Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles How old is your Kimber Montana?

Just picked up my first Montana, a 30-06. The serial no. Starts with 0 so I’m assuming it’s an earlier made model. Does anyone know how the serial no. Corresponds to date of manufacture and any specific things to know about differences in date of manufacture?

Barrel manufacturer is probably the biggest change over the years. Some material differences in the stocks I think as well?? but hold the same shape.

Bergara and criterion have made the majority of kimbers barrels post 2014. To check which barrel you have. Look at the breech face, with the bolt open/removed, at the extractor cut and you’ll see a stamped B (Bergara), C (Criterion) or nothing (Kimber).


If you have any issues with your rifle, there are lots of threads on here covering everything there is to know about kimbers. MCMXI was an engineer with Kimber so anything he has posted about them is fact.

Call Kimber customer service after the Holiday. Give them the serial number and ask and ask them when it was made.

I got a used one late last year. My serial number is 042xx range.. Mine was made in January of 2014. It has a U.S. Kimber made barrel.

The rifle was in great shape when I got it and it functioned well. I went over everything as per the Kimber "pre flight check" listed below FWIW, those are things which I have long done to almost EVERY factory rifle I expect to get good accuracy from for the last 35 years so I really did not mind doing so to the Kimber.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt.../10774365/Kimber_Montana_Bedding_And_Pre

I gave it a shakedown cruise my first range session with some inexpensive factory stuff just to see how it shot. I only shoot groups of three relatively quick shots due to the thin barrel. I let it fully cool down between groups. It is a HUNTING rifle after all and I want to mimic how it will be shot in the field. My 30-06 Montana weighs 6.5 lbs all up with scope and is the lightest '06 rifle I have ever owned. The stock fits me very well but due to the light weight , you really have to get your technique down to be consistent with the rifle.

Before bedding the gun was shooting around 1.5 MOA with the cheap factory ammo.. I was not too worried because based on my experience most low end factory 30-06 ammo is not very well made IMHO. Handloads WILL outshoot most of it pretty easily.

The bedding on the Montana stock was was neatly done , but I wanted to make sure the action was perfectly bedded. So, I glass bedded the action and barrel shank as per factory specs AND and sanded out the rest of the barrel channel a bit more ahead of the barrel breech to make sure it floats 100% of the time.

After I bedded the rifle , it shot the 150g Hornady American Whitetail loads into less than 1" consistently. My first three shot group with a handload from the rifle at 100 yards is in the pic below. The load is a 168g Berger Hunting VLD over 51g Varget in full length resized Winchester brass with a CCI BR-2 Primer. That load will stay at or below 1/2 " for three shots in the gun if I do my part. It shoots as well as my cherished 1949 Pre 64 M70 Standard weight 30-06 s that weighs nearly three pounds more!

The Berger load will be great on deer and Antelope , but I mainly wanted the guns as a high country Elk rifle. My next step is to work up some loads with some Barnes LRX 175g slugs and Hornady 200 and 212 ELD-X bulets I have one hand with some slow burning powders like 6.5 Staball & RL -26.

Thanks for the info. I’ve only shot mine with a couple cheap factory loads. One went 2” the other 1 3/8”. Hope with hand loads it will shoot as good as yours!

In addition to practise and technique. A trigger job will also aid quite a bit with such a light rifle.

As with ANY rifle, the action bedding matters. Montanas are pillar bedded already, so I simply re- skim bedded the receiver /barrel breech area. I also adjusted the trigger to a very clean 3 lbs.

One last note- the Kimber 84L rifles have a tight magazine length compared to other guns like long action Rem m700s etc. Anything over 3.350" inches will cause rounds to bind or missfeed .

I think I’m gonna lighten it to 2-2 1/2 lbs. it felt a little heavier than I like.

How many others have early made montanas that have worked well for them?

mine. It is a first-year-of-three pos safety. Maybe '02?

Is your 30-06 rifle an Kimber 8400 or an 84L? If it is an 84L , then it cannot be earlier than a 2010 rifle because that model did not come out until then.

I’m not sure what year mine are. But I’m not selling em.

Mine is an 84L

Anyone know what year they fixed the firing pin spring issue? This one has been fine so far. Primers look striked deep enough

I just picked up a brand new Montana in 308. The original version with the grey stock….without the muzzle break. I was ecstatic when I came across it. Couldn’t pay for it fast enough. Most on here rave about the stock design, but either it doesn’t fit me or the light weight knocks my teeth out. Probably a combination of both. I am becoming more recoil sensitive as I get older. That said, it is a wonderful feeling rifle with respect to balance and the feel in my hands. It will be going on down the road after two boxes of shells.

Try a 84L, feels much better to me than 84M
YMMV

No clue. Bought it as they stopped making them in 7-08 from Whittakers.

Grey stock. Gave the lug a proper bedding and it's been the best rifle I've ever owned since.

I am not sure of the dates of purchases. If I recall correctly all were bought prior to, or during Winchester’s out of business time frame.
My wife has a 7mm-08, no issues.
I have an unfired 338 Winchester. No issues as to feeding.
I have 2ea of the 325 WSMs. I think 1 is one of the very earliest production runs. It had a feeding issue. The other slightly newer production no issues.
In pure factory form with factory ammo, the 7mm-08 and both 325’s have grouped decently with allowing the barrels to cool between shots.

So far this one has functioned great

The receipt from my Montana 325 WSM says 02/11/06 . $999.00 . Dang good shooter too. MOA for three shots with most anything. Favorite load, IMR 4350 and a 200 Accubond . Took a moose in Canada with it and a Black Bear in AK with it. Now it belongs to my son.
Going to work up a load for it/ for him, with Vhitavouri N160 and Hornady 195 Interlocks. Accubonds to hard and/or too expensive. And I just bought an 8lb kegger of N160.

What scope and mounts?


I quickly learned I like the scope higher on the straight stocks of my Montana and Browns Precision Pound'r.

My Montana is 358win and my Pound'r is a m700 in 450 Bushmaster I run pretty stout loads from. Recoil from them isn't bad...the Montana is under 6lbs scoped. The m700 is just over.




I've been shooting both tuning hunting loads. It's odd that the kimber really wants held onto and the m700 doesn't seem to care.

Not holding onto the kimber makes it look like a shotgun. If I hold onto her, it's sub moa.


Not sure what year my Montana was. Gray stock non threaded barrel.

Did the usual. Slimmed down the mag height, bedded, tuned the trigger.