What is your take on Kimber Montana 84 and 8400

rem338win said:
So on average I have seen the Classic to Montana in the 1199 to 1399 range. That is very reasonable for the quality that has gone into it. The "premium" people keep talking about isn't there. Remington throws a cheap Bell and Carlson on a fluted barrel and charges the same price. The stocks on the Kimbers, wood or synthetic, are of much higher quality than a Remington, not to mention the 84/8400 action is much more expensive and complex to build. It is in the right price range.
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I wouldn't pay that much for a Remington either...:D
 
rem338win said:
So on average I have seen the Classic to Montana in the 1199 to 1399 range. That is very reasonable for the quality that has gone into it. The "premium" people keep talking about isn't there. Remington throws a cheap Bell and Carlson on a fluted barrel and charges the same price. The stocks on the Kimbers, wood or synthetic, are of much higher quality than a Remington, not to mention the 84/8400 action is much more expensive and complex to build. It is in the right price range.
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Not to knock Kimber, as I like them, but the stock on the Montana is nothing to rave about,IMO.
Of the ones I've handled, which were all used, the finish seems to be very susceptible to scratching/marring. It's also too smooth for my liking, I prefer the "spider web" patterns on B&C and HS as they seem to add a little grip.
The wood ones are very nice though.

The Rem 700 Ti is about the most overpriced POS out there. Any decent gunsmith will admit that a steel bolt and titanium receiver don't mesh. The 3 or so 700 Ti actions I've cycled have all been very rough,especially for a Remington, which have one of the smoothest actions out there.
 
bearkilr said:
Not to knock Kimber, as I like them, but the stock on the Montana is nothing to rave about,IMO.
Of the ones I've handled, which were all used, the finish seems to be very susceptible to scratching/marring. It's also too smooth for my liking, I prefer the "spider web" patterns on B&C and HS as they seem to add a little grip.
The wood ones are very nice though.

The Rem 700 Ti is about the most overpriced POS out there. Any decent gunsmith will admit that a steel bolt and titanium receiver don't mesh. The 3 or so 700 Ti actions I've cycled have all been very rough,especially for a Remington, which have one of the smoothest actions out there.
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I am not particulary fond of the flat grey finish either, but all of the HS and B&C stocks on factory guns I have played with aren't what I call stiff. The Kimber is. For all that being said, doing a custom remington with blue print, premium barrel and a Mcmillan EDGE is at the $2100 mark. Might be worth it to cough that up.
 
rem338win said:
I am not particulary fond of the flat grey finish either, but all of the HS and B&C stocks on factory guns I have played with aren't what I call stiff. The Kimber is. For all that being said, doing a custom remington with blue print, premium barrel and a Mcmillan EDGE is at the $2100 mark. Might be worth it to cough that up.
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The Cooper Excalibur B&C Medalist is pretty stiff, but you're correct, other HS and B&C seem a bit flimsy.
My favorites are still Bansner or Brown Precision. :)
 
rem338win said:
I am not particulary fond of the flat grey finish either, but all of the HS and B&C stocks on factory guns I have played with aren't what I call stiff. The Kimber is. For all that being said, doing a custom remington with blue print, premium barrel and a Mcmillan EDGE is at the $2100 mark. Might be worth it to cough that up.
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Same here color is a bit dull but the stock is one of the features I like the most. Its very solid and so far is the nicest non-wood stock I have had. I had mine in all sorts of weather this year and it held up good. I have noticed that on mine and my buddies the finish has worn off in spots from carrying on our packs.

Not a big deal to me but it might bother some...
 
I ordered my Montana 8400 from S.I.R., I payed 1180, hardly the price of a cooper or a sako for that matter and only 200 over the price of a browning or remington. The kimber is a lighter rifle than all of those rifles I mentioned and shoots as accurate. My rifle is a delight to pack around and i absalutely love it. Ive noticed that the stock does scratch but so what, its a hunting tool. The stock is stiffer than most. The trigger is also better than most, set mine 2.5 lbs. All in all, it makes " a cracker jack" long range deer rifle in 7mm wsm.
 
bearkilr said:
The Cooper Excalibur B&C Medalist is pretty stiff, but you're correct, other HS and B&C seem a bit flimsy.
My favorites are still Bansner or Brown Precision. :)
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I am a McMillian and Bansner fan. I have owned Bansner, Wildcat, HS, McMillan and Brown Pres. The only one I didn't like was the Wildcat! It is good quality, the style just doesn't fit me that well. I do like the quality of the Kimber. It reminds me a lot of the Brown.
 
Bringing this one back from the dead.

There are some very good comments here. The Pro's and Con's are equally valid however I think most of them can be applied to all manufacturers with featherweight rifles (which can be finicky by their nature). As with all things sometimes you get a good one and sometimes a bad one.

Personally, I love Kimbers. I think they are FABULOUS rifles. I've owned the 8400 Montana and currently own 84M Classic in 308 Win. Both are fabulous featherweights, reliable and accurate. However any featherweight rifle should be able to shoot well enough up to three shots. After that groups will start to open up. So when I hear people talking about dissapointing groups I hope they remember that skinny barrels are not supposed to do the work of a 1" bull barrel in the consistency dept.

Shoot 3 rounds and put the rifle away for 10 minutes. When I bring my Kimber to the range I also bring other rifles so that I can keep myself occupied in between load development and rifle cooling.
 
muckle said:
I ordered my Montana 8400 from S.I.R., I payed 1180, hardly the price of a cooper or a sako for that matter and only 200 over the price of a browning or remington. The kimber is a lighter rifle than all of those rifles I mentioned and shoots as accurate. My rifle is a delight to pack around and i absalutely love it. Ive noticed that the stock does scratch but so what, its a hunting tool. The stock is stiffer than most. The trigger is also better than most, set mine 2.5 lbs. All in all, it makes " a cracker jack" long range deer rifle in 7mm wsm.
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All that pep talk about Montana's, Remingtons TI, Winchesters, Browning's etc overpriced POS doesn't change the fact that quality of firearms dropped since 70' or so. Try to compare those with Browning Safari or even Higgins mod 50 for instance and see what I am talking about. Old comercial FN mausers would shame even pre 64 Winchesters if it comes to quality and gas handling properties never mind today's run of the mill rifles under $2000 or so.
 
I got a 4.5 - 14 leupold long range. I also got a new range finder I want to try out, its a Lieka. A buddy of mine was out on a hike when he spotted an object off in the distance, turned out that someone had painted a large sawblade white and hung it from a chain. The next time my friend took his manlicher 300 wsm and dialed in his scope for 900 yds. He told me he hit it five times and the group was 6". I believe him, Ive seen his targets before at long range so I know he's capable. Ive shot at 700 yds before but to be honest I havent had much experience at long range, but I expect to have fun trying. Regards Pete.
 
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