Rebarrel a Kimber or Restock a Winchester 70

[eamyrick]

What's the weight on this 30-06?

6lbs 9oz. Going to use Talley Bases and Rings and a 20oz scope so it will be closer to 8.5 all up with 5 rounds down, sling, scope cover.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

And I can buy that. However, they being hunting rifles have no bearing on function or precision. Are these people and yourself the kind to shoot one or two, 3 round group and call it good? What happens when that group is two rounds close and one 1-2 inches away- do you ignore it?



In any case, I apologize. It wasn’t my intent to to argue.

I havnt had that issue, I’ve never personally experienced the random flyer thing with the ones I’ve had.

 

[Wrench]

My 375 is 8lbs 11oz with a 3x9 conquest/euro.

 

[Model70Man]

I bought a Montana in .325 WSM in 2006. Took quite a few range sessions to get used to it.
It is a 3 shot under moa rifle. 5 shots always move to moa or just above.

 

[bushpilot]

I've customized over a dozen model 70's with synthetic stocks and have been very happy with the results. I understand the Kimber Montana is a good fit for some folks, I've owned several and always ended up selling them off and sticking with my model 70's.

Thanks for the input everyone. There have been some great points made by all. Especially by @thinhorn_AK and @Formidilosus, sifting through your comments I have found helpful insights into the answers I was looking for.

Maybe I should give a little more info about where I am coming from with this. To date I have owned 5 different Winchester 70/ and 4 different kimbers (the first one was a 2006, and my current one is a 2021 Yonkers model). The kimbers have always been work for me or the person I purchased it from. The current Montana has been the most work yet, bedding, free floating, honing and fabricating a collar for the firing spring so it goes bang everytime. After all of this I now consider it a function firearm. There is definitely a way to shoot these rifles accurately from the bench, but when I’m practicing from field positions I find that groups at distance open up in unpredictable ways. Which freaks me out as a hunter, as hope of a hit is no a course of action.

 

[bushpilot]

I guess what I am exploring is are people as happy with a Kimber vs a semi custom Winchester? As where I stand right now is that my Kimber is 1.5lbs lighter than my Winchester EW. Maybe I will dive into the Winchester featherweight route to compare the two head to head.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I guess what I am exploring is are people as happy with a Kimber vs a semi custom Winchester? As where I stand right now is that my Kimber is 1.5lbs lighter than my Winchester EW. Maybe I will dive into the Winchester featherweight route to compare the two head to head.

I’ve also been happy with my off the shelf model 70s. I have three of them at the moment.

 

[Shooter71]

I’ve rebarreled almost 100 montanas. They definitely have issues from the factory. They definitely shoot better after being barreled and bedded. And on many, the barrel is barely hand tight. I think it has something to do with the factory aligning the extractor cut, and if the cut aligns before a proper torque is applied they stop. I don’t know for sure, I don’t work there. But I do know what I feel when I take them apart. And I also know what torque is needed to stabilize the joint.

 

[Sled]

I'd go Winchester if they've served you well in the past. Otherwise you're just continuing your current Kimber saga with one more step that might "fix it".









Or you could get a Tikka....just saying

 

[bushpilot]

I’ve rebarreled almost 100 montanas. They definitely have issues from the factory. They definitely shoot better after being barreled and bedded. And on many, the barrel is barely hand tight. I think it has something to do with the factory aligning the extractor cut, and if the cut aligns before a proper torque is applied they stop. I don’t know for sure, I don’t work there. But I do know what I feel when I take them apart. And I also know what torque is needed to stabilize the joint.

This is very interesting to hear. Is improper heat stress an issue with these barrels as well? Mine has a “B” marked in the extractor slot which from my research denotes a bergara manufactured barrel, but this could be wrong.

Also I should clarify something, kimbers arent necessarily a slouch in the accuracy department. I have a couple loads that shoot very well in it. However the nodes seem to be very narrow and the rifle very particular in what bullet it will shoot, some bullets it just won’t do. What I’m looking for is possibly some more consistency. For example here is what my practice load can do at 100, 5 shots sub MOA. Load development took about a 100 rounds to develop one hunting load and one practice load.

 

[tater]

I have a fondness for Kimbers and M70s, and i don't think you can go wrong with either one as a platform.

Hit up Gary Flach in Langley and get his opinion (he has built many from both makers and he works closely with Stuart from Wildcat).

 

[wyo2track]

Having a couple Kimber 8400's myself, how much freebore in your chamber do you have? If it's anything like my .300 win, some bullets and cartridges just don't like that far of a jump. I got a new magazine from Kimber for their talkeetna rifles and apted it to my 300 win 8400 and can now load bullets longer than 3.35" (I didn't want to modify the original magazine). May be something you look into if your jumping a long ways to the lands. That has no doubt increased the accuracy of some bullets. That said, softer cup & core bullets such as core-lokt and eldx always shoot tighter groups on average than a bonded or mono bullet in my rifle. And having tried a half dozen different powders in mine, only a couple stand out. I roll with 3 or 4 shot groups developing loads, it works for me, and I've always found at least a 3/4" load with bonded or c&c bullets except for H-1000. My rifle hates that powder. My most accurate loads tended to be in that 1-2 grain below max with all the powders and bullets I've tried.

The lesson I've learned with my Kimbers is not to expect they are going to be long range match rifles. With the wide shallow angled palm swell, shits gotta be just right and its easy to influence twist at the shot. The classic stock design is made for carry, throwing in a scabbard, leaning against a tree and taking that 400 yard shot and in. If you like the Montana stock, think it doesn't affect your shot, and feel you've exhausted the barrels' load potential, sure, why not rebarrel it with a new stainless. If not, move on, and go with your M-70 winchester plans.

 

[freddyG]

I’ve rebarreled almost 100 montanas. They definitely have issues from the factory. They definitely shoot better after being barreled and bedded. And on many, the barrel is barely hand tight. I think it has something to do with the factory aligning the extractor cut, and if the cut aligns before a proper torque is applied they stop. I don’t know for sure, I don’t work there. But I do know what I feel when I take them apart. And I also know what torque is needed to stabilize the joint.

Wow, very interesting info. Are the hand tight barrels being found on recently manufactured guns, or is that primarily the older guns?

 

[Shooter71]

I don’t know, I’d have to run serial numbers. A recent example, .257 Roberts that wouldn’t shoot even after all things were checked and tried. When I got it I pulled the (hand tight) barrel to discover that there was a pronounced burr around where they broached the extractor slot in the face of the action. The lug was only touching the burr, nowhere else on the action face. BUT I should clarify I see similar qc issues on other factory rifles also, usually Model 70’s. Tikkas are head and shoulders above the rest in manufacturing quality. Ive yet to see headspace vary more than .001 from the earliest T3 to the newest ones. And the barrels are always TIGHT!!

 

[Shooter71]

But... one of my personal favorites is my .223ai Montana....

 

[thinhorn_AK]

But... one of my personal favorites is my .223ai Montana....

I have one of those that lives behind the seat of my truck, I actually sort of forgot about it until just now.

 

[gapfriz]

What's the weight on this 30-06?

What all did you do to the 30-06? I have two winchester stainless classics's in 30-06 and 338 winchester, and the 30-06 feels heavier than 338!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

What all did you do to the 30-06? I have two winchester stainless classics's in 30-06 and 338 winchester, and the 30-06 feels heavier than 338!

My extreme weather 30-06 is like 8lbs scoped. Shoots pretty good though.