Kimber 8400 Tactical rifles, any experiences?

[bryan.14]

Anyone have any experience with or stories to share about the Kimber 8400 rifles?

Im interested in trying out the tactical model with McMillan stock in 308 Winchester. When the bore wears down I might try to re-barrel it to 6.5 creedmore.

Are these 8400 actions considered similar to FN SPR series of rifles?

Any pros and cons to consider with the Kimber?

Thanks In Advance!

 

[Underthegun]

I’ve got an 8400 Police Tactical in 308. It has a 24” fluted barrel, and painted laminate stock. It’s a hammer. Sub 1/2” groups with factory Federal 168 SMK’s.

 

[bryan.14]

I’ve got an 8400 Police Tactical in 308. It has a 24” fluted barrel, and painted laminate stock. It’s a hammer. Sub 1/2” groups with factory Federal 168 SMK’s.

Thats reassuring. The one I bought is a standard Tactical model in 308 with black/green Mcmillan stock, it will arrive tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to mounting a scope and testing with some new old stock, Lake City match ammo.

 

[Underthegun]

Was that the one on #######? If so, let me know how it goes. I was very tempted to buy it.

 

[bryan.14]

Was that the one on #######? If so, let me know how it goes. I was very tempted to buy it.

Yes indeed, it appears to be in excellent condition.

 

[bryan.14]

I cant seem to post photos... says the website says the image is invalid when I try to upload directly from my PC.

 

[Epoxy7]

Anyone have any experience with or stories to share about the Kimber 8400 rifles?

Im interested in trying out the tactical model with McMillan stock in 308 Winchester. When the bore wears down I might try to re-barrel it to 6.5 creedmore.

Are these 8400 actions considered similar to FN SPR series of rifles?

Any pros and cons to consider with the Kimber?

Thanks In Advance!

I have an advanced tactical which is the same except for the tan camo A5 stock having some more options ( cheek riser etc) and the finish being tan for the barrel and action. The rest is the same.

Pros:
- known to be very accurate with 168-175 federal gold.
-Semi custom rifles from Kimber
- very smooth bolt and excellent tactical bolt knob.
Win 70 based action ( yes like the FN)
- bolt win 70 style 3 position safety
-Not many around
-20 moa scope rail with 8-40 screws.
-Mauser-style claw extractor,
-Exvellent crisp trigger ( 3-3.5 lbs great for tactical)
- Action is glass bedded into the McMillan stock
-McMillan stock is of course excellent.

Cons:
-5 round internal magazine with floor plate (no mag system. Like the regular win 70 and REM 700)
-older rifle over 14 years now.
-Not threaded for a muzzle brake/suppressor
- 1:12 twist rate. Could limit some options although works well for most common match ammo.
-Price. These rifles were around 3K for the advanced when new. The tactical was less and the police was the cheapest.
- Not many options to upgrade and due to not being common, I would recommend leaving it stock.

They are great rifles and not very commmon. Price and lack of upgrades were the main weaknesses. You could buy a REM 700 and do it up beyond the Kimber specs and still have money left over toward optics. Or here in Canada at the time it wasn’t too hard to justify going up a level to get everything the Kimber had plus what it lacked in a PGW Coyote. TRG22 was also close enough in price at the time.

Today they are mostly for people like myself who semi collect.

 

[TJCote]

Great summery, Epoxy 7! I agree with all the Pros/Cons that you stated. My own experience with the Kimber 8400 Advanced Tactical is similar. I bought a new Advanced Tactical many years ago and it was my 1st semi-custom tactical style rifle. I blame the rifle for getting me hooked on precision style shooting! More than a few semi-custom and full custom rifles have followed. The AT has been a great rifle for me with many, many rounds down the pipe. It stills has the original factory .308 W barrel. It shoots extremely well with 165-168gr bullet…sub 1/2” MOA is rather common. Not too picky about about loads (bullets in that weight range and powder) which was great when specific components were hard to come by. It has been a very reliable and a well built rifle. It’s smooth to operation, cycles wells and I always enjoyed taking it out.

The rifle, with the A5 stock and KimPro2 coating has stood up amazingly well to lots of handling/shooting. It stills looks great. The rifle came with a Pelican 1750 rifle case which may be one of reasons it still looks so good. I recently “willed” my rifle to my nephew who is starting out in long range, precision shooting.

In my opinion, the Win70 (w/controlled round feed and internal box mag) is a great platform but it may be getting a little “long in the tooth” relative to the evolution and options available in the Rem700 platform. Still, if you get a chance to buy one, I highly recommend it.

 

[Epoxy7]

Great summery, Epoxy 7! I agree with all the Pros/Cons that you stated. My own experience with the Kimber 8400 Advanced Tactical is similar. I bought a new Advanced Tactical many years ago and it was my 1st semi-custom tactical style rifle. I blame the rifle for getting me hooked on precision style shooting! More than a few semi-custom and full custom rifles have followed. The AT has been a great rifle for me with many, many rounds down the pipe. It stills has the original factory .308 W barrel. It shoots extremely well with 165-168gr bullet…sub 1/2” MOA is rather common. Not too picky about about loads (bullets in that weight range and powder) which was great when specific components were hard to come by. It has been a very reliable and a well built rifle. It’s smooth to operation, cycles wells and I always enjoyed taking it out.

The rifle, with the A5 stock and KimPro2 coating has stood up amazingly well to lots of handling/shooting. It stills looks great. The rifle came with a Pelican 1750 rifle case which may be one of reasons it still looks so good. I recently “willed” my rifle to my nephew who is starting out in long range, precision shooting.

In my opinion, the Win70 (w/controlled round feed and internal box mag) is a great platform but it may be getting a little “long in the tooth” relative to the evolution and options available in the Rem700 platform. Still, if you get a chance to buy one, I highly recommended it. View attachment 832044

Beautiful rifle!

I wanted one for a long time but could never justify the price. Then they became hard to find. During a costly M40A5 project, I came across one packaged with the scope and rings I needed. Expensive ( although a good deal overall) but it completed a project and I was able to finally get a Kimber advanced tactical.

The Kimber and PGW Coyote in the A5 stock with desert pattern are two of my favourites. Great rifles and I really like the looks.

 

[TJCote]

Epoxy7, wow, great precision rifle collection. Calibers?
I’ve always liked the looks of the PGW barrel profile, but never owned one. Too bad they’re not making them anymore.

 

[Epoxy7]

Epoxy7, wow, great precision rifle collection. Calibers?
I’ve always liked the looks of the PGW barrel profile, but never owned one. Too bad they’re not making them anymore.

Thank you!

The PGW coyote in the PGW chassis is 6.5 CM. The rest are in 308.

However the desert tech can be converted to 338 LM in a few minutes ( I have the conversion kit). Also the SSG 3000 is a quick change barrel system so 6.5 CM would be easy if I order the barrel. I’m partial to 308 For tactical precision rifles.

The PGW is just cool. Haha, Yes the barrel always drew my attention to them as well.

 

[TJCote]

I’m partial to 308 For tactical precision rifles.

Agreed. At <1000yds the .308W gets it done!
Tons of load options, components are usually available. Super easy on barrels (I’ve never had to rebarrel a 308 due to it being shot out).

My Kimber was pushing 2500 rounds when I gave it to my nephew. I’m reloading it for accuracy, not Vmax. I told him, if he wears out the barrel, bring it back and I’ll happily rebarrel it for him.

I see most of my shooting buddies have switched to Lapua Palma brass w/small rifle primers. Primer availability is one reason and they shoot a lot of F-TR so want heavy bullets at high speed=high pressure. I imagine those barrels probably don’t survive for 3000+ rounds!