone stress relieves barrels today. Might be worth looking into though.

Two more maybe problems are to thin a barrel that simply vibrates to much and to much cartridge. To much cartridge for you may be causing you to flinch without realizeing it after a couple shots! I've no idea how much a 270 WSM recoils and not sure it even matters. Take the right person and give them a 243 to shoot and they can't, could be it's no more than the noise of the rifle shooting that's causing the flinch. Please understand I'm not saying that's your problem but rather something to consider. I've seen a lot of guys shooting magnum rifles over the years that simply didn't shoot them well and I suspect it was from flinching due to recoil or noise. When I shot a couple magnum's years ago, I had to shoot a lot and be pretty critical of myself to handle them. recoil was simply to much with a 7mm Rem Mag and couple 338 Win Mags. You can overcome it but you have to realize it's needed first.

It shoots lights out off of a bench. It's when I use a tripod or any shooting positions that "load" the foreend so to speak. That's when it gets wonky.
Pulled the barreled action last night after checking it (no stock to barrel contact as it sits on my reloading bench) and am trying a friend's suggestion on stiffening the foreend.
If it works well I'll post pics. If it doesn't work I'll try to find a blemished stock for it off of Stockys.

As to recoil:
I've found the key for me is to interspace shooting the Kimber (a 6# or so setup with 180 grain 30-06 bullets) with shooting a bolt action 22LR that closely mimics my hunting rifles. Gotta do something while that pencil barrel cools so I might as well work on fundamentals without recoil interference. I'm not saying I've never flinched but that method keeps me honest. I once sold a 12 gauge turkey gun because it made me flinch so bad I couldn't hit the earth while standing on it!