kimber lpt quality questions

[schlzy31]

first of all i am a newbie in all respects! my question to everyone is should my bolt on my new kimber lpt be loose when enguaged in action? It has quite a bit of slop in it when no round is in the chamber? also i have been having tremendous trouble with grouping! i did have one group about 1 inch with fed gold match 168gr 35.99 per box {ouch!!}. all other ammo fired would be between 3 and 8 inch groups unacceptible in my mind for any long gun. like i said i'm new to br shooting it is quite fun when i am able to hit anything but so far not much luck. i have varmint hunted with many 223 rifles in the past including ar's and {all} were more accurate out of the box than this 1200.00 gun, what gives?

 

[schlzy31]

oops! I forgot to point out this kimber lpt is chambered in 308 and it is my first 308. also i do not reload. this gun is very light weight so possibly causing problems compared to my heavy 223's' but i am not recoil shy and not a flincher persay so i'm stuck. I really like the looks and cosmetic fit and finish but like I said accuracy has been a real issue so far. I'm also new to 6mm br so hello everyone I'ts nice to meet you and any help at all would be great thank you.

 

[Sarge]

31-I have a Kimber SVT in 223. It's the most finicky rifle I own. Most loads shot more like patterns than groups. But once I found the load it likes, she shoots like a dream with that particular load. By some stoke of luck, it happens to be the same load that my AR-15 loves. The load happens to be the recommended load on a jug of AA2230C with a 69 gr. bullet. Be patient and don't give up on load development yet.

 

[schlzy31]

Thanks for the advice Sarge! I was sitting here scratchin my head and thought i should take a minute to look at base and rings and check all variables so i took a minute to look at rings and bases and wouldnt you know it i have a leupold ring that is severely out of level. do you think this could be the problem? additionally have you ever heard of badly misaligned rings damaging glass???

 

[Sarge]

31- Yes, proper ring fit can make a big difference in accuracy. I lap all of my scope rings. It takes a few minutes but it gives me confidence that my scopes are mounted stress free. I would imagine that if rings were out of line too much they could damage a scope.

 

[HPMike800]

The bolt is closed and there's quite a bit of slop in it? I never had that in any of my bolt guns. Send it back to Kimber.

Mike

 

[schlzy31]

thank's hpmike800. yes the bolt is closed when you close it with a round chambered it is much better but still has movement. with my pistol experience i know this is usually very bad for accuracy but the barrel is a moving piece of the firing cycle. also i have been told that the bolt lock up is important for accuracy in a bolt gun' so i am thinking this is definately not helping the issue. I would also like to say i just called kimber and got very vague answers and was told to send it in at my expense and they would {take a look at it}, and i would hopefully see it back in 6 to 8 weeks. suffice it to say i am unimpressed at this point with my customer service. really i am very unhappy considering the price of this rifle. but we will see what they come up with. i however have had excellent customer service from savage ruger and cz in the past. and anyone looking for a reasonably priced scope for a varmint or tactical rifle should take a look at konus m30 series. this scope has been wonderful value. not quie as clear as my mark 4 but 700.00 less and had a very small problem with the bubble being level in the tube and was told by konus that they would send a call tag at their expense and if it took 10 replacements i was going to be made 100 percent happy with my purchase [his exact words] as far as i am concerned customer service does not get any better than that so if your in the market for a 400.00 dollar scope that is very clear [better than nikon or bushnell] look them up!!!!

 

[schlzy31]

Well I shipped rings and scope back today. As soon as they get back i'll give the lpt a second chance if this doesn't solve my accuracy problems then i'll ship it to kimber and see what they say. I'm crossing my fingers!