Mountain Rig complete...Kimber Montana and Leupold VX6

M

Mystro

New member
I just completed my Fly weight Mountain rig and with the help of the forum on a previous post, I couldnt be happier. I wanted to thank everyone for their input and a few knew my taste and quality expectation and pretty much knew this was what I was going to end up with....:)

I always wanted to put together a fly weight mountain rig and came to the conclusion after handling many lighter weight rifles that if you want quality light weight, its gonna cost you $$ . My expectations were surpassed with the finished products I put together. I started with a new Kimber Montana 84m in 308, topped it off with a Leupold VX6 3x18 Firedot with Talley light weight rings. Total weigh almost doesnt feel real at around 6lbs. It feels like a toy and its balance is perfect. I took the Montana apart and the kevlar stock is built like a brick house except it weighs nothing. It fits the action better than any composite stock I have ever seen and is beautifully finished even on the inside. The build quality and attention to details Kimber put in this rifle makes it a bargain. The trigger breaks at a clean no creep 3lbs and needs no adjustment.

The Leupold VX6 is Leupolds halo optic and is easy to see why, it sets a whole new standard in rifle optics. Eye relief is ridiculously long even on 18 power. I hunted with this same scope this year in some very nasty weather and it is now a top requirement for every new hunting rifle I own. Every rig is only as good as its weakest link and I think I have eliminated every weak link except the trigger man behind the gun.

The entire rig oozes quality with a outstanding fit and finish but you could still get it wet and beat the crap out of it knowing it will hold up.:D

My wife gave me a little money for a Fly Weight Mountain rig I have been talking about since October....This was my Christmas gift to myself this year.

Range report to follow......
 
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Nice looking rig and obviously excellent quality.

Well above my personal recoil preferences but I don't have to shoot it, so...:D
 
I have the same rifle. Recoil is VERY tolerable. The Kimber stock is well designed and the excellent recoil pad soaks up recoil. Even at 6lbs all up the rifle holds steady very well for offhand shooting because the balance is just right.

From the bench it takes a little practice to hold such a light rifle steady. I've found it best to lay my left hand on the front rest and keep the rifles forend in the plam of my left hand. I pull the rifle back firmly into my shoulder. Don't be surprised if accuracy is less than expected at first, but once mastered it will be a shooter.

One quirk to watch out for. In the very end of the bolt is a slotted screw. This is to adjust the length of the firing pin protrusion. There is a set screw on the underside of the bolt. If the set screw works loose it could contact the rifles action as the bolt is worked. If it stays loose the firing pin depth will get shorter resulting in misfires. It is easy enough to adjust the firing pin length to fix this if it happens. I'd recommend checking the setscrew and applying locktite. I had a few misfires about a year after buying mine. Figured out the fix with on-line advice, so I thought I'd pass it along.
 
Looks good.

In thinking about getting some kind of custom finish done, the boring gray is wearing on me :) no idea what I'd do yet, but my head has some ideas.
 
Thanks guys. Weather looks good on Sunday to break in the barrel and sight it in. Recoil is a non issue for me, I am a big magnum shooter/hunter from way back. The 308 will be a kitty cat. I actually have been moving away from all my magnum riles. Just not necessary for my needs and I grew out of the "magnum" craze. My long range gun is a 270 and it still shoots twice as far as I ever need to shoot. As you can tell, this 308 is being set up for 90% of my hunting. Some of the biggest black bears (500-650lbs) that I know of in my area happen to all be taken with a 308.


One quirk to watch out for. In the very end of the bolt is a slotted screw
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I checked mine and it won't budge. It is reaped tight so perhaps the good folks at Kimber is now using locktite and a gorilla to install this tiny flat head screw?:). I will keep a eye on it over the years. I like to mark all my scope mount screws with a sharpie marker to mark their tight position. I may try to mark it as well. Thanks for the tip.

On a side note: I love the Talley one piece mounts. First time I have used them. They are much lighter than the Leupold mounts I typically use.



This guy is a Pa bear about 780lbs. We grow em big.
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I can help you with the last weak link! Just send it to me!;)

Sounds great! Looking forward to the range report. What kind of ammo are you lining up?
 
What kind of ammo are you lining up?
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I have had good results with Federal Fusion in other calibers. Its been extremely accurate, easy to locate, affordable, and very terminal on game. I have a few boxes of Fusion 165 to start out with. I am partial to the 165grain with a 30 calibers I have owned before like 300 Win and 30-06, this is my first 308. Hopefully it will be a good fit with this barrel. Next will be Hornady SST 150 grain Interbond. I am sure I will test some Winchester PP as well.
 
Just to put recoil in perspective. I've developed some warmish handloads for my 308's. 130 TTSX's @3050 fps, 150's @ 2880 fps and 165's @ 2760 fps. Using an online recoil calculator shows the recoil of the 150's and 165's as less than with the same bullet weights and factory loads from a standard weight 30-06 rifle. The 130's have significantly less recoil and are probably the most lethal load I shoot.

I know everyone is effected differently by recoil, but most people can handle 30-06 loads from standard weight rifles without much trouble. These loads are within 50 fps of factory 30-06 loads from a rifle 1.5-2 lbs lighter with a little less recoil. Combined with a well designed stock and recoil pad these guns aren't bad at all. With factory or handloads running 50 fps slower and the recoil will be further reduced.
 
Nice Rifle again! I'm still not sold on the scope, it looks half the size of rifle. Anyway you're happy with it and that's all that really matters. Now go find a bear that size, and I'll be impressed!:cool:
 
Thanks, I have done alot of optic research the past year for two high end rifles I put together. The new 6:1x magnification now being used by all the high end optic houses is a major game changer in rifle optics.....
There is no way I would put a small 1" scope on a gun of this caliber and quality. Them days are over. 30mm is the only way to go. I happen to notice that all the pro reviews of the Montana or Ascent are using even bigger 50mm optics. With the newer high end optics, 44mm is average to small in size. You either have the Leupold VX6 or Z6i PL. Everything else uses a 50mm. From my research and hands on testing, the VX6 3 x 18 firedot is top dog of them all. Its a major evolution in optics and a game changer.

This G&A review is using a Conquest 4.5 x 14 50mm. I agree that is not the right scope for alot of reasons.
http://www.gunsandammo.com/reviews/well-worth-the-weight-kimber-84m-mountain-ascent-review/

Leupold VX6 info
http://www.leupold.com/hunting-shooting/scopes/vx-6-riflescopes/
 
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Mystro said:
I just completed my Fly weight Mountain rig and with the help of the forum on a previous post, I couldnt be happier. I wanted to thank everyone for their input and a few knew my taste and quality expectation and pretty much knew this was what I was going to end up with....
Click to expand...

Congratulations. That is one sharp looking rig! I still like my big 33 caliber magnum (338 RUM), but more often than not, I grab my R700 308. It's a tack driver.
 
I'm not knocking the quality of the optics you chose at all. I had a similar sized scope on my M70 EW, and it truly affected the way the rifle carried and balanced. The scope was a 30mm main tube, 44mm objective, 21oz, and about 14.5" OAL and to me the rifle felt horrible. Going down to more compact scope made a world of difference in the feel and balance of that rifle.

30mm tubes are great for extra turrent adjustments, but that is the only real advantage over a 1" scope they have. In reality it is probably the lens coatings that are making you love the VX6 not the 30mm main tube. The eye can only take in so much light a d today's 1" tube scopes usually deliver all the eye can handle with a little to spare.

Where I hunt I carry the rifle a lot of miles, so if it doesn't feel right that rifle won't get used. A hunting rifle I won't hunt with gets sent down the road or transformed into something I will use. I'm 100 percent positive you built the right rifle for you, I'd just have to handle it before I could be sold on it. Just my personal preference is smaller more compact optics on a light weight rifle.
 
Mystro, why is 30mm "the only way to go?" To be honest, I have not kept up with the latest in the 1" vs 30 mm debate, but its my understanding that the only advantage a 30mm tube has over a 1" tube is more minutes of adjustment. Optically they are equal. I use both and am not biased against either or toward either. Just curious.
 
I am by no means a scope expert. I have owned some very high quality optics over the last 20 years and have developed a good idea of what I like and what makes a premium scope stand out. Technology has certainly raised the bar and brought up the mid grade optics to a new level. That said, the premium optics have also made great advancements in clarity, weight reductions, strength, and magnification. I have handled ALOT of premium scopes this past year and have come to the conclusion that a major evolution in hunting optics has presented itsself with the 6:1 zoom. This is huge and all the premium optics are starting to offer it in their halo line. No longer do you have to pick between a long range scope or a small compact low magnification scope to get a great field of view and longer eye relief. Now you can have both and still be in a reasonable size scope. One scope can now do it all. You can have your cake and eat it too.

The 30mm advantage that I have noticed are, more light, but also 30mm scopes have a larger ocular lens and almost always have a larger field of view. More adjustment is the also big advantage.
30mm is the standard of all premium optics so its not really a option anymore if you want a 1" tube. The biggest advantage of a 30mm tube is its strength. That is parmount when mounting on a gun that is going to be hunted hard with.
I have some very high quality German 1" tubes like a Docter 3 x 9 which is a outstanding little scope but Docter only made this particular series of scopes for the USA that was still using 1" tubes at the time. All things being equal, a 30mm tube always looks better and brighter than a 1" tube in my eyes. I am sure there are more factors besides tube size that makes them clearer but its a mute point because all premium optics are 30mm now. That alone is a good indication there is a marked advantage of a 30mm over a 1".

If for some bizarre twist of technology the VX6 that I evaluated was a 1" tube, I would buy it without hesitation because its the ultimate performance I fell in love with. Having a scope this good with only a 44mm lens is increadable. I absolutly did not want to go back to a 50mm lens for a all purpose rifle.
 
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