Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Kimber Montana 280ai or 300wsm?

Debating about whether to get an 84l or an 8400..

Calibers as listed in the title. Already have a 300wsm in an extreme weather and love the cartridge, but id sell the M70 if I got another 300wsm as I can't justify having two. That said though, I like the idea of the 280ai just for the cool factor, and having something different. Also less recoil is appealing.

I've had an 84l montana before in 270, as well as an 8400 in 300WM. Never handled a 8400 wsm though and I wonder how they compare in terms of handling?

Edited to add I already have dies/brass/everything to reload 300wsm so I would save some money by sticking with it.

What say you?

If you have a bunch of rifles, and just want another one, I would make the decision based on filling an existing hole. If you're looking for a big game rifle to use on everything from pronghorns and whitetails to elk, I would go with the .280 AI. There are no flies on the .300 WSM, though. I have been considering adding one in a Kimber Montana myself.

I can't get too excited about the magazine box restriction in a 84L. I'm not thrilled with the mag box in the 84M, but there wasn't an alternative like the Fieldcraft when I bought my short action Montana.

So my vote is the WSM.

Do you really want to be tethered to the absolute worst customer service in the world?

Kimber USA.........we suck at everything except marketing

I've had both. 280 AI would be my choice.

Are they worse than Beretta..........we are perfect and you are too small to matter?

Some object to the recoil of the WSM in a lightweight. One friend a former Ranger that has undergone sniper training developed a flinch from his Tikka 300WSM to the point he got a muzzle brake for it. Pretty close in weight to the Kimber.

My choice would be a 280AI and I would do it with the M70 action and spend the money on a nice light weight stock and good barrel. It won't be as light as the Kimber but you can get it down to around seven pounds which is light enough for most uses. If done by a good gunsmith chances are it will shoot really well.

I am mixed on Kimber since they stopped making the left hand models, so take it for what it is worth. If they made a Lefty and sold it as a receiver only then I would become a fan quickly.

I hear knitting is an inexpensive hobby...:)

For myself would be hard pressed to see a reason to go with the larger caliber & recoil for killing, considering the quality of today's components.

I would do .300 WSM and, since they're threaded now, add a Kimber's .308 brake if recoil is objectionable.

I had a .280AI in a Montana for a while and I didn't like the recoil. It was quick, jabby, and fairly significant. My rifle with Talley ringmounts and a Leupold 3.5-10x weight 6 lb 7.xxx ounces and I was pushing 160 grain partitions just barely over 3000 fps. That's not a pleasant balance. It's essentially a too-light 7mm mag. The other things I wasn't fond of was the long, spindly feel of the long action w/ 24 inch barrel. I think the short WSM action would help a little in that regard.

I would probably pick an 84L in .270 or '06 before I'd do the .280AI again. I like .280AI but I want a 7.5 pound rifle, not a 6.5 pound rifle.

Tom

My choice would be the 8400 WSM because I prefer the 8400 over the 84. For this comparison the 84L is slightly longer, and at 3/4 lb lighter there isn't a massive difference in felt recoil shooting typical loads for both and there's probably some overlap for certain loads. The WSM is 3+1 and the AI is 4+1 if magazine capacity is important to you. I prefer the weight, proportions, barrel profile, safety and bolt handle of the 8400s and have three of them including two 8400 Mag and one 8400 WSM. I've never owned an 84L but have shot a bunch, and the .280 AI would certainly be my choice in an 84L. We do have an 84M Montana in the family that I've shot a fair bit. I had one about six years ago that I sold but I bought an 84M Montana in .308 Win for my girlfriend a couple of years ago which she really likes and enjoys hunting with. Too bad you can't handle an 8400 WSM to get a better idea of how it feels. I put a 6.5 PRC barrel on mine recently and am really enjoying shooting it. It has less recoil than an 84L in .280 AI but very similar ballistics. The magazine well in the WSM is 3.030" long so it's not hard to get the bullet close to the lands, particularly with longer bullets. I'd be interested to hear what you end up choosing.

Some people shouldn't be allowed to use sharp objects.

The 280AI covers all the bases well. Noise and recoil are well below a 300 WSM without sacrificing too much of anything.

Agree on all counts, particularly if my wife wants to use the sharp objects...

The .280AI won't do anything that the 30-06 doesn't already do and it does it cheaper

I’ve had both - 280AI by a long shot.

30-06... too funny, unless you like shooting 200+ grains

My 300WSM, less in the mag, less room for longer bullets, more bang,

Thanks guys.

Firstly, I'm in Australia. The main thing about that is whilst Kimber USA may be crap to deal with, the Australian distributor of Kimber down here is excellent and always good.

I've got an 06 already, as well as a .270 in another M70. I don't really have a gap to fill as such, just more so an itch that I've wanted to scratch for a while in the form of the 280AI. Just trying to gather opinions about buying the WSM instead, as it would be a more economical option for me not having to buy brass/dies etc.

As for on game performance, I've down enough animals to know that they won't know the difference this side of 400 yards what rifle I hit them with. So it is somewhat of a null point. Both cartridges are perfectly capable.

280AI

The 8400 WSM Montana’s definitely fit me much better than the 84Ms or 84Ls.

As for recoil, the 84Ls I’ve shot (.280 AI and .30-06) both seemed harsher than either my 7mm wsm or the two .300s I’ve shot.

Those things considered, it’d be WSM for me all the way. I’m probably in the monority here though.

With 3.030" in the magazine (assuming you have an 8400 WSM) what bullet can't you shoot or what load requires more room due to "less room for longer bullets"?

300!!!

The 8400 MT stock is large. It has the pregnant guppy belly sans bottom metal. However, it handles recoil incredibly well. Really, in may ways better than the 84L stock. My complaint about the 8400 (and all MT's) is they don't have no.2 contours instead of the no.1's they come with. However, having had more than a couple 8400 WSM's going back to 2004, I can tell you the magazine is plenty long, and the 8400 feeds the WSM's better than any other non-single stack magazine rifle out there.

Not sure why you want to get rid of the m70 EW 300 WSM... if you want less recoil, the 8400 is not the route to go. And frankly neither is the 280 ai.

I've owned over 16 MT's... I'd suggest you get a 6.5 Creedmoor as a companion to your 300 WSM EW.

The light 280 ai MT kicks a fair bit... the Creedmoor, not so much.