I bought a Kimber 84 in a model they call a LongMaster in .308 win. Thought in that caliber it ought to shoot. I am having trouble getting better than 1 1/2" groups from it. Anyone else have one of these?

Double check the crown................DJ

I had the 84M Classic and after sending it back because it was much worse than that it shot around 11/2" groups with handloads. I admit I just got tired of messing with it. I sold it and bought a Remington CDL. It shot better out of the box than the Kimber ever did. I'm not saying Kimber doesn't make a nice rifle but they are decidedly hit or miss. The rifle also left a ring right below the shoulder on fired brass(bad chamber?). My brother sold his too but it shot alot better, unfortunately it would jam when chambering a round. I think his could have been fixed easier. I might would buy another some day but would have to know it shot well and the feeding was acceptable. Not in 308 though. 270 winchester or 30/06. 1 1/2" I believe is acceptable to kimber, it isn't to me in that class of rifle. The rifle looked and handled real well but I prefer accuracy over the light weight.

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
I bought a Kimber 84 in a model they call a LongMaster in .308 win. Thought in that caliber it ought to shoot. I am having trouble getting better than 1 1/2" groups from it. Anyone else have one of these?

Double check that everything is tight but with the correct torque on the guard screws and with a proven scope. Shoot it with more than one brand of factory ammo but try to include Federal Match or other match 308 ammo. Clean the barrel well of course.

For the life of me I can't always see when a crown is good or bad. For sure something is wrong, maybe three things are wrong.

Call Kimber after two more tries and keep in touch with us.

This is pretty crappy for such an expensive rifle. I am sorry you are having to hassle with this mess.
It's always funny to see Kimber faithfuls always so tolerant -did you check the crown, tighten everything - this stuff should be done by quality control in the manufacturing plant.

Best of luck on finding a great .308 win.

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
I bought a Kimber 84 in a model they call a LongMaster in .308 win. Thought in that caliber it ought to shoot. I am having trouble getting better than 1 1/2" groups from it. Anyone else have one of these?

No I don't. But hell the 308 is an accurate cart in it's own right. That sucks! I'm hearing some scary stories on their rifles. I think they're pushing production too fast for their facilities. In trying to fill the Winchester gap that is.

Lets argue the value of a Kimber at $1000 or so.

Here is my experiance of the various brands.

1. Winchester: Out of business, major quality problems with a WSM that required a new stock and they won't fix the out of round (.002") chamber.
Weighs a lot more than a Kimber. Kicks harder!

2. Sako: Rifles blew up with hands being shredded. Berreta never made the recall public.

3. Tikka: Ditto above. A friend got a Tikka 270 WSM and its MOA or better with two loads without any work. The recoil pad is not as good as a Kimbers, it's not CRF and the safety is unacceptable at only two positions as you can't unload the chamber with the safety on!

4.Ruger. Much less expensive true however the safety is not nearly as easy to articulate and it's heavier. Recoil pad is unknown.

5.MRC Custom: Rough action, heavy. Became obsolete when the Kimbers came out with the Montana.

I would not hunt with a Remmi or own a jap made gun.

quote:

Originally posted by Camp Dog:
This is pretty crappy for such an expensive rifle. I am sorry you are having to hassle with this mess.
It's always funny to see Kimber faithfuls always so tolerant -did you check the crown, tighten everything - this stuff should be done by quality control in the manufacturing plant.

Best of luck on finding a great .308 win.

I've had 9 of them. All shot MOA most shot much better than MOA. I've only had one that required much of anything, it shot MOA until I bedded the floorplate and it started shootin 1/2 MOA.
People seem to think that if they spend $1000 for a rifle instead of $600 the rifle should have exhibition grade wood and shoot nothing but one hole groups no matter where you pull the trigger. Kimbers are well made excellent rifles that less occasionally than others need a little fine tuning. They also are light rifles that can be more difficult to shoot accurately off the bench than some people are used too. Kimber's customer service has been superb in the cases I've directly experienced with. So in my opinion you get a heck of a lot for the extra $300-$600 you spend on a Kimber. For those of you that don't understand this go buy a Stevens 200 at Walmart and enjoy an accurate inexpensive rifle..................

I have .204 Ruger Identical to the .308 and it is a tack driver. But the .308 will make me think twice about another.

Hello Ledvm,
You are correct that the 308 is indeed an accurate caliber and very easy to load for in most situations. I have shot the caliber since the early 60's in military and civilian form and it is a world class accurate round in the right weapon configuration. What is the twist of the barrel?? Most now use the 12 twist for optimum performance with other twists for more specialized useage.
With your twist of 12, it may be 10 but I doubt it*, let me suggest you work up some loads using the Sierra 175MK bullet and either IMR4064 or Varget powder. Use Federal Gold Medal Match primers, Lapua brass trimmed to 2.002", primer pockets reamed, and the bullet seated between .002-.005" from the lands and grooves. There are some other steps than can be taken but the above is good for openers.
As for powder charges check out the accuracy loads shown in the Sierra Manual for 308 and 4064 will most likely be the suggested powder. Mind you Varget will work quie well and is used a great deal with those of us shooting Palma matches. (8,9, 1000 yards w/ peep and must be 308 in sling/prone postion)
The above is pretty much std. ammo for long range shooters and known to work providing the weapon/rifle is in proper condition. 1/2 minute of angle accuracy is not uncommon out to and including the 1000 yard mark. Others have made some good suggestions above, but would highly advise that only one change be made at a time and checked. A "sick" rifle requires a step by step method to find a cure I have found. Good luck whatever you end up doing.

*If the twist is 10 not a problem, but will work better with the 168-190 weight Sierras and not so good with the 155 Palma bullet. I have found the 12 twist will give very good performance w/ weights from 155-190, but that was in a 30" Palma barrel.

Ledvm
Here is something that I posted in another forum

I have a Kimber Longmaster in .308. My original problems were an occasional failure to fire and accuracy. The only way I could get good accuracy was to put the bullet ogive .010 off the lands. This made the cartridge to long to fit in the magazine.
I took the rifle to one of the better gunsmiths in the area for examination (I didn’t want to mess with sending the rifle back to Kimber), what was found was a firing pin bore in the bolt was very rough and poor action bedding.
I still have the occasional misfire and the accuracy remained the same. After I read this post, I see that the firing pin strikes are off center as well. Could this be the cause of the misfires and accuracy issues?
It looks like I will be sending this rifle back to Kimber. All in all a disappointing experience for the money.

Dave,
Keep me posted on the outcome. I am very interested!!!