Lightweight Kimber Rifle Showdown!

[Jake'sDad]

Great article hunt AK!!

I've built several ultra lightweights and have thought about doing another one on the Kimber. I think you just pushed me over the edge.

It would be nice to find one gunsmith that could do all of the work.

[hunt_ak]

Thanks! The only thing that he really had any trouble sourcing was someone fluting the CRF bolt. Short of that, you can now easily source an aluminum trigger guard online and likely send your barreled action/bolt out at the same time and have minimal downtime.

Keep me posted!

[steyrman13]

The lightweight kimber feels ridiculously light. It feels like it is going to eject out of my hands when I go to shoulder it after handling a regular weight bolt gun

[MountainRaven]

True statement. Even if you didn't want to sell it for a loss, in my experience Kimber's CS is outstanding. One of the owners of the rifles I knew of brought it to me complaining it wouldn't shoot. I hear that so much I automatically assume shooter or optic error. After a short discussion about different Leupold/Zeiss optics he had tried and the factory/handloaded ammo he had shot through (complete with proof in the way of targets) it it was clear the gentleman knew what he was talking about. He sent it back to Kimber and in three weeks the had a new barrel and gun that shot to his liking.

That has not been my experience.

In fact, this thread is the first I've ever heard of a Kimber rifle shooting well. Or Kimber having good CS.

Long story short: Roommate had a Kimber 8400 in 325 WSM. Barrel bulged. Probably his own fault (and he admits as much). Sent it back to Kimber.

They rebarrelled it, undersized the chamber, and promptly cut the bolt face at an angle. Took it to a gunsmith, gunsmith said he wouldn't shoot it. Sent to back to Kimber again.

They straightened out the bolt face but left the bolt and chamber rough. He took it to a different gunsmith... they said they wouldn't shoot it, either. Calls Kimber, Kimber says shoot it or we won't warranty it. So he shoots it and it patterns at 100 yards. And breaks the brand new Zeiss scope he put on the rifle. Sends the rifle back a third time. Zeiss warranties the scope.

Gets the rifle back. It has been slicked up a bit by Kimber's "rifle expert" (who apparently lives in Kalispell): Refinished the wood, dropped in a fast lock firing pin spring, gave it a trigger job, and "hand lapped" the barrel. It's only a month or two before hunting season, so roommate goes out, shoots the rifle with his old handloads, gets acceptable groups and carries on, filling most of his tags.

Next Spring, we're out at the range. He loads the rifle. *Click.* Cycles the bolt. *Click.* Cycles the bolt again. *Click.* Inspects the brass, no firing pin strikes are visible on the primers. Disassembles the bolt and the firing pin is broken. Calls up Kimber....

They decide they're sick of seeing this rifle and send him a replacement firing pin and tell him to install it himself. Nevermind the fact that you need fixtures to completely disassemble the bolt, install the new firing pin, and make sure that it's not going to pierce the primers. So he takes the rifle down to the local Big Name gunsmith and asks them to install the firing pin, which they do. Also asks them to give the rifle a once-over to make sure everything else is fine.

Turns out the barrel is the worst barrel they had ever seen on a production rifle. They were solidly impressed that my roommate had gotten it to shoot as well as it had. (And it was only adequately accurate for him, even then.)

He traded it on a Winchester Model 70 Sporter, in the same caliber, and hasn't looked back. He has taken that 70 out to 1100 yards (or thereabouts) on steel. With his hunting load. And the replaced Zeiss rifle scope. (He was bottomed out on elevation and holding over to boot.)

And when the 84L came out, Guns & Ammo's own published accuracy data basically showed what my roommate's rifle was doing right before the firing pin broke. In other words, even the best groups fired by a rag that makes money printing propaganda for the firearms manufacturers that send them test samples couldn't get their test rifle to shoot very well. To top it all off, I have talked to many people who believe that Kimber rifles are very accurate, but none of them have owned any. I have talked to many people who have owned them and have had similar experiences to my roommates regarding accuracy. I have only met a few people who have had accurate rifles from Kimber.

That being said, I do love their actions. And if I could buy just a Kimber action and build a custom rifle on it, I would do it in a heart-beat. Apart from the camouflage pattern on the Mountain Ascent and the blind floor plate, I really, really want to like the rifle. But I'm not spending $1000+ on a bolt action rifle that I may or may not have to rebarrel out of the box and then rely on private gunsmiths paid on my own dime and time, rather than by the rifle's warranty.

I hope that Kimber can get their rifles squared away... but between my roommate's experience and their crummy 1911s.... Well, I don't particularly trust the accuracy of a rifle manufactured by a company that has to drive to a neighboring state to get to a range of 100 yards or more and doesn't certify their accuracy to boot.

YMMV

[hunt_ak]

Thanks for the post. I do like to hear every side of the story. What year was this? I'm also curious as to how the chambering/bolt face issues broke the Zeiss. Thanks!

[MountainRaven]

2009-2010-ish, IIRC.

And I'm not sure how it broke the Zeiss or if it did. But it seemed to hardly be coincidence (at least to me) that the first shot on a rifle a gunsmith has said they wouldn't shoot results in the prism with the reticle etched on it cracking. So it could have just been a lemon from Zeiss. Seems unlikely to me, even though I don't know how the rifle might have accomplished this (apart from possibly some sort of funky receiver flex due to high chamber pressures).

[marlboro]

I own or have owned 84M's in 243, 257 Roberts, 7mm-08, and 308. They all shot great, had great triggers, and were completely reliable in every respect. I can say without a doubt I prefer them over my previous M70's, R700's, and A-Bolt's.

I settled on keeping the 257 Roberts and 7mm-08 they both do a good job on the southern whitetails down here. Mine have all been Select Grade models if that makes a difference. I like them so much that if I buy another bolt action (which is doubtful) it will be a 84M Super America in 7mm-08.

[Quick Draw]

I love light weight rifles for stalking and my favorite was a Remington Mountain Rifle with D/M in .280 Rem. That is until I bought a Kimber 84M in .308 Win.

The Kimber is lighter and quite accurate even with Rem Core Lokt factory ammo. It really shines with handloads although the magazine limits the COAL. I would like to load some of my Berger 168 gr. VLDs longer for even better accuracy but the mag will not allow it.

Both rifles have a 22 inch barrel but the Kimber is substantially lighter.

I still like both but find myself reaching for the Kimber more often.

[hunt_ak]

Now it's just time to do some of the mods and lighten her up a bit more, Quick Draw!

[Quick Draw]

Now it's just time to do some of the mods and lighten her up a bit more, Quick Draw!

The only concession I made to reduce weight on the Kimber was to use a Leupold VX III 3.5 X 10 40MM scope instead of the usual VX III 3.5 X 50 MM on my .280 Mountain Rifle and SS Synthetic 30.06 Rem 700.

The Kimber is really well balanced and has a good factory trigger.

The Remmys are good after some adjustments to pull weight and over travel.