Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Saw Kimber 84L's in Montana model

Just got back from SHOT and saw the 84L's in the Montana iteration in the Kimber booth. Kimber advertises it chambered in 25-06, 270 Win., 280 AI, and 30-06. The only other useful 06 based cartridge they missed was the 338-06.

Barrel length? Overall weights? Do they shoot well...or do they shoot like a Kimber?

24" with the 30-06 weighing 5# 10oz.. They will shoot crappy so I wouldn't order one. More Kimber roulette.

TFF

If the 84M were just coming out now to join the 84L that had been previously released I would view the 84M Montana as an improvement!

The 84M is lighter, handier and in a class, price and feature wise by itself. The 84L is not.

The cartridges in play are really similar.

Just trying to do my part in keeping people from becoming frustrated with something so expensive that will not perform.
Just part of my new "softer tone".

I think you miss the point of the new model. It is not to be compared to the 84M but to the 8400! The 30-06 in the old style 8400 Montana weighs 6# 9oz. - still pretty light.
The new 30-06 in a 84L is 5# 10 oz.. Much lighter and still has a 24" barrel. You've got to compare long action (8400) vs. long action (84L).

But I would hold off for at least 6 months until there are a few in circulation and we get a good cross section of meaningful range reports.

The 8400's in 30-06 never found a place. They are longer than the 8400 WSM's, not as much range. The 8400 in 30-06 is in never-never land. Whatever that means?

The 84M Montana is a landmark rifle that will go and get them when the going gets tough.

I am not going to put all my old M70 Featherweights aside for a 84L.

Savage 99
Just from handling the 84m & 84 l I'd have to say the little bit of extra weight and longer barrel might make the 84l a rifle that points better and shoulders better for many people. I'm 6'2" with long arms and the long action model just feels right. I guess it my might have an 8 oz penalty but it just might be my "landmark" rifle and I applaud kimber for getting it to market. Again some like blondes some like brunettes and some even like em with a little extra........

I prefer a long action rifle to a short action rifle too.

Now if Kimber would only get off their asss and make the 84 in a left hand configuration I'd be a very happy camper.

I have to say that as a person who absolutely loves the 84M, hates the feel of the 8400, the 84L felt like an absolutely perfect, death wand in my hands. To me it didn't feel quite as whippy in the front end as the short action. This will certainly be my next deer rifle, but which one, 280AI or 25-06?

Thanks,
Nick

I figger they're going to be a hard sell here at the Campfire. After all, what can a 25-06, 270, 280, and 30-06 do that a 257, 260, 7-08, 308 can't accomplish. This place lives on the idea of "whatever I have (or want) is as capable as the next two or three ctgs above it".
That said, I think I'll be looking at a Montana in 25-06. Anything I shoot won't know whether it was hit with a 25-06 or a 257 Wby.

Fair enough Bigbuck_12. Your bigger, younger and stronger than I am.

Long ago nobody was going to tell me that my 99F's and M70F's were not ideal. Now that I am old its another story.

Another side to it though for all of us or at least myself from 57 years of hunting day after day up north and seeing nothing that a light small rifle is big enough 99.9% of the time!

I applaud their effort of bringing a new model to market. However, I think they may have been better off applying the energy required to do so making their rifles more consistently accurate.

I'm probably not in their target market as I'm recoil sensitive and won't be looking for an UL rifle. But even if I was, the stories I've heard about accuracy problems in Kimber rifles would naturally put them at the bottom of my list if I were considering such a rig.

Repairing that reputation would be foremost in my mind if I were pulling the strings at Kimber. After all, Savage and Marlin can do it with rifles costing several hundred less....why can't they?

This could affect your price point on the Montana .300WSM you're trying to sell in the Classifieds.

[quote=seattlesetters the stories I've heard about accuracy problems in Kimber rifles would naturally put them at the bottom of my list if I were considering such a rig.

Repairing that reputation would be foremost in my mind if I were pulling the strings at Kimber. After all, Savage and Marlin can do it with rifles costing several hundred less....why can't they? [/quote]

Please consider that far better than half (probably over 90%) of most hunters/shooters dont know how to make a rifle shoot well, especially a light weight one. So, when they knock Kimber about being inaccurate, it might be true, but it probably isn't. Some folks try one factory load and if it does not shoot well, it's of course the rifles fault. I personally know a few folks that know how to make a rifle shoot well and have bought used Kimbers that "didn't shoot well" and with a little judicious load development had the little rifles shooting extremely well.

And.....no rifle manufacturer has ever made rifles that shot well 100% of the time. The Kimbers I've worked up loads for, all shot well with proper loads, but some of them have taken some developement to get there.

I'm glad there's some used Kimbers out there with a bad rep. Keeps the price down.
Am now hoping that the new Camaros get a bad rep and their resale falls off. Be needing a used car in a year or two.

I dont think the 308 based family of cartridges can "hold a candle" to the 06 based family of cartridges for certain applications. For example try using a 200gr. or 220 gr. bullet in a short action 308 as an Alaska grizzly load--not so good.....but it works wonderfully well in an 06. Same could be said of using a 175gr. bullet in the 7-08 for heavy NA game--not so good, but the 280 Rem. or 280 AI will rise to that occassion quite well.

When you start using lighter bullets in both families of cartridges, the shorter 308 based cartridges are pretty good and very useful, but still the 06 based cartridges of the same bullet dia. will out run their 308 cousin by around 200 fps., which I agree only matters in a small percentage of applications.

The 84L Montana is a wonderfully light weight standard length actioned rifle and I'm going to end up with one in an 06 and probably a 280AI.

Trying to sell my rifle at that price point is usually no problem. Why? Its fair and I have taken any "roullete" out of the mix. Furthermore, you can't believe everything you read here. Not all the negative Kimber reports are the result of the rifle. There are bad techniques, scopes, rings/bases, handloads and recoil shy shooters. Some of this gets blamed on the rifle. But to be fair, they all are not angels, but nothing is. So don't be confused, my comments are a little shtick to keep the pressure off the 84L. Besides, the rifle already sold.

I am not going to put aside my Fwt. XTR's or pre '64 Fwt.'s either. While the 8400's are 1.25" longer the the 8400 WSM's, I don't think range factors in. No some didn't like the infamous "perch belly" but the 8400 L/A Montana was lighter (6# 9oz.) than many industry rifles including the Winchester Fwt.'s of any era, which were north of 7.25#'s.

If you think the 84M is a "landmark" rifle (5# 2oz), then in my estimation the 84L (5# 10 oz.)is every bit its equal only in a long action.