Kimber Rifles

[Colorado Ntv]

I ordered a Kimber 8400 Classic rifle in 270winchester. Does anyone have experience with Kimber rifles???

 

[bobsmith]

I have an older 89BGR Super America grade in 7mm Rem mag. Shoots very well and great workmanship.

 

[Colorado Ntv]

Nice Gun! I wish I could have afforded to upgrade to the Super America but as far as I know, its just a difference in Really nice wood and a high polish finish....right? If I may ask, what type of groups have you attained?(handloads or factory?)

 

[Ol` Joe]

I ordered a Kimber 8400 Classic rifle in 270winchester. Does anyone have experience with Kimber rifles???

I`ve a M84m classic -wood stocked- in 260 Rem thats a very early production model -ordered dec /01, not yet in production, recieved Oct /03- and came with a bolt that was a bit rough and wanted to bind some. I sent it back to Kimber and they returned it within 2 wks from date I mailed it. The bolt still is a bit rougher then my M700s and M70s but the binding is gone and the bolt is smoothing out with use. The rifle is very accurate, I get ~1 MOA for 5rds with hunting handloads and some of the better ones go 3/4".
The rifle you are looking at is a new long action version. The rifle should be very nice. They have the action running very slick on the newer ones I`ve played with in gunshops and accuracy has been reported to be top notch. They have one of the best factory triggers I`ve pulled, a nice feel to the stock IMO, and with pillar bedding, floated barrel, and glassed recoil lug, they are worth the little extra $$ over a Remchester. Be aware though the rifles are light and the slim stock design doesn`t set well on the bench. The gun takes some experimenting to to get the most out of it. Mine wants the forearm held firmly and not fired "free recoiling" from the bags. They also were hard to find scope bases for. I ordered Kimber factory bases for mine ($$) but I`ve heard since that Tally and a few others are now supplying them.

BTW I`m looking for the M8400 with wood, not plastic, in 25-06 to appear in a shop by me. I plan on laying one away as soon as I find it.

 

[bobsmith]

Nice Gun! I wish I could have afforded to upgrade to the Super America but as far as I know, its just a difference in Really nice wood and a high polish finish....right? If I may ask, what type of groups have you attained?(handloads or factory?)

It's a very pretty rifle with a nice French walnut stock. It has sights on it with the rear sight mounted on a quarter rib. I have an old Leupold Vari-XII 2x7 scope on it. I can get 3 shots in just under an inch at a hundred yards off a benchrest using a 160 gr. Nosler ballistic tip, 64 grains of H4831 and a F210 primer.

 

[ftierson]

I have a Daewoo DR200 with the Kimber name on it...

Does that count?



Forrest

 

[Colorado Ntv]

Thank you all for the great information. Ive spoken with the reps at Kimber and they have all told me to expect 1/2"moa @100yds, but that may be a little sweet. I own a m700 classic that will group 7/16" but it took a lot of work to get there. As far as the bases go, I know Kimber makes their own and I think Leupold also makes them but I think for the minimal difference in price Ill stick with the factory brand. Im excited to see how it shoots, but a little worried it wont meet my expectations. Just out of curiosity Bob, did you do anything about barrel break in?

 

[Soap]

I have a Kimber .22 Hunter. The factory test target was a 5-shot group, 50 yards, .333". I think getting .5" at 100 with a centerfire should attainable.

 

[bobsmith]

Thank you all for the great information. Ive spoken with the reps at Kimber and they have all told me to expect 1/2"moa @100yds, but that may be a little sweet. I own a m700 classic that will group 7/16" but it took a lot of work to get there. As far as the bases go, I know Kimber makes their own and I think Leupold also makes them but I think for the minimal difference in price Ill stick with the factory brand. Im excited to see how it shoots, but a little worried it wont meet my expectations. Just out of curiosity Bob, did you do anything about barrel break in?

Not really. I purchased the rifle slightly used. At any rate, the barrel is nice and smooth. When I clean it, it almost feels like the Hart barrel on my Winchester 70 .308 target rifle. It doesn't have any fouling problems to speak of but on the other hand, it's a 7mm Rem. Mag, not a caliber that I plink with or want to spend a lot of time shooting off the bench unless I really have to.