Another Kimber project rifle

[MCMXI]

Need more Pics @MCMXI!!!!!!!

OK ... not the best lighting but here are a few photos of the rifle as it currently sits. Both of the front sling swivel studs are removable which will help when using a front bag during load development. The magazine shown doesn't actually work with the rifle and will need to be adjusted for the 6.5 PRC cartridge. I do have two other magazines that I had adjusted for the 84M Kimber Proof rifle (.308 Win) so will use those this afternoon since they seem to work quite well. I only seem to have a 6.5 PRC GO gage and the bolt closes without too much resistance on that. I should order a NO GO gage although loaded rounds feel slightly snug when closing the bolt.

It's 3:10pm here, 26F, calm and sunny. I think I'll send a few rounds downrange to zero the scope and see if this thing has any potential at all. I'll start out with the AREA 419 brake and then switch to the SilencerCo Omega suppressor. I'll report back later this afternoon.

 

[LoonWulf]

You best wipe that rifle down, its covered in sexy.........

 

[gotboostvr]

That's a real good looking rifle. After all the time and money put into it, I hope it shoots real well for you.

 

[troy fairweather]

Yeah looks great, what's the gun weigh.

 

[MCMXI]

@LoonWulf & @gotboostvr, thanks. This build has gone quite well with some aspects being as good as I can get them. For example, the fit and alignment of the action screws, receiver and pillars are incredible and are by the far the most precise I've encountered. The bedding of the recoil lug turned out very well too but there are some tweaks to do here and there.

Yeah looks great, what's the gun weigh.

Thanks! Around 12lb with the Omega screwed on.

 

[MCMXI]

I shot 16 rounds of Hornady 147gr ELD-Match ammunition this afternoon and I'll present the results as I obtained them. I decided to bore sight with the AREA 419 brake attached to see how well it works. The first problem I had was the zero stop on the Nightforce. I couldn't dial enough correction to bore sight so had to google how to fix that issue. Did I mention it was cold out? The temperature had dropped to around 20F when I started shooting and I was feeling it. So with bore sighting done I aimed at the center diamond and the first shot landed by the 2 so I was close. The next shot landed by the 4 ... what the heck ... and the third shot by the 3! So now I'm thinking this is deja vu all over again. So I make a scope adjustment and then try to focus with all of that ridiculous blast from the brake and aim at the top left diamond and put three shots into a triangle of about 1-1/8". This is bad .... really bad and I'm starting to worry.

 

[MCMXI]

At this point I decided to remove the AREA 419 brake and screw on the Omega 300 with the 6.5mm end cap installed. Of course I had to go back into the house, remove the .30 cal end cap, install the 6.5mm end cap and head back out into the cold.

I figured I should be on paper at least and once again aimed at the center diamond. The first shot was the lowest one in the right hand group. The next four shots just about went into one ragged hole! So with my optimism restored I dialed up 1.2 milrad (it was cold and I forgot to adjust the windage) and shot five more rounds but this time aiming at the bottom left diamond. With the mirage it was hard to see if the shots were tight but they felt good. The target is shown below.

This is a really nice shooting rifle with the Omega attached, and easy to shoot too. There are some issues to address such as the magazine and feeding. I'll need to figure some things out, but I don't think that accuracy/precision are going to be a problem.

 

[troy fairweather]

That barrel didn't like that 419 break, any velocity numbers yet.

 

[MCMXI]

That barrel didn't like that 419 break, any velocity numbers yet.

Hornady claims 2,910 fps but I got weird numbers which might be due to the blast from the brake. I didn't get any velocity data with the suppressor attached because the microphone was in the house. My current thinking is that the AREA 419 brake is a piece of junk, at least on this rifle and with the Hornady 147gr ELD-M ammunition.

 

[LoonWulf]

At this point I decided to remove the AREA 419 brake and screw on the Omega 300 with the 6.5mm end cap installed. Of course I had to go back into the house, remove the .30 cal end cap, install the 6.5mm end cap and head back out into the cold.

I figured I should be on paper at least and once again aimed at the center diamond. The first shot was the lowest one in the right hand group. The next four shots just about went into one ragged hole! So with my optimism restored I dialed up 1.2 milrad (it was cold and I forgot to adjust the windage) and shot five more rounds but this time aiming at the bottom left diamond. With the mirage it was hard to see if the shots were tight but they felt good. The target is shown below.

This is a really nice shooting rifle with the Omega attached, and easy to shoot too. There are some issues to address such as the magazine and feeding. I'll need to figure some things out, but I don't think that accuracy/precision are going to be a problem.

View attachment 966023

View attachment 966024

sans correction that woulda been a .6" or so group for 10 rnds.....color me impressed lol.
I wonder if carbon barrels are more sensitive to the weight and where it's hanging off the front end than regular steel because of the expansion ratios and stiffness differences?

 

[troy fairweather]

sans correction that woulda been a .6" or so group for 10 rnds.....color me impressed lol.
I wonder if carbon barrels are more sensitive to the weight and where it's hanging off the front end than regular steel because of the expansion ratios and stiffness differences?

I wouldn't think so, I would like to see a barrel tuner would do.

 

[LoonWulf]

Ive got brakes on both of mine, and there's a noticeable poi change, but raw accuracy doesn't seem to shift much.

 

[troy fairweather]

Ive got brakes on both of mine, and there's a noticeable poi change, but raw accuracy doesn't seem to shift much.

Weird the carbons are supposed to be stiffer, I would think that would mean less poi shifts.

 

[LoonWulf]

Weird the carbons are supposed to be stiffer, I would think that would mean less poi shifts.

I dunno, but that's why I was wondering.

 

[MCMXI]

Ive got brakes on both of mine, and there's a noticeable poi change, but raw accuracy doesn't seem to shift much.

The POI shift can be due to the change in felt recoil rather than the mass of the brake. If the rifle recoils differently, then it makes sense that there would be a POI shift.

 

[LoonWulf]

The POI shift can be due to the change in felt recoil rather than the mass of the brake. If the rifle recoils differently, then it makes sense that there would be a POI shift.

Good point, didnt think about that

 

[horsemen61]

@MCMXI nice shooting! She looks good as well!

 

[Nature Boy]

I’d be interested in seeing a repeat with the brake installed.

Looks fantastic with the can!

 

[MCMXI]

I’d be interested in seeing a repeat with the brake installed.

Looks fantastic with the can!

@Nature Boy, thanks. It was a relief to shoot those two groups and get a sense that this is an easy rifle to shoot well. I know you know what I mean, but some rifles are just easy to shoot well compared to other very accurate rifles that seem to take more work or better form. This one just feels easy.

The brake from AREA 419 is a 6.5mm brake with a .296" bore which is .032" over the bullet diameter. This should work just fine but I'll call AREA 419 today to see if they have any ideas on whether or not it's suited to the 6.5 PRC. It's possible that it works great on a 6.5 CM but the extra gas from the 6.5 PRC is causing problems (just a wild guess at this stage). One of the things I really like about the Hellfire system is the ease of moving suppressors and brakes around. It'll take all of 30 seconds to install the brake on my Accuracy International AW with the 6.5 CM barrel installed and test that configuration.

Added in edit: To be fair to AREA 419 I should shoot the Kimber without a brake as well.

 

[horsemen61]

@Nature Boy can’t wait to see your rifle next!!!

also @MCMXI love the way your rifle looks!!!

 

[Nature Boy]

I have 3 Hellfire brakes and the only difference I notice with vs without is felt recoil. Accuracy is unchanged. I’m curious what they will say

 

[MCMXI]

@MCMXI love the way your rifle looks!!!

@horsemen61, thanks! The titanium tactical bolt handle has been delivered to my PO box so I'll pick that up this afternoon. I've already bashed my thumb knuckle on the NF throw lever so a longer bolt handle will be a good upgrade. Bright sunlight isn't the best condition for good photos of firearms so I'll post some better ones this afternoon once I've swapped out the bolt handle.

 

[MCMXI]

I have 3 Hellfire brakes and the only difference I notice with vs without is felt recoil. Accuracy is unchanged

What are you using them on i.e. for what cartridges?

 

[Nature Boy]

6mm and 308

Nothing like your fire breather

 

[MCMXI]

@Nature Boy, I was thinking that too. I called AREA 419 but went to voicemail so I sent them an email showing the targets above. I mentioned that I have two tack driving Acurracy Internationals chambered in 6.5CM and 6.5x47mm Lapua with which to test the brake. I don't want to return it, but would like to know what's going on.