Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 223 Kimber Montana: Real world groups

and I'd try some tip pressure

Get rid of the float? Or am I misunderstanding.

Bed the lug tight for starters...and I'd try some tip pressure.

I'd do some load work next and try another bullet. Bergers are pretty sensitive to seating depth and their test at 100 doesn't always show much. I've seen better and more identifiable results at 300.

9" twists aren't guaranteed to stabilize those bullets. That alone could be the biggest problem...

speed is your friend if your on the twist bubble.

Suggestions? Get it bedded/re-crowned? Play with new load? Sell and buy Tikka?:)

If you venture over to the Long Range Hunting forum, I've been on a quest to take my 223 Montana to 1000 yards. First step was finding a good load with a high BC bullet. These are my groups with the 70 VLD:



Starting in upper left hand corner and going clockwise, I was playing with seating depths following instructions from Berger for finding the best depth. Upper left is touching lands, upper right is .04 jump, lower left .08 jump, lower right .12 jumped. All loaded with Lapua brass, Fed primers and Varget.

As much as I love the little 223 Montana, its fair to say that none of these groups are spectacular. Upper right group has most promise as I think the flyer was on me. I wasn't letting barrel go fully cool between shots. It was a cold day and barrel didn't heat up fast. These groups are better than the 75 AMAX groups I tried before the 70 VLD.

So where do you go from here? In terms of tinkering with the Montana, I can confirm that:

- Mag box is floating, not binding
- Front action screw is not too long
- Front talley base screw is not too long

Of the other "Montana tinkering" suggestions here, the rifle has not been bedded, and still wears the factory crown. Would still like to complete my goal of taking this little rifle to 1000, but I feel like I need better 100 yard groups before I go long.

Suggestions? Get it bedded/re-crowned? Play with new load? Sell and buy Tikka?:) Have a Kimber Montana in 270, and even with the recoil, that puppy groups tighter than this. And that one is bedded, and re-crowned. Maybe that tells me all I need to know.

Looking forward to discussion.

Bed the lug tight for starters...and I'd try some tip pressure.

No, I'd bed the lug tight first. Tip pressure is a step further down the road...

EVERY Montana needs the lug bedded out of the gate. The slave bedding allows too much wiggle room. I get the lug bedded tight first and then start eliminating variables.

I have no experience with Kimber CS, but any gun maker that voids a warranty for bedding the action would not get repeat business from me.