Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Took a drink of the Kimber KoolAid

I took some advice and drank a little Kimber KoolAid today.

Heading out to hunt tomorrow and I will be dropping this off at the gunsmiths to get a brake on it.

Now looking for an appropriate scope and hope to have it together ready for the range next week.

Scope suggestions?

Talley make a 1-piece ring and base? Mounting suggestions?

Thanks and wish me luck please.

I'm assuming you bought that 300 wsm? A VX3 3.5-10x40 or 2.5-8x36 should fit on that one nicely. Talley lightweight lows will suffice. Extra lows for the 2.5-8... Congrats! Good luck and let us know how it works out for you..

Here is a recommendation I wouldn't put a break on it. Them 300 wsm are pussycats

You don't want to put a brake on that skinny barrel before you shoot it. If it kicks too much then have your gunsmith replace the pad. If it's still too much for you load it down to 30-06 levels or sell it and pick up a 7-08.

Having put lows and a VX2 6x36 on my 84L Montana I would not go to the extra lows as the scope would be too low. Unless, of course, one has atypical body features that warrant them.

Talley LW's, VX3 3.5x10, 270WSM

where's yer brake?....

Between the clutch and gas...

I'd shoot it before considering a loudener for it.

My Kimber Classic in 300 wsm is one of my most consistent, if not THE most consistent rifles I own. 168 TTSX go to the same spot, less then or right at an inch every single time. Great rifles.

I had a brake on a hunting rifle once. It tamed the recoil but the first time I shot an elk with it I took off the brake. Decided even though it was a 300RUM that the recoil didn't hurt near as much as the noise. For the love of God, don't put a brake on it!

I've had one for a decade and it's one of my most consistent and reliable rifles always shooting tiny groups with factory ammo. I've never felt a need for a dog-dick on the end.

I always seem to wind up next to a muzzle brake at the range. I swear I get a headache whenever I see one.

That aside -congrats on the new rifle. I would be pretty pumped getting a Kimber into my hands- good for you. Hope it's a shooter.

Prolly his wife's rifle..

that's what they make 243's for.....

Handload for it and shoot it before putting a muzzle brake on.

Good luck. I like those Montana's.

Reason for the brake is two-fold. I like to shoot a new rifle like this quite a bit at the range to really dial it in and get totally comfortable. Sitting at a bench shooting a 6 pound 300 WSM rifle all day doesn't sound like fun at all.

I can relate to the range situation next to a shooter with a brake. Because of this, I used to hate rifles with brakes. A year or 2 ago, I was trying out some different options for new glass and was shooting some friends' rifles. When I could lay down and see my shots hit on steel at 400 yards with a 300 H&H, I was pretty impressed.

Yes, they are loud, but I've gotten into the habit of using plugs when I'm hunting as my wife says I have already hammered my hearing so I am trying to salvage what I have left.

and the best way to do that is slap a loudener on it?

I'd swap it for a 30-06 before I put a brake on it it. Then again, with the weight difference they'd probably have the same recoil. Brakes are for trucks, Trix are for kids. But you're paying the bills and pulling the trigger.

silly rabbit.....

Pretty funny stuff. On a side note, I recited the entire "Life Cereal" commercial to my kids the other day. They wanted to know who the heck Mikey was...


Ok, that's enough. Back to whining and bitching about other people's schit.

How else would you shoot a 300 anything that weighs ~7lbs and see your hits/misses?

WTF do you have to see hits?.....
WTF do you need a liteweight rifle for "Sitting at a bench shooting a 6 pound 300 WSM rifle all day" anyhow?


Personally, when I see the critters legs sticking up in the air, that's all I need. Never was as important to me, to see impact as it was results......

As someone with compromised hearing, the LAST thing I'd do is a brake. They are louder, even with muffs, than one without. So really, more decibels don't make your argument about noise protection very valid now, does it? Like 16' said, it is YOU paying the bills and pulling the trigger, and you've done went and convinced yerself that your choice is the right one for you.

enjoy......

LMAO, I'll file that one away......

I kinda liked 'trix are for kids'......

I gotta admit, I've run outta give a schit about LW rifles. The effort to shave a pound is hardly worth it and the return is zilch. Sorry, but boots and the rest of the schit that gets lugged around make a bigger difference.

And yes, that's my Montana. And no I ain't married to it.

"2015 Thunderdome Battle Royale: Two Rifles Enter, One Gets Sold"

Coming soon to a thread near you.....

A couple of things. I had a Kimber Montana in 300 wsm set up exactly as bsa outlined - Talley lows with Leupy 3-9x40. The rifle weighed 6 lb 15 oz. Contrary to most manly men, I found the combination of light rifle and thin barrel (r.e. muzzle rise) to outright SUCK from the bench with full power 180/200 gr loads. Likely its just me and my wimpiness that didn't like it - but that rifle set-up will recoil a bit.

I'd not advocate putting a break on it. In order, I would: 1. shoot it with the desired loads. See if the recoil is objectionable, 2. If recoil was objectionable, I'd go with reduced loads. I guarantee you can get 2950 with 63-65 grains of H4350 under a 180 - leave the last 50-75 ft/sec on the table, 3. Sell the Kimber and get a M70 Extreme Weather in 300 WSM. The EW will weigh right at 8lbs, likely a shade under with Talley's and a reasonable Leupy. That extra bit of weight tames recoil significantly. I've dragged my EW over many miles of 9-11,000 foot elevation elk mountains and never noticed the extra 14-16 oz. Lose an extra pound from your pack and you'll be at the same net weight.

My 300 WSM with Vari-x III 4.5-14. It sees only 150-168 projectiles as I have bigger guns if I want to shoot more weight. I'm a fairly big guy at 6'4" and 240#'s but its not uncomfortable for me off the bench after 50 or so RDS.

For me once load selection is done and scope zeroed my rifles don't see a lot of bench rest time outside of varmint guns so I'm not a fan of breaks either.

Put on the (brakes)









Turn around!

And go back and trade it for a 7 mm/08.

Shod

If you need/insist on a brake you bought the wrong rifle. Go .308 or 7-08 or .243 or ...........use your imagination.

Congratulations on buying the Kimber. You probably will learn to love it. I do mine.

I had a Tikka T3 Lite Stainless 300WSM that had a brake. Shot it much on the bench dialing it in and more so dialing me in. I shot it one day in the woods. Painful! I picked up a new Kimber 8400 300 WSM. (Montana) Shooting it on the bench (no brake)is about the same as the Tikka with brake. That synthetic stock appears to absorb considerable shock.

My set up;
For moose
Limbsaver recoil pad
Leupold VX3 2.5-8
Talley lightweights - I see no advantage to a one piece and they look ugly to me.
Winchester brass, primers.
Book max(+) H4350
165 Barnes

Whitetail;
Same everything I load it . Don't need that much power.
57gr Varget
150 Partition
That still produces over 3000fps. Deadly deer dumper.

May I suggest you shoot the rifle before you add a brake. If you think the recoil a bit stiff, put a different pad on the butt. I put a Limbsaver on mine. Like it.

Personally, I WILL NEVER PUT A BRAKE ON ONE OF MY RIFLES. It diminishes the value of the rifle and is far too damaging to my hearing. Recoil reduction appears (to me) to be about the same as a good recoil reducing butt pad. There are good reasons that the experienced guys here on the Campfire are not recommending a brake.

Well, enjoy your Kimber, be safe, protect your hearing, shoot much, and have fun with it. Sure do like mine.

Jim

[quote=huntsman22]WTF do you have to see hits?.....
WTF do you need a liteweight rifle for "Sitting at a bench shooting a 6 pound 300 WSM rifle all day" anyhow?


Personally, when I see the critters legs sticking up in the air, that's all I need. Never was as important to me, to see impact as it was results.......

enjoy...... [/quote

It's not really the hits I want to be able to see as it is prospective misses.

The bench shooting is to get very comfortable and reliable with a hunting rifle. I have plenty of paper punchers that are a joy to shoot for funsies.

It's your dream, live it....

Sitting at a bench all day doesn't sound like a good way to get a rifle dialed in. Once I'm zeroed it's all field positions.

So let me ask you something -- When you show up at the range and other shooters are present, do you just pull your breaked rifle out and start hammering away? Do you at least warn people?

Don't know about you but at the range I always keep an eye out for what the people around me are doing and what they're shooting. When a guy shows up with a braked rifle, he doesn't need to warn me.

Might as well through the short barreled tacticool AR's in the pile as well.

If you are worried about the recoil at the bench just get a lead sled or put a sand bag between your shoulder and the butt or get a Past or just wear an extra coat AT THE BENCH.
Or you could do what I did and get yourself a 375H&H that weighs about 9lbs all in and shoot that off the bench about 20 times. After that you will never notice the recoil of a 30cal.
Like he said, leave the dick on the dog.
You have convinced yourself that you need a brake on this rifle. Just about everybody on this thread is trying to talk you out of it. Several of us have had braked rifles. Maybe there is a (hint...........) here?

Brakes suck! 308 doesn't need one. Or get a heavier rifle and you will be glad.

That's great, but do you want him shooting it next to you? Do you stay? I usually wear plugs and muffs, but been around a few brakes that were still too much for me. I have significant hearing loss though, so I'll admit I'm pretty sensitive about it.

Lead sled and a brake. Nothing says "get the phuqq outta Dodge" like that combo.

one or the other does it for me....

They're both OK,if you use a barrel donut.

Friend of mine got one in 300WM. I really thought it would kick hard. That thing is a pussy cat. I was actually quite surprised at how mellow it is. Good stock design matters.

I hate to jump on the bandwagon, but I totally agree. If you need a brake, I'd suggest stepping down to a lesser cartridge (say 308 or 30-06). Lead sleds are just plain wrong and I'd never put any of my rifles in one..

All of you lead sled haters should just butt out.

Go eat another barrel donut...

I'm not going to claim to be the most knowledgable guy on the fire, not the most experienced, but I can confidently say I have owned and shot a bunch of rifles for a bunch of years. Maybe you have too, and maybe you have experience with a brake. If so, like said above, it's your money and your rifle. If not, I can say that I have owned rifles with brakes. They suck. Each one I have owned is either entirely gone, had the brake cut off, or been re-barreled. Brakes get no consideration from me on a 'normal' hunting rifle. 300WSM will do nothing a .308 or 30-06 won't. It just makes it a little easier to determine the up/down over distance. Up/down is the easy part. Doping the wind is the hard part.

Try that rifle without a brake. Don't expect a 223 from the bench. If you are shooting a 300WSM, you are planning on hunting. Becoming proficient means hitting your target under field conditions. Shoot 10 rounds (if the recoil is bad in your perception) from field positions and call it a day. If that's too much, get a 308 or a 7mm-08.

That noise generator on the end is far worse than recoil in my experience, and a waste of money.

BTW, nice rifle.

You guys are the reason it is so hard to find Montana donors cheap. OP, brake away! And after you brake it I'll make you a reasonable offer for it.

Make me an unreasonable offer and you can have mine..

16bore,
What you got? Is $100 unreasonable enough?

We are fortunate to have several ranges at my club. If there are shooters using the main, covered, high-power range and a fellow with a braked rifle shows up to shoot, he is politely invited to use the less popular side-range on the other side of the clubhouse. If that doesn't suit him, then he is firmly invited to wait until he is the only one left to use the main range, or he can return at 6:00 AM on another day when he is the only one there.

I don't want to be that guy, and I won't own a braked rifle after being exposed to them. Even using plugs and muffs, the cover/roof over our firing line makes braked rifles absolutely intolerable, even several stations away down the line.

Must be a typo....

I agree with everyone else.

Don't get a brake! If you think you need a brake, get a rifle chambered in a round you feel comfortable shooting.

But somebody needs to call out stupidity like this;



More is always more, and less is always less.

Muzzle breaks have a perfectly good function. I had a 30-378 years ago with a break. At the range in winter, I only needed two or three rounds to clear the snow from the sloping range roof overhang. I can only imagine how efficient a 50BMG would be!

I'll play.

155 Amax Hornady maximum book velocity:
300WSM 3250
30-06 3000

Translates to:

Drop (100yd zero)
300WSM at 300yds = 30-06 at 280yds (-9.1")

Drift (10 mph)
300WSM at 300yds = 30-06 at 269yds (2.9")

Velocity
300WSM at 300yds = 30-06 at 193yds (2588 FPS)

Energy
300WSM at 300yds = 30-06 at 193yds (1937 FPE)

So I reckon a fella could say a 30-06 is a 300WSM +/- 25 yards or 107 yards, depending on which numbers float your boat.

I admit I didn't read every line in the thread so maybe this was covered. Apologies. I am not a fan of muzzle brakes but have one on a 416 BUT there is no reason to hunt with it on, just get a thread cap and take the darn thing off. You never feel recoil shooting at game and if you want to shoot a lot at the bench the brake will help, so will a lead sled so will a 308. None of this is need its want and if OP wants it then he should have it. MTCs

Yep, brake it and forget it. And use a sled if you like them.
And the thread cap works perfect for hunting situations.
Best thing I ever did (equipment-wise) is pick up a brake-equipped Kimber .308 for the wife. She actually enjoys shooting sessions now, and her accuracy is fantastic because of it.

The know-it-alls here won't be anywhere around when you or yours use and hunt with your rifle.

Please educate me. What will a 300WSM do that a 308 or 30-06 won't? All I can I think of is get you a little further point blank range over a .308. Very little over a 30-06, and then it depends on the load.

What it might do, especially with a brake, is cause more hearing loss, or more flinch for those sensitive to recoil. It will not kill anything 'more dead'.

I'm all ears...

Its voodoo....