Does this light Kimber rifle kick hard?

[ShootAndHunt]

Yesterday I went to the gun store and handled a Kimber Montana chambered in .308 Win. It is really very light, about 5~6 pound, a real pleasure alaways to carry. However, I really wonder how it kick when fired? It has a very thick (about 1 inch?) recoil pad, and the stock shape is nice too.

Could anyone who fired one of these Kimber rifles tell me how do you feel when you fire it? It seems a very nice mountain rifle (the trigger is OK, though not the best. I think the best factory trigger is the Savage AccuTrigger)

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

YES---its going to kick-----just from the light weight of the rifle---not a big kick like say from a .300 magnum----but it will really let you know its there.

That trigger can be adjusted to your liking----and the Savage trigger is a joke.

Its a sorry state of affairs that when people are so used to lawyer-proof triggers that they think that Savage abbhoration is actually good.

 

[theCZ]

Anybody that says the Savage Accutrigger is the best factory trigger out there is the best, they must never have felt a CZ trigger!

Anyway, yeah, the rifle will kick a bit, but if you are hunting with it and shooting it standing up for kneeling, it won't feel like that much of a kick. For me, shooting off a bench is where I feel the most kick.

 

[ShootAndHunt]

Thanks for the reply. When I test handled the Kimber rifle, I dry fired it several times. Obviously, the trigger is light, but you cannot feel like breaking a glass rod when the sear is released (it is like cutting some butter), and a little overtravel, it is a different feeling compared to a Savage AccuTrigger, which is clean and crisp. It might be adjusted later by the GunSmith, but I really enjoy the feeling when squeezing a Savage AccuTrigger.

I heard that the CZ rifle has a set trigger and it is supposed to be very nice too, but I didn't get a chance to handle one.

So it is true that this light rifle will kick like a bull?

 

[TimRB]

"So it is true that this light rifle will kick like a bull?"

In general, a lighter rifle will kick harder than a heavier one. This is because there is less mass there to resist the recoil. That said, the light weight might still be an asset because a hunting rifle is usually carried a lot, but fired only a little.

Tim

 

[Smoke]

I have a Kimber in .22-250

The factory trigger on it is by far the best "factory" trigger I have on any of my guns. I can't comment on the Savage as I've never touched one.

I really like Kimbers rifles. The one you're looking at will kick no more than a similar rifle by any other maker in the same weight range.

Buy the thing.

Smoke

 

[Gewehr98]

It shouldn't kick any worse than another lightweight I bought.

Namely, the Colt Light Rifle. Mine's in .30-06, I wasn't brave enough to buy one in 7mm Remington Magnum. A lightweight rifle in .308 shouldn't be too bad on the shoulder, all things considered.

As for the Savage AccuTrigger, I'll let that one go. Folks know what I think about that abomination, and discussions of it here remind me of the old adage about "casting pearls before swine".

Suffice it to say it's an annoyance, much like that rugrat who kicks the back of your seat the entire time one's flying commercially. You can either do something about it, or just live with it and be miserable the entire time.

 

[WhiteKnight]

Its a sorry state of affairs that when people are so used to lawyer-proof triggers that they think that Savage abbhoration is actually good.

So what do you consider to be a nice-feeling trigger?

 

[Mulliga]

The kick shouldn't be anything to worry about.

It's much more a function of stock fit than rifle weight. The only rifle I've ever found painful to shoot more than a box in a day is my M38, and that's mostly because of the steel buttplate. And don't forget, the rifle may only weigh 5-6 pounds, but put a good scope, bases, and rings on it, and it'll be a pound heavier at least.