Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Kimber 8400M 270 for elk and the statistical chances of getting a good one

My buddy is thinking of buying a Kimber 8400M in 270 win for an elk hunt we are planing to make in 2009. I have been doing a lot of reading, on this board, on the Kimbers� and there seems to be a real dichotomy of opinion on this brand of rifle. What are his chances of geting a decent shooter out of the box do you think?

If he buys one and gets a clunker, it looks like recrowning and rebedding should take care of any problems about 85% of the time, yes? Is this a gun that you would recommend to a friend if it was you?

I think your "statistical chance" of getting a good shooting Kimber are better than buying a Remington, Ruger or Winchester...

+1

If your's doesn't shoot well out of the box I'd think the chances of Hill Country Rifles in Texas being able to make it shoot well are 99.9%. I've had 9 of them and only had to do work on 1 of them - it needed the floorplate bedded. That changed it from maybe 1 1/4" MOA to much better.
Look at the two threads asking if their Kimbers had good barrels or bad barrels and I think you'll get an idea of what the vast majority of Kimber owners think. If you don't expect 1/4 MOA perfection out of the box and be willing to have a little work done if necessary you'll be happier. And more likely than not it will shoot well out of the box if you use good benchrest technique................................DJ

I think his chances are about the same with kimber as they are with other brands. To be honest I think his chances would be better with remington on getting a shooter but I have only owned one Kimber. I had to sell at a loss and buy a remington to get a shooter. Of course the remington was a standard weight rifle. Its a crap shoot either way, it just depends on how much you want to gamble with. JMHO

Thank you for the input, which is along the lines of what I had been gathering from looking at the posts on the Kimbers�.

This man has been a really good friend to me in the last year of my wife�s battle with cancer. Whenever we are looking through the hunting and gun magazines he always drools over the Kimber ads and has mentioned, more than once, that when he buys another rifle that a Kimber is at the top of his list. What I am going to do is buy it for him and give it to him for his birthday next month.

He currently has a 25-06 that is a great shooting gun, and he shoots it very well, but that caliber seems a little light for elk. His ancient 30-06, a Sears model of some sort, kicks like a mule and he doesn�t shoot it very well. I was thinking maybe a 270 wouldn�t kick as much and still be capable for Elk, any thoughts on the caliber in the Kimber?

A 308 Win or a 338 Federal in a 84M Montana may be a better choice. Very light weight and thats a big plus on a elk hunt.

I think his chances are about the same with kimber as they are with other brands. To be honest I think his chances would be better with remington on getting a shooter but I have only owned one Kimber. I had to sell at a loss and buy a remington to get a shooter. Of course the remington was a standard weight rifle. Its a crap shoot either way, it just depends on how much you want to gamble with. JMHO

My montana kicks ass!

Would the 338 Federal, in a Montana, kick as hard as his old sears 30-06? The Sear's rifle doesn't have a recoil pad on it, and I think that is part of the problem, but it is pretty heavy.

Just some food for thought, but IIRC many of the older Sears rifles were made on some pretty good Mauser actions. Couple that with your stating that he doesn't like to shoot that rifle very much, maybe it could be used as the basis for a custom 270. Heck, a new barrel and a lightish fiberglass stock and he'd be in the berries. It'd probably cost less than a new Kimber to boot! Just something to think about...

If this helps. My montana in 300wsm has less felt recoil than any 30-06 i've ever owned. And Thats been prolly a dozen in different brands.

Talk to him about restocking that 30-06 and most likely problems (more than one) solved.

That would be the practical thing to do but he has a hankering for a new rifle and I am going to get it for him. It is a matter, now, of nailing down the caliber.

Thanks for the good advice though.

I have or have had quite a few Kimbers, including 84M Montanas (308, 338Fed.) and 8400 Montanas (300WSM). I have not had a long action Kimber Montana, so take this for what it's worth.

Most on the forum here like the feel of the 84M, and the 8400 in WSM calibers, but quite a few don't like the long-action 8400s.

I can't imagine that it is that bad, because it is still a nice light rifle, but I just think the 8400 WSMs and 84M rifles just feel so nicely balanced that when compared to them the long-action rifle falls a little short.

If you don't want a WSM, then the 84M in 308 looks like a mighty good choice. If he doesn't handload, I would not buy the 338Fed. since ammo is too expensive.

And all of my Kimbers have been acceptably accurate, and most a good deal better.


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It seems to me that most guys complaining of bad accuracy are owners of an 84M in 7-08. Don't recall anyone complaining about about a 270Win or any of the calibers in the 8400 Standard Action. Almost all complaints have to do with the 84M. I'm sure some of the feeding problems are associated with the skinniness/narrowness of that receiver.
I do hear some complain about the forearm profile of the 8400 Montana stock but it feels fine to me. More of a visual complaint. Tell your friend to get the 270. After all, divorce rates are around 50%, Kimber happiness rates are around 87%.

For what it's worth in making your decision. I own a Pre-64 Winchester Mod 70 Featherweight in .308 as well as a Kimber Montana 8400 in 30'06. In my estimation, as well as several others that have shot both rifles, the Montana's felt recoil is noticeably less than the Winchester's. Others have also commented on the quality of the stock and have credited the recoil reduction to the straighter stock design and material Kimber uses on the Montana.

As far as balance is concerned, I tried the 84M in .308 and the balance was all wrong for me. Seemed like it was always pointing high. However, when I picked up the 8400 Montana in 30'06 life was all good. Lined up just right!

Probably adding my opinion only helped to further confuse your choices. Undoubtedly. no matter what you decide, your friend will be pleased with the results. Good luck!

If he wants the gun for an elk hunt I would lean towards the 8400 270WSM. The WSM Kimbers are as perfect as you can get for a lightweight factory elk gun. The 270WSM has a little more punch for elk which can't hurt either. And it won't recoil as much as the 300WSM. (IMO both are very managable). If your worrried about getting a good or a bad Kimber, don't be. Worst case scenerio is it shoots like crap and you send it to Hill Country to get accurized. Even then, its still a lot of gun for the money. IMO a 8400 WSM Montana or Classic with a Leupy VXIII 2.5-8x36 would be as close to perfect as you could get in a factory gun. Im sure your friend would agree.

Ha! Ha! Yep. He'll love it! Tell him not to hesitate!

I have an 8400 270 WSM with the upgraded wood, and its a real gem. It will consistenly put 3 shots into under 1/2 with 110 triple shocks or sierra gamekings all day. I love it!!

If you want a MOA 270 out of the box go with a TIKKA T3 Lite or a Browning. The TIKKA can be had for less than $600 and they are tremendous value for the money. Another possibility is one of the Vanguard SMOA for around $600. These are guaranteed to shoot .99 or less with factory ammo. I gave up on getting a decent shooting Kimber after 3 trys, Their lack of customer service standard pretty much let me down.