Kimber aint cutting it. looking for something new

[gbflyer]

Might have missed it but I don’t see what you’re feeding this beast. Handloads...factory? A sure fire way to eliminate (as sure fire as it gets in shooting anyway I guess) ammo problems in 308 is to go buy a box of Federal Gold Medal Match 168. 99 out of 100 times, if the gun isn’t good, or better than good with that, then it’s time to take it to the gun show, stock bedding be damned.

My unsolicited advice on the subject.

 

[BXB77]

Might have missed it but I don’t see what you’re feeding this beast. Handloads...factory? A sure fire way to eliminate (as sure fire as it gets in shooting anyway I guess) ammo problems in 308 is to go buy a box of Federal Gold Medal Match 168. 99 out of 100 times, if the gun isn’t good, or better than good with that, then it’s time to take it to the gun show, stock bedding be damned.

My unsolicited advice on the subject.

I have been shooting Hornady Superformance SST 150

 

[BXB77]

I feel like you guys have been talking to my wife. Everyone trying to to talk me out of a buying a new gun. Its about time I make another contribution to the Pittman Robertson fund.

 

[deerkiller]

If you've shot "hundreds" of shots from a lead sled, whether it's been bedded or not, you might want to check the recoil lug recesses - Lead sleds inhibit the natural thing that all rifles are supposed to do, "recoil" - if your rifle can't recoil then all those forces are going "somewhere" - the lead sleds I've seen have a pretty wide forend rest too, if the forend isn't snugly secure it will throw flyers randomly - If it's a older Kimber they DID have some questionable barrels but the newer ones are MUCH MUCH better - action screw torque spec is 65 INCH lb - have you checked the crown ? lightweight hunting rifles are not built for the bench, lighter weight of course but stock contours also, they can truly be frustrating to learn to shoot consistently, I had my demons for a long while

 

[KINGSNAKE]

I will tell you what you want to hear. Sell it and buy a new gun. I just sold a gun I wasn't in love with because the mag only held two rounds. I ended up buying a fierce fury. Hope that helps.

 

[HNTR918]

If the desired accuracy can be reached with a lead sled but not without. They that is the shooter. Sounds like a lighter rifle is showing your shooting errors. Practice more or get a heavier rifle.

 

[Sodbuster]

I am not sure about the wooden stocked Kimber models but my Montana was just skim coated for bedding by the factory. A proper bedding job made a big difference.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

Have you bedded the gun, they are slave bedded and not actually your action to the stock

make sure the front sight base screw isn’t deadheading, make sure the mag box isn’t binding etc etc..

Then get that fvcker bagged up front and rear.. hold the damn forend.

Then forget about if the gun shoots or not, just focus on the target and press the trigger rearwards.

You gotta make sure the guns dialed, then get back to the fundamentals of marksmanship.

Another hint, shoot stubby bullets.

125gr reduced recoil isn’t a bad place to be to just pop 20-30 primers and get some confidence.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

The problem with heaps of recoil isn’t that your a wuss and can’t stand a bit of cheek slap and a shoulder shove

It’s that our brain tells our body to tense up. We can trick ourselves into not flinching.. but over and over and over again it gets tough.

We have through repetition Undid all the thousands of reps on the BB gun as a kid, the 22, the 223..

But like the first time you lean out against the belly buster 90ft in the air and try to pull back a 7500lb of steel pipe, you realize that it’s mostly between he ears that gonna get it done, and the knack only comes from doing shit, over and over and over again. 7,000 times I think is the oft quoted number.

Throwing a hook, pickin fish, running a gaff, Throwing tongs, stabbing joints, shooting featherweight rifles.. it all takes practice. The internet won’t teach ya how.

A 5lb rifle is not an easy tool to wield. Get that lug caught, maybe a bit of upwards pressure at the tip of the stock and then commit to the process.

 

[JeffRaines]

The problem with heaps of recoil isn’t that your a wuss and can’t stand a bit of cheek slap and a shoulder shove

It’s that our brain tells our body to tense up. We can trick ourselves into not flinching.. but over and over and over again it gets tough.

We have through repetition Undid all the thousands of reps on the BB gun as a kid, the 22, the 223..

But like the first time you lean out against the belly buster 90ft in the air and try to pull back a 7500lb of steel pipe, you realize that it’s mostly between he ears that gonna get it done, and the knack only comes from doing shit, over and over and over again. 7,000 times I think is the oft quoted number.

Throwing a hook, pickin fish, running a gaff, Throwing tongs, stabbing joints, shooting featherweight rifles.. it all takes practice. The internet won’t teach ya how.

A 5lb rifle is not an easy tool to wield. Get that lug caught, maybe a bit of upwards pressure at the tip of the stock and then commit to the process.

Yep!

If I'm going out to shoot groups(which is only a load development/verification activity) I always bring my 22. I'll shoot a group, then bust out my 22 and do 20-40 rounds of plinking. Keeps me sharp. Its amazing what shooting that at 100-200 yards will do for your shooting on the big boys.

Like I mentioned before, I'm a hunter first. I don't care about group sizes at 500 or 600 or whatever. I care if I can put it in the vitals at said distance. I get how group size can play into that, but its a lot of unnecessary fluff if all you're doing is hunting.

Another thing I've noticed since switching from the sled - it makes the transition to field shooting a lot easier. My POI or technique doesn't really change a whole lot.

At the end of the day, spent primers are going to be the way to learn. You can read about shooting all day long, but it ain't something you can learn by reading.

Oh, and another thing OP - you didn't mention what you have your trigger set at. I can not shoot my Montana at 2.5lbs, its just too heavy of a pull. Reduce it to around 1.75lbs, making sure it doesn't slam fire(mine will at 1.5 if you close the bolt hard enough) and try shooting again.

 

[False_Cast]

If you have a true 10-shot 1 moa “at 100 yards” Kimber 308, you have a special gun capable of all you need (and better than you could likely buy for any reasonable price for the weight).

 

[BXB77]

If you've shot "hundreds" of shots from a lead sled, whether it's been bedded or not, you might want to check the recoil lug recesses - Lead sleds inhibit the natural thing that all rifles are supposed to do, "recoil" - if your rifle can't recoil then all those forces are going "somewhere" - the lead sleds I've seen have a pretty wide forend rest too, if the forend isn't snugly secure it will throw flyers randomly - If it's a older Kimber they DID have some questionable barrels but the newer ones are MUCH MUCH better - action screw torque spec is 65 INCH lb - have you checked the crown ? lightweight hunting rifles are not built for the bench, lighter weight of course but stock contours also, they can truly be frustrating to learn to shoot consistently, I had my demons for a long while

Whats up with the "quotes" on hundreds of shots??? Are you saying I'm full of shit? If you would have read all the post you would see I only shot it from a sled to make sure it would shoot MOA. I have shot approximately 9 boxes of shells through it on bags. What I really wanted out of this post was some info on the CA Mesa.

 

[Mulga]

What I really wanted out of this post was some info on the CA Mesa.

LOL

 

[Ndbowhunter]

Your guns fvkked mate, sell it to me for 700$

 

[hiway_99]

I have a ca mesa. But I cant give you any feed back cause I havent shot it yet.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[KJH]

If you're intent on getting rid of the rifle for accuracy problems, PM me. I'd be interested.

 

[PathFinder]

1. I'd try the Federal GMM. If you've only tried one factory load, that's a quick, affordable check on the rifle's real ability.
2. Just over 1 MOA is exactly what I'd expect from a Kimber, especially a light one. If you have had the gun for a while and aren't liking it, then don't feel bad bailing on it. I do it all the time and don't regret a single one I sold.
3. The CA Mesa is a roll of the dice. Could be really good, could struggle to hold MOA. I'm not impressed with their manufacturing, management, or the rifle I had from them. Coming from someone that's spent ~12k in rifle setups that weren't exactly what I wanted in the last 5 years, save up and buy exactly what you need/want. Would have saved me thousands and loads of time had I done so in the first place.

 

[Mike 338]

I find that lighter sporter rifles often require more attention to form when shooting. By form, I mean how the shooter influences the rifle. Most of the time, guys just take the classic sniper pose of getting behind the rifle and letting the left hand manipulate the rear bag. This may look like it's all that's going on but it wouldn't hurt to pay a lot more attention to other things that will definitely influence the rifle. I'd recommend doing a fair bit of experimenting. Soft, med or hard hold? Soft, med or hard pull into your shoulder? Soft, med or hard push of body mass into the buttstock? Light, med or heavy cheek pressure? Gun sliding free on bags and more or less horizontally front to back or not so much? Swivel studs catching on bags through recoil? Shoulder pocket muscle tense or soft? Trigger press fully depressing the trigger until well after the shot breaks or does your finger fly off the trigger like it was just burnt? Trigger press directly to the rear center of the buttstock? Body mass directly behind the gun or slightly askew? Following the shot (follow through)?

"Form" is the part of load development that is virtually always overlooked. It's very common throughout a shooting session as the shooter warms up, to influence the rifle differently from shot to shot. It's also common for the shooter to maintain form from shot to shot, that doesn't allow the rifle to exploit it's accuracy potential. Fact is, finding how the rifle likes to be shot "before" full blown load development will alleviate the problem of overlooking good loads. As with all experimentation, one thing at a time or your data will be flawed.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I have been shooting Hornady Superformance SST 150

I’ve had horrible luck with the Superformance ammunition in all 3 of my Kimber’s, but I’ve also had great success in everything that I’ve shot the Barnes TTSX ammo out of. Might be worth trying some.

 

[deerkiller]

Yep!

If I'm going out to shoot groups(which is only a load development/verification activity) I always bring my 22. I'll shoot a group, then bust out my 22 and do 20-40 rounds of plinking. Keeps me sharp. Its amazing what shooting that at 100-200 yards will do for your shooting on the big boys.

Like I mentioned before, I'm a hunter first. I don't care about group sizes at 500 or 600 or whatever. I care if I can put it in the vitals at said distance. I get how group size can play into that, but its a lot of unnecessary fluff if all you're doing is hunting.

Another thing I've noticed since switching from the sled - it makes the transition to field shooting a lot easier. My POI or technique doesn't really change a whole lot.

At the end of the day, spent primers are going to be the way to learn. You can read about shooting all day long, but it ain't something you can learn by reading.

Oh, and another thing OP - you didn't mention what you have your trigger set at. I can not shoot my Montana at 2.5lbs, its just too heavy of a pull. Reduce it to around 1.75lbs, making sure it doesn't slam fire(mine will at 1.5 if you close the bolt hard enough) and try shooting again.

Never were truer words spoken than what you just said WITH the exception of "trigger pull" - IMHO, IF your rifle will slam fire at 1.5 lb then 1.75 lb is just too darn close to that for a hunting rifle - 2.5 is even marginal IMO, 3.0 is perfect - Kimbers have a very nice trigger in comparison to many - PRACTICE can make a shooter proficient with virtually
any trigger IF you are not trying to shoot too many different guns all with differing triggers - But again, you are spot on about the rest of your points