Normal for a Kimber ...?

[icedog]

One of my sons recently took posession of a NIB Kimber Montana 84M in 7mm-08, and is a bit concerned that the action is not as smooth as he'd expected.
The bolt seems to catch a bit, especially when chambering a round from the right side of the staggered stack in the magazine. Also, it is scratching up some of the brass to the extent that the marks can easily be felt by dragging a fingernail across the scrapes. Despite this, the rifle has never really jammed, nor has it ever actually failed to feed a round (at this point it hasn't actually fired a round).

Several of my own rifles regularly scratch the brass, especially some of the Mauser actions, and 99 Savages. The Kimber's action is nowhere near as smooth as my T3, or my son's older Tikka 695 (?).

Anyway, the question ... is this normal for a Kimber, or is it a problem he should be seeking a resolution to, either from the vendor or the warranty folks?

 

[quarterman]

I had a kimber in 7mm rem mag. it wasn't the smoothest bolt in the world( felt like an old mauser 98 action), it didn't compare to the slickness of a tikka t3. as for the deep scratch in the brass, you could probably touch up the edge of the feed lip in the magazine with a stone or a piece of emery cloth. removing the burr off this edge should fix your problem

 

[scott_karana]

I had a kimber in 7mm rem mag. it wasn't the smoothest bolt in the world( felt like an old mauser 98 action), it didn't compare to the slickness of a tikka t3.

Bingo. Kimbers use the classic Mauser-style controlled round feed, and Tikkas are push feed. That's the difference right there.

 

[crazy_davey]

The bolt will smooth out with use, all the ones I have experience with are now pretty damn smooth for CRF. Grease the bolt lugs a little and put a dab of your favorite oil on the bolt and start shooting. Wipe it off every once and a while and reapply, it will smooth out.

As mentioned above, clean up the edges of the mag box and get rid of any sharp edges with fine emery cloth, it is a super simple fix.

 

[icedog]

Many thanks for the info and ideas gentlemen. We will proceed as you have suggested, with emery cloth and a touch of lube.

 

[Ardent]

I'd use 600-1500grit sandpaper, wet, not emery cloth as that is very rough and aggressive in common grits.

 

[Dogleg]

CRF actions aren't usually the smoothest when they are new but come along quickly after you work the bolt a couple of 200 times. There are exceptions, one of my 4 Kimbers (7mm Select Grade) is so smooth and all round nicely put together that people automatically handle it with a light touch and hushed voices. Sort of like holding a kitten.

A push-feed will tend to be smoother, since it is rather easy to fit a round pipe into a round hole. This can be demonstrated by watching people marveling at the smoothness of their empty rifles. Take a moment for the irony of that to sink in.

Scratches on the cases aren't good, a touch of emery cloth will fix that up. Polishing up the feed-ramp at the same time wouldn't hurt. A bit of synthetic motor oil will change the nature of most bolt-guns.

 

[mrgoat]

I have both a Kimber 8400 and several newer M-70's, all have the CRF. The CRF's are not as slick to operate as the push feeds I had previously. The advice of honing down any sharp edges and a bit of lube is the way to go. None of mine or the Kimber mark up brass. When new the Kimber had feeding issues from the left side, Kimber sent me a new mag follower with spring and no more issues.