Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Kimber Montana?

I'm new to the forum and wanted to ask a question of some of you guys that have done lots of customizing.
I want a 30-06. The requirements are stainless,crf, 24" barrel, and a decent stock, I would prefer fiberglass. I own a steyr pro hunter in 7mm-08(Synthetic) and a 1970's model 70 in .338.
I have looked at the kimber Montana and for the money it looks like it would be hard to beat.
My other option is to find a model 70 classic stainless and restock it and possibly have to put a new trigger in it?
Am I thinking about this the right way? What other options are out there?
Thanks in advance.

Palmetto,

Welcome!

You should ask this over on the "Hunting Rifles" forum (here at the Campfire)...

I have a Montana in .325 WSM and it's a spectacularly good rifle. That said, it's not hard to find reports of bad accuracy from Kimbers. Dunno what to think. I'd buy another in a heartbeat based on my sample of one, though.

HOWEVER, I'd think twice about a Kimber in 30-06. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Kimber basically has 3 action lengths. The short action is optimized for .308-class cartridges and is much lighter than any other major manufacture's short action; they hit a home run with that one. The WSM-length action was optimized for WSM's and again, they hit a home run. However, their long action was made long enough to accomodate the .458, which is longer than it needs to be for 30-06 class cartridges... very "un-Kimber" -like in a way!

Whatever the reason, the LA Kimbers I have handled were nice feeling rifles, but lacked the magic that the SA and WSM's have. Just my opinion.

So if I were you, I'd be looking at a Montana in 300 WSM rather than 30-06. You can easily load the 300 WSM to '06 power levels if you want to, and you get a lighter, quicker rifle. And 300 WSM is here to stay.

-jeff

I really like the Montana in the short action like a 300wsm.. The 3006 in a long action Montana is not a good fit for me. I would first go to the gun shop and handle both and see what fits you best....... You can always get the 300wsm and load it down to a 3006 velocity or bump it up to full power if needed... win win to me...

Roger that. Lil Sky seems about perfect in a shorty. In the long it just somehow doesn't seem the same.

The 308 surely doesn't suck in a 30 cal. either. SKane=biased.
http://attainkarma.com/scotts/montan2_sk.jpg


Doh! BTW, Palmetto, welcome to the fire....

I have never owned a Kimber. Probably won't either.

But, a 300 WSM would be my choice, hands down, of all the 30 caliber choices available. The 308 Win is very hard to argue with but it is no 300 WSM either.

My opinion:
300 WSM = Home Run
Kimber Montana = Home Run
300 WSM + Kimber Montana = Grand Slam !

Here is a photo of my Grand Slam....

Agree with Jeff on all points. There are a couple of Kimbers still sitting across from me as I write - both WSMs. The 84M .308 is a very handy rifle but it's LOP was too short for me otherwise I'd still have it. Of the 7 (IIRC) Kimbers I've had 1 (a 270 WSM wood stocked) was a mediocre shooter, the others have all been better than avg out of the box with good handloads. The LA Kimbers I've handled - but not shot - seem much heavier than I expected and not at all as handy as the SA 84Ms OR 8400s. It was a real disappointment when I first handled a LA Kimber in 30-06, it seemed 'dead' not the lively-to-the-shoulder feel the SAs are. HR on the SAs, strike out on fit and handling IMO on the LAs.

Randy-

Dibs when you peddle it - don't think it recoils enough for a 358STA man like yourself....

And, just for the record, I'd go 300wsm if given the choice betwixed the 300wsm and .308. Just so happens that when I bought the Lil Sky in 308, I already had the 300WSM covered.

Speaking of recoil...what is the recoil like out of a 300WSM Montana??

Mike

Thanks for all the replies, that helps a bunch. Will I be able to buy all the same range of .30 cal bullets in the wsm that I can in an '06? I don't handload as of yet.
I am curious about the recoil as well?
I also found the post of all the of the"rifle blueprints" that is giving me lots of ideas as well. I've got plenty of time to put this rig together. I shouldn't need it for a hunt until Feb.
Thanks again.

Gents might consider contacting Brad here as well - he's had a couple WSM's in the Montana IIRC.

I'd not count on STA's assessment to the 300WSM recoil as I suspect he chews on tinfoil when shooting his 358 STA just for the fun of it....<grin>

The right stock design has a lot to do with felt recoil. The Lil Sky stock (although a wee short for me) is pretty darn good at pushing the recoil back and not up.

Agreed, I was quite impressed with the lack of perceived recoil from a 300 Wizzum Montana.

SKane, shoot me a price <grins> it could be yours........

As for recoil in the 300wsm Montana as said before its a great stock and very nice recoil pad cuts down on the recoil on this gun!
Lets say you are shooten a Remington M700 in 3006 with 180gr bullets it would be about the same recoil as the Montana 300wsm with 150gr bullets.....The Montana will have more muzzle jump than the 3006.

The 7 WSM Montana doesn't have recoil....

Mike, my experience has been that it's not bad at all. There's a good stock with a good recoil pad on it and the round while incredibly capable it isn't a big powerhouse so...I don't really spect it to be a kicker.

I've shot the 300 WSM in several other makes as well and same thing if a good stock design for my bod and if it has a good pad it aint no bigga deal when it comes to bump.

Bascially it's an 06 +P and an 06 is not known to be a shoulder stomper, at least in my circles.

Dober

Personally I couldn't tell the diff between the 7 and the 30 when it came to bump...pretty much like trying to sort out the diff between a 280 and an 06.

Dober

xactly....

Tinfoil, that was a good one..... I have been shooting some light load in her lately... 225gr TSX with 91gr of RL19 @ 3150fps....



Its a cupcake....

My current Montana battery is a 300 WSM and a 7-08. Both rifles have become favorites.

Recoil from the 300 WSM is surprisingly mild. I've shot a number of 30-06's that seemed to recoil more, even running pretty hot 180's.

In my 7-08, recoil is almost non-existent - almost 243ish.

For the weight, recoil is a very pleasant surprise in these rifles, IME.

DJ

Agree with Dober on the 300WSM MT recoil - very easy to manage if you're used to shooting other 300s or mediums with well designed stocks. If you want to tame it a bit more the 8400M 300WSM Classic adds some weight and reduces the recoil further.