Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Montana range report, good and bad.

Prarie Goat nailed it. This aint no 29lb BR set up, it is a hunting rifle.
RH, your Montana shows good potential. Bedding isn't rockety science. Get a kit from Midway and watch a couple of youtube vids and you should be able to do it with no problems.
Good shooting!

Amen, Goat nailed it.

I'm not a benchrest shooter and don't really care what a rifle does at 100y, as long as its in the ball-park (1-1.5"). I'm more interested in how they shoot at my max hunting range. That is the real test.

Here's a 100y target from the 7-08 Montucky using a 6x42, 120gr TTSX @ 3000fps. The target was shot with a hot barrel... after 5 rounds of 120gr NBT. Not a pretty group, but I know it works. I use 2" high for my drop data and it rings 8" steel at 500y with the LRD or M1. If there's no wind, and you don't hit... its the shooter. And I'm not that good of a shooter. A good one could probably get all 5 in one hole at 100y.

Jason, I've seen some of your other target pics and I have to call bs on you're not a good shooter statement. One of these days, you and I are going to have to get together and shoot the bull and tear up some targets

It's gonna be a good one RH. Little due diligence and ...

BADABING!!!!!!

You should know. Douchenozzle. Now GFY.

BSA,

You're just the type of dude I was thinking of when I wrote, "And I'm not that good of a shooter. A good one could probably get all 5 in one hole at 100y." You could wring the accuracy outta that Kimber for me!

I'm working on some targets and stands for some close, medium, and longrange shooting. I'll keep you posted. Also plan to grab some 162gr AMAX bullets for the 7-08 when they come back online, just for fun.

Jason

I'm so confused... Is Travis the douchenozzle, or is he supposed to GFY with the douchnozzle?

Same here.

To be perfectly honest, if all my hunting took place at woods ranges, I would declare the groups in the OP good enough. Buy some of the better shooting ammo. Or whichever was cheapest. Go hunting. Kill deer. Dine on their flesh. Be happy.

I do like good groups. In my youth I was a fairly good target shooter so groups are important to me. In all honesty though, all the deer I've killed over the last 30 years with the exception of one, have been 100 yards or less with more than 50% of those under 50 yards. I hunt hardwoods or small plots in the hardwoods 99% of the time. No large fields on a lease for me. It's either my own property or the local 93K acre National Forrest.

Just for giggles I just now filled an empty 2.9 liter fabric softener bottle with water and put it on the power line cut running across my property. There's a flat right behind my house and I have an access road running across it to another section of my property. It's about 150- 200 yards from the flat behind my house to the flat where the road crosses. Anyway I loaded a round of the ammo that shot this last group.

Went out behind the house and took a couple old cuts of pine from the last time the power line was trimmed, threw the cut piece across a log for a rest, lay down on the ground and busted that jug from about 150 yards first shot from the cold barrel. Only shot once. No great feat I know but it helps build confidence for hunting accuracy.

I never understood people justifying poor performance from a rifle by stating it isn't a bench gun, it is a hunting rifle.

A Kimber isn't cheap. If you want a gun that only shoots ok, then get a Remington 710 and save your money.

Or you could just buy a Savage. I don't think the Montana I own is a poor performer. Yes, I shot a couple crappy groups with it, big deal, I've shot some crappy groups with even more expensive rifles. It might possibly need bedding, big deal. If the 710 or Savage offered the same features I would own one, but alas they don't. They don't even come close. Are they good hunting guns, yes, and if you like them then that's great. You got a good rifle for a good price. Personally, I own several very nice rifles. I owned a Savage but I gave it away. It didn't give me the warm fuzzies. Still I am very pleased with my Montana and will be buying another when I can.

Who was justifying poor performance?

If all you want to do is shoot paper, then build a paper shooting gun. I could give a flying rat's ass what a hunting rifle will do on paper, within reason. If I knew this rifle retained zero, right now I would carry it hunting any game for which it's suited, and not bat an eye.

A hunting rifle needs a certain set of parameters to perform well, intrinsic accuracy is about 4th or 5th on the list.

I would rather shoot a cobbled together Mosin.

Now that's funny! When I took my Montana to our local range there was one old guy there with his wife shooting a Mosin. He asked what rifle I had in the case. I said a mountain rifle. he wanted to see it and I was being nice and handed it to him to look over. He had never even heard of a Kimber but started proclaiming the benefits of the 7mm-08. Then he told me that if I liked the 7-08, I should buy a Savage or if I wanted something really accurate get a Mossin like his. Luckily he was leaving and I didn't encourage him at all.

There's more to it than just how it shoots. If I'm gonna spend a few days sitting on a log waiting for a deer to walk by, I'd rather spend it looking at a Montana than a 710 or a Savage or a RAR, no matter how good they shoot.

Actually, I'd rather be looking at a nice piece of crotch Black Walnut or Claro (unless it's raining).

I'm with you. Life is too short to hunt with an ugly rifle

Your on the way, give it a little time, to figure it out and try some Barnes bullets
They usually shoot good in Montana's .
Happy easyer

Why do you guys keep bringing up Savage? I thought the thread was called the good and bad, not "the good the bad and the ugly"..Just sayin

RH, this is a typical Kimber thread, no worries. By page two the anti's have arrived to lend their "support". You've got good advice already. A skim bedding job and a few minor things to check and tweak if needed and you will be good to go. There is plenty of Kimber knowledge here to help when needed.
Keep us posted.

You guys do know it is possible to have a nice lightweight rifle that also shoots, right?

Why do you assume there has to be a trade off?