Help me shoot my Kimber better..

[waitforit]

I'm a backcountry elk guy and recently bought a kimber hunter in 7mm-08. I have a Vortex light hunter 3-15x42 on it. Previously, I was shooting a 9lb savage 30-06. I'll say that there wasn't any particular trick to shooting that gun other than to hold on tight into the shoulder. I would shoot prone, one hand on the grip and the other hand under the stock as a rear rest. That gun wasn't super accurate but my groups at 100 were respectable. I had the trigger lightened up to ~3 lbs and it was a good hunting setup. It was heavy enough that it sat still on the bag and and I could stay in the sight picture after the shot.

With the Kimber, I have learned that it really doesn't like being fired without my other hand holding onto the gun, either over the top of the scope or on the foreend. This gun is about 6.5 lbs with scope and really jumps up off the bag when fired. When pulling the gun in and down, I somehow am torqueing it causing it to fire to the left of bullseye but not always. I have struggled to consistently shoot it well.. I have my moments of brilliance when I get good groups and other times I seem to be all over the place. This gun is a hunting rifle, not a paper puncher. Honestly I mostly shoot 100yd paper and steel plate at all greater distances but would still like to shoot it better. I have checked torque settings on the scope mounts and action screws, ensured the barrel is free up to the action, and lightened the trigger to about 2.5 lbs.

Anyone have any tips for shooting these ultralight guns more accurately? I am convinced the problem is me, not the rifle!

 

[16Bore]

Pull it tight to your shoulder, straight. Shoot through the shot. Let it bark, don’t try and control it.

 

[VernAK]

The front sandbag should be just ahead of the trigger guard so there's lotsa barrel out front.

I don't pull down on the rifle nor the scope. front hand can be ahead of front sandbag.

 

[bsnedeker]

I've found that I group WAY better with my Tikka T3X lite in 300 WM with my wrist draped over the scope. I don't push it down it all, but the extra weight on the rifle really seems to help me with that rifle. I can hold it much steadier and felt recoil seems to be relieved as well. It's a technique I saw recommended by Vaughn Precision on youtube so I tried it out and my group sizes went down by half so I'm a believer.

 

[16Bore]

Make sure the sling studs aren’t bouncing on the rests either.

 

[Silvereagle50]

That hunter stock is very flexible. Could be a lot of your problem.


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[sndmn11]

Wrap the sling around your support elbow and grab the fore end.

 

[BjornF16]

I've found that I group WAY better with my Tikka T3X lite in 300 WM with my wrist draped over the scope. I don't push it down it all, but the extra weight on the rifle really seems to help me with that rifle. I can hold it much steadier and felt recoil seems to be relieved as well. It's a technique I saw recommended by Vaughn Precision on youtube so I tried it out and my group sizes went down by half so I'm a believer.

Can you link to the video?

 

[DJL2]

My advice? Go traditional. Make sure the stock is stiffened appropriately by whatever means you deem suitable. Get a good sling. Grab the fore end, use the sling and mount the rifle solidly (w/o tension). You're not gonna stop a light rifle from jumping, but it'll improve the consistency if you're on the gun.

 

[Ariettabob]

I pull in tight to the shoulder and hold down mildly on the fore end in front of the sandbag. I found if I drapped my hand over either the barrel or scope I flexed the stock too much putting pressure on the barrel.

 

[id260]

I'm a backcountry elk guy and recently bought a kimber hunter in 7mm-08. I have a Vortex light hunter 3-15x42 on it. Previously, I was shooting a 9lb savage 30-06. I'll say that there wasn't any particular trick to shooting that gun other than to hold on tight into the shoulder. I would shoot prone, one hand on the grip and the other hand under the stock as a rear rest. That gun wasn't super accurate but my groups at 100 were respectable. I had the trigger lightened up to ~3 lbs and it was a good hunting setup. It was heavy enough that it sat still on the bag and and I could stay in the sight picture after the shot.

With the Kimber, I have learned that it really doesn't like being fired without my other hand holding onto the gun, either over the top of the scope or on the foreend. This gun is about 6.5 lbs with scope and really jumps up off the bag when fired. When pulling the gun in and down, I somehow am torqueing it causing it to fire to the left of bullseye but not always. I have struggled to consistently shoot it well.. I have my moments of brilliance when I get good groups and other times I seem to be all over the place. This gun is a hunting rifle, not a paper puncher. Honestly I mostly shoot 100yd paper and steel plate at all greater distances but would still like to shoot it better. I have checked torque settings on the scope mounts and action screws, ensured the barrel is free up to the action, and lightened the trigger to about 2.5 lbs.

Anyone have any tips for shooting these ultralight guns more accurately? I am convinced the problem is me, not the rifle!

I use a shooting rest with my 700 just to not have to deal with the recoil of a sub 6 lb. 30 cal. magnum. I’ve found that a slight grip on the forend and my finger on the trigger are the only contact I make with the rifle. I make sure the forend sits in the same position on the rest and the butt is solidly positioned to the rear of each time. I learned to not have the sling on, because once it caught on the rest and yanked out the front stud. The key is consistency every single time. These light guns are affected by the slightest of external pressures. I can consistently shoot submoa at 100 with this (and at longer distances).

When hunting, just as said by the others, make sure you have the butt solid in your shoulder. Use the same forend grip you’ve been using from the bench. Allow the barrel to freely recoil (jump).

This has worked for me and buddies with light tikkas. One of my friends wrests his wrist on the scope as someone else mentioned and for whatever reason his setup likes that too. I’ve tried not gripping the forend and that didn’t work in my light guns. But you might try all these things and see if one technique produces better results.

Light guns in heavy calibers are definitely less forgiving in my experience. You picked a good caliber that might make things a bit easier for you than my situation. I wished I’d gone .308.

 

[waitforit]

Thank you for all the responses. I think I'll try shooting some 5 shot groups with a few different positions (that I can do on the bench and while hunting) and see what kind of hold I can do most consistently. From there, I can work on figuring out which ammo the gun likes best.

 

[Indyal]

I have a Kimber MA with scope that weighs under 7 lbs. Kimber has info on shooting light rifles and there are videos on this but all show shooting from the bench that I have found.
What I have found to work for me is
1. I cup my hand over the front scope rings with my wrist bent upwards ( hyperextended) to prevent pulling the rifle to the left
2. anything under the stock must be close to the trigger guard, too far forward and it can push the stock again the free floating barrel when you apply downward pressure.
3. a good solid rest under the butt of the stock and firm but not forcefully tight to the shoulder

With the above, I am good to about 350 yards ( about 1 1/2 MOA groups). Plan to work on longer distances this summer.