Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Kimber Montana threaded barrel?

I could care less either way. Not really sure why it's an issue. Oh wait, it's the internet. Everything's an issue.

I don't see the issue. If you don't need it, leave the thread protector on and forget about it. I probably costs Kimber next to nothing to add the threads during the manufacturing. The market is changing. People don't want to damage their hearing and create unnecessary noise. The newest generation of silencers are significantly lighter and shorter. The gun manufacturers are also starting to make and market their own cans. In 10 years, a hunting rifle without a factory thread will be the anomaly.

I'm stunned to read people would not buy a stainless/synthetic rifle due to its having a threaded barrel.

This is a guess but I would think it's not only due to the suppressor crowd but also a lot of people wanting to brake their ultralights.




Travis

Huh?




Dave

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to create a shi# storm.

LOL.... You probalby nailed it squarely.

I also could care less either way. If I find a threaded barrel Montana that I want for other reasons such as cartridge choice, the thread protector will remain in place and essentially be ignored.

But since this is the internet, someone who has or wants one tries to tell everyone else that they need one too. It reminds me of Obama's mind set/"persuasive powers" in that what he believes in is what everyone else should believe in. Just ask him.

We all should all be able to decide for ourselves what we want and don't want without helpful influence from total strangers. If Kimber wants to thread barrels, its no skin off of my nose one way or the other, but I don't have the final answer for others nor do I don't plan to push it on them.

Has nobody else seen what can happen to internal bore dimensions when a small diameter muzzle is threaded?

Do you believe Kimber is chucking up the barrels in a lathe and indicating off the bore as set up to threading?

There is no doubt that how its done might be an issue, but it is easily found and can be corrected very easily with the loss of about 1/2"+ of barrel length.

If I buy one of the threaded Montana rifles, I'll wait to see if its an issue in real life shooting before getting too excited about it on the way in the door of the gun shop.

I was thinking about the same....

I found a bargain on the Mtn Ascent last year and it has the threaded muzzle/thimble and brake. I tried the brake at the range and then installed the thimble and hunted with it with no further thought......can't be any uglier than tape...

I'll have to check out the bore for damage but it really shoots very well.

I hadn't looked at the new Kimber 2016 catalog but to build the 22-250 in 1:14 is a screw up IMO.....

Brad

I doubt it adds much cost....about 15 seconds on a CNC machine

LC

Not personally interested in a threaded barrel, but... might be interested in swapping out my TG for aluminum. Are they selling it as a separate part?

To me, the upgrades to a Montana that I'd like to see, maybe as a package, let's call it the Montana FW Elite:

Ti bolt handle;
AL triggerguard;
A coating of some sort, the damn things RUST;
Some cool factory paint job options.

A threaded muzzle didn't make the list.

Given that bores wander and often the OD of the barrel isn't concentric for [bleep] with the bore at the muzzle, they've gotta be doing something. If they are profiling the barrels between centers with the bore at the muzzle on one center, they could thread the muzzle on that setup and nail it. I doubt that's how it's done though given how many factory muzzles are off at the muzzle relative to the OD.

Indexing in a "thing" to decent tolerances can happen FAST with an operator who's practiced at it. If the only consideration is concentricity right at the muzzle, I.E. you aren't trying to really nail it axially to the ten-thousandth both at the opening AND a couple inches into the bore, like in chambering, I could dial a muzzle in on my 3-jaw Bison w/Set-Tru in a couple minutes to under .001". Same with a 4-jaw and it might be even faster depending on the 4-jaw. I wouldn't indicate off the bore either in a production situation, I'd have a set of extremely precise bronze slugs that fit into the bore and indicate off the OD of that.

I think your concern about stresses induced by the threading is a valid one but I certainly can't quantify it. Can you, mathman?

My primary hunting and varmint rifles are all threaded and carry suppressors. I plan on hunting with a suppressor forevermore, unless I book a hunt somewhere where they are not legal or if I'm packing something like a Shiloh Sharps.

That being said, a 22-24" thin barrel (such as those on the Kimbers) is not something I want to hang a suppressor from. The length when suppressed is ungainly and really screws with balance, plus the heavy suppressor weight hung off a light barrel won't do any favors for zero retention if switching from suppressed to unsuppressed.

So the threaded full length Montana barrels don't appeal to me in the least - if I buy another it will be chopped down to maintain a manageable length when suppressed.

I've had one Kimber MT cut down to 17" and threaded, and it's worked great. Another will be receiving the same treatment before long. Overall length with a 7" suppressor is the same as if the rifle had a 23.5" barrel, which is about perfect IMO (17+7-.6 for thread overlap +.1 for adapter length).

I should add that the threaded barrel is certainly not going to stop me from buying a Kimber.

Does anyone know what threads they are using? 1/2x28 is mighty thin on a factory 84M barrel at 22 or 24" and doesn't leave much shoulder, so I'm wondering if they pressed on a shoulder or belled the muzzle out to a larger contour (ala Rem Model 7 300 Blackout) to fit a larger thread?

I've seen video where the opening of the ID was demonstrated with close fitting precision pin gauges. On the small OD threaded samples the close fitting pin slipped in the muzzle and always stopped at the end of the thread seaction.

So it's a "deeply recessed crown"! It's a FEATURE!

Interesting post. I've been considering suppressing my 84L Montana. I didn't want to cut the barrel. Initial thoughts were to place a light Harvester on it.

If my goal is a light suppressor with minimal barrel cutting, what suppressor would you suggest?

In my eyes, the threaded barrel and suppressor combo is great for a rifle used in a lot of hunting scenarios, but not on a rifle being strapped to my pack and beat around the mountains.

There are quite a few goods ones out there these days, such as the Silencerco Omega and Thunderbeast Ultra 7, which fall into that ~7" and 11-14 ounce range. I've heard the Harvester has had some issues with the aluminum tube longevity with high pressure rounds, as well as the potential to dent up the tube from a fall or what have you, potentially dislodging the baffles.



I haven't had an issue. Loctite the can on and use a suppressor cover, that way the can stays put and has protection.....it's much less of an issue to worry about than the scope.