scottfromdallas, good luck I hope it works out! Let us know. .404 is your first shot always from a clean bore?

I always detail strip each new rifle [firearm] I get. I set all action screws to 65in/lbs with the front screw being tightened down first [as long as its pillar bedded].

I have been shooting Nosler Custom ammo in this rig --100 grn PT's and BT's. I have two boxes of Federal 120 PT's waiting in the wings. The BT's have been the most accurate; well under 1" on a good day, but their light construction worries me on medium sized game, so I'v eonly hunted with the Partitions. I am looking forward to sourcing some 110grn Accubonds to test out.

All in all, I would say the majority of issues with Kimber rifles is most likely attributed to people not breaking in the rifle [60 to 100 rounds in my experience] and not knowing how to shoot a really light rifle off the bench. I know I had issues with my first Kimber, and eventually it was squarely me, not the rifle.

funny all this talk made me check my action screws on the Bob, the tang screw was not tight! I tightened it now I have to go sight it in again!!! It was shooting sub 1 inch on most 3 shot groups!!! RATS!

Yes,my cold-bore shots are from a clean bore.The high-left shots are tighting up to the group now as tha barrel is starting to smooth out.As the season get closer,I will be shooting a cold bore shot only to verify POI.I have not decided on the bullet yet,but it's coming.
I'm also working with a 6.5x57 as well,it seems to like the 125 NP,so that may be the way to go...404

.404, try not cleaning the rifle. Most all of my rifles shoot differently with a clean bore, not so much a cold bore.

I never clean my rifles from sight in until the season is over. If you zero the gun, don't clean it, bring the gun and the same target back the next day the gun should shoot into the same group.

I sure like my Ruger Ultralight 257. I suspect the Kimber is just more of a great thing.

I've yet to see a Kimber montana not shoot good.

nice shot paulbanard

What Leupold is that on the rifle?

My Kimber Select 257 loves h4350 and:
100 gr nbt
100 gr sierra Boat tails
110 nab
44 gr to 46 gr.
Will shoot 3 rapidly into much less than an in. with all 3.

I called Kimber today after 4 weeks to see where they were were with my rifle. They said it shot to specs and is shipping it back with a target using 117 Win factory ammo. I asked him what the specs were and he said 1.5" at 100 yards. He said they shot 12 shots with no problems. I'm relieved.....now I have to figure out if it's my scope, my rings or if it wasn't mounted correctly. The scope was a brand new Zeiss Conquest 2.5x8 and the rings are Warne. I had them mounted at a gunshop. Maybe something was not tight. Anyway, that will be my project to figure out. I'm still a little skeptical that they did "nothing" and shot a 1.5" group considering the had it 4 weeks and a gunsmith I trust (not the one that mounted the scope) said it didn't appear to be bedded correctly and the action looked like the action was binding. Anyway, I'll know more when I get it back next week. I have a spare scope that I know works so we'll see what I can find out. Bottom line, I am very relieved it's coming back shooting under 1.5" at a 100 yards. At least I know it can shoot.

You're relieved? I sure wouldn't be....

I sent my .338 Federal to Montana...their "ace" Barry Vanderstuow re-crowned it, adjusted the trigger (?) and said he shot a 3 shot group with Federal Fusions @ 100 that went into an inch....he blamed my accuracy issues on the "old" Federal Fusions I was shooting into it...

The rifle's still a POS...I don't believe he shot it at 100 either. I had carefully broken in the barrel, tried the Federal Fusions again as well as their Partition load and used a 6x42 Leupold that worked perfectly on other rifles...

No more Kimber junk for me....

I sent it to Montana for service because I didn't want the same people who built it "working" on it.....

Hope you have better luck with yours....

Woodhick,

I'm a little confused. I'm guessing it still didn't shoot well after they did all the work. I hope I have better luck.

I also have a 338 Federal but mine is a Ruger. It is a shooter with Fusions. I have not tried any other ammo.

I should have done a little more research before buying my Kimber. Now, I hear all sorts of issues with their quality. I just loved the look and feel of the rifle.

I think if I had a "do over", I'd look in to Cooper rifles instead. It really sucks that I've had problems with the first rifle I decided to "splurge". I'm more of a Ruger guy.

Scott.
Did you take your scope and mounts off before you ent it to kimber ?
I am really sorry your kimber shot so crappy.
I have had quie a few very old winchester lever actions that would shoot much better than 5 inches.
I would recomend you mount your own scopes. Its not hard and with the roughly 1400.00 you have invested , I am sure you would take the time and do it right.
With a bore as small as .257 it is a piece of cake to bore sight with no tools.
I would certainly suspect your mounts or the scope.
I can't imagine bedding causing such a problem.
I don't like factory ammo but i would try some of that hornady stuff...tj3006

The story changed today. I was out of town and returned yesterday to find several messages on my answering machine from Kimber. I called back and the person I spoke with told me something very different from the person I spoke with a week ago. He told me replaced the barrel on my Kimber. He also told me they broke on of the screws on my mounts and offered to mount Kimber mounts for free. I accepted since I don't want to hunt for a screw for my Warne bases. So basically, it DID not shoot to specs. I did not have bad mounts, scope, rings, etc.... It was the rifle as I suspected. He said the rifle is shooting really well now with Remington and Winchester 117 factory and is sending a target with the rifle. It's supposed to ship back tomorrow.

If the rifle shoots well I will be pleased but you really have to wonder about their quality control if they have to replace a barrel. I heard too many other horror stories for a pricey product they market with a "match" chamber and "match" barrel.

I am glad they fixed it for you. I am very happy with my select classic.

Received my Kimber today with a target in the box. The target had a 1.2" group with factory 117 gr Remingtons. I plan on taking it to the range and testing some factory winchesters and 3 different hand loads. I had to take up reloading because of the ammo shortage and lack of 257 Roberts ammo. I actually have been wanting to do it for awhile and the BOB is a perfect excuse. I've got 117 gr SSTs, 110 gr Accubonds and 100 gr cor-lokts. I'm using IMR-4350. Hopefully I'll get some decent groups.

I went to the range today and my Kimber is shooting pretty good. I think when the new barrel brakes in, it will be a really good shooter. It seems to really like 117 SSTs and 110 Accubonds.

The rifle was shooting better than I could today. My 100 yard Best groups were about 1.5 but I think the rifle was capable of better. I should have let the barrel cool a little more and I think I jerked instead of squeezed a few times. At 50 yards...when I was sighting it in, I was able to tear one hole with the SSTs and Accubonds. Even at 50, the rifle did not like the 100 gr Cor-lokts.

Overall, I'm very pleased and look forward to testing different loads.

Scott,
Glad to see that it seems to be working out for you! Given their prices, it seems to me that Kimber would benefit from running a few rounds down the barrel of each rifle and sorting out the ones that need attention before they go out the door. From what I have seen, your experience is not unique.

Hope it turns into a tack driver for ya!

Mort,

I agree 100%. KIMBER really needs build in better QC for their products. They are really getting a bad reputation. They advertise match barrel and chambers and deliver rifles that have bad barrels, are poorly bedded or improperly crowned. It's too hit an miss with their quality.

Second trip to the range since Kimber replaced my barrel....1.2" group with 117 SST and IMR-4350. The barrel seems to be breaking in nicely. This is what I imagined when I first purchased my Kimber.

This is my last post on this thread. I've had 3 trips to the range since Kimber replaced my barrel. I'm extremely pleased with this rifle. I found 3 loads that work great with IMR-4350.

100 NBT is the best at .5-.8"
100 TSX was .8-1.1"
117 SST 1"-1.4"

Those 3 should do whatever I need to with a 257 Roberts. I am pleased with the way Kimber fixed the issue. The end result is I have a terrific shooting rifle that is beautiful as well.

I would buy a Kimber again as long as it was new. I wouldn't want to risk buying a defective rifle like mine was. I think people tend to get rid of them instead of sending them back.

I also agree with another post that said many times there is nothing wrong with the rifle but the shooter. The Kimbers are more difficult to shoot from the bench because of their weight. Any slight mistake is magnified by the rifles weight. The thin barrel also heats up after 3 shots and groups start to really open up.

Scott what was the load with the IMR4350 and OAL for the 100 grain TSX?

The TSX load was 44 gr with a COL of 2.77. I used Rem Brass and CCI primers.

The NBT was exactly the same except I used 43 gr.

The rifle seems to slightly prefer the 100 grain bullets over the heavier bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by scottfromdallas:
This is my last post on this thread. I've had 3 trips to the range since Kimber replaced my barrel. I'm extremely pleased with this rifle. I found 3 loads that work great with IMR-4350.

100 NBT is the best at .5-.8"
100 TSX was .8-1.1"
117 SST 1"-1.4"

Those 3 should do whatever I need to with a 257 Roberts. I am pleased with the way Kimber fixed the issue. The end result is I have a terrific shooting rifle that is beautiful as well.

I would buy a Kimber again as long as it was new. I wouldn't want to risk buying a defective rifle like mine was. I think people tend to get rid of them instead of sending them back.

I also agree with another post that said many times there is nothing wrong with the rifle but the shooter. The Kimbers are more difficult to shoot from the bench because of their weight. Any slight mistake is magnified by the rifles weight. The thin barrel also heats up after 3 shots and groups start to really open up.

Congrat to you for sticking with it and ending up with a great shooting, and beautiful rifle.

I have a custom LH blue and English walnut 257R, but mine is not so beautiful as yours. If I were a righty....!

Best of luck to you on your hunts with your rifle!

JPK

I've enjoyed reading through this thread. I dearly love the Kimber 84m stock design and would love to own such a rifle but I've made the mistake of reading up on them a bit too much, and decided that I just don't want to spend my $$ on such iffy QC.
I own Tikkas instead. They don't feel nearly as nice in the hand but they function flawlessly and all 4 of them have shot .75 moa or better with factory ammo. The only tweaking one has to do is back off the sear pressure screw until it hits the head of the trigger mounting bolt and that's the extent of the tune job.
I thank the OP for telling of his experience here and I'm glad he is pleased with his rifle.