Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Who has purchased a Kimber Caprivi? Your experiences thus far?

One of my friends just acquired a new Kimber Caprivi in 375 H&H, and he gave me a rundown on his experiences with that rifle after his first range session with it.

So I thought I'd ask about the experiences of our members who have also bought one of these rifles. (?)

AD

If you don't get the "American Hunter", there's an article with the Caprivi featured. Like any gun rag it goes a bit overboard on the positives, but the accuracy tests were impressive.

Allen,
I would be really interested to hear what your friend's impression of the rifle is, if you don't mind relaying that.

Dave

I really should have reported his initial results from the get-go, I suppose.

He's only fired his new rifle with the open sights at 50 yards, and he's gotten 2" groups at that distance that were 8" above POI. In addition, he had occasional extraction problems, in that the extractor would yank the fired case out of the chamber, and then the case would slip out of its position between the bolt face and the extractor, remaining there in the bolt raceway.

The barrel-mounted front sling-swivel base also slid loose (it sounds like it was sort of a compression-fit arrangement with the bbl.), and it was necessary to slide it back into position. Of course, it'll need to be soldered or wunder-glued in place at some point, I suspect.

I didn't get to shoot, handle, or inspect the rifle, but I've shot side-by-side and hunted with the man who bought it for 30 years (he got me started on the 375 H&H, for example), and believe me, this gentleman knows his rifles, and he knows Africa and what needs to go into a safari rifle.

That's why his initial results bothered me, leading me to ask about some of our members' experiences with this rifle. I'm not in the market for one, but I do hope to install a proven 6.5-20x scope on my friend's Caparivi 375 H&H, just to see how fundamental accuracy measures up. The rest of the problems aren't good, but they shouldn't be insurmountable or unfixable, either.......

AD

There's been other reports of serious problems on other boards with the Caprivi also. Not up to their nice 1911 .45 pistol quality from what I'm hearing ...

Thanks for the report. I've been curious about these rifles since their introduction.

I haven't had the opportunity to shoot one of these rifles, but I did own a Kimber of Oregon M89 BGR in .375 H&H.

I picked up a Shooting Times magazine at SHOT (Feb 2008 issue) which has a favorable article by Greg Rodriguez on the Kimber Caprivi. He does note that the rifle shoots good 3-shot groups, and then does poorly when the group size goes to five shots.

His average accuracy for five, five-shot groups was 2.22" at 100 yards with Win 270 gr FailSafe; 1.79" with Federal 300 gr Barnes X; and 2.12" with Federal 300 gr Trophy Bonded. He was getting groups as small as .493" to .536" for three shots, and speculated there was a bedding problem. (I would have thought it was barrel heat given the symptoms described). Scope was a Leup. VX71.5-6X24.

Greg has posted here, perhaps he will comment.

jim

Boddington has an on-line review of this gun. I will check to see if I can find it for you, but I am sure you can Google. He was very impressed with this rifle.

Allen
I bought one last year and have fired about 200 rounds. Iron site accuracy was about the 4" low. Due to my 50 year old eyes i removed the rear sight and bought a NECG peep which fits weaver bases i can shoot a 1.5-2" group at 50 yards. With a scope at 100 yards my groups were 1.5" for 5 shot groups. Probably more my limitations than the gun's. The gun feeds and ejects flawlessly and i have worked the action as fast as possible with no issues.This rifle will be going with me to Zim in 2009 for a buffalo hunt.
This is my 4th kimber rifle one of them was a lemon difficult feeding amd mediocre accuracy 3" groups at 100 yards i just returned it to Cabelas for a refund. One consistent theme about Kimber is quality control and poor customer service. I have never sent a rifle to them for service but have sent handguns and was happy with the response and the resolution.
I hope your friend resolves his issues it really is a beautiful rifle.
chris

Inconsistent quality-control seems to be an ongoing struggle with Kimber. Personally, I'm rather that they charge an extra $100-$200 per gun, if that's what it takes, just to ensure that they have the bugs worked out when they ship the rifles. Long-term, I suspect that this would offer the best rewards for Kimber as well.

Good rifles are about more than romance and imagery, and the great ones are all built from the inside-out. That goes for factory rifles as well as custom rifles........

AD

I have 4 Kimbers!!! I must be the luckiest guy in the world, they all shoot great. I will one day soon (hopefully) purchase the 375 and I expect no difference with it then the others I have purchased.

Allen,

I think they spent your QA budget on the wood. <---humor

The current NRA American Hunter also has a review by J. Scott Olmsted who took the rifle to Zim for buff. He reports excellent accuracy, and says he put about 600 rounds through the rifle.

He does note that you have to angle the 3.60" long loaded cartridges to fit through the action's 3.51" loading port, but also wrote feeding and ejection were flawless. I don't know how well the action ejects a loaded cartridge (say if you had to clear a failure to fire).

I didn't understand his description of the breeching: "The bolt is machined from premium solid bar stock. Its twin opposed forward locking lugs rotate into raceways in the chamber to make an incredibly strong joint." I need a picture of that chamber!

jim

You know the best most affordable rifle going right now in my opinion is the one made by Montana Rifleman. It's truely heavy duty flawless example of a Pre64 Model 70. Blue or stainless in any cartridge you want.

I used one of these that a customers brought over a few years ago and was very impressed. Since that time, I bought a rifle from them and it's simply perfect. If you like the model 70 then this is like a custom made version.

I had mine built stainless, with a very deep crown. Then sent it to James Borden for a Rimrock synthetic stock, my all time favorite synthetic stock, best checkering of synthetic material in the business! After that off to Roguard for the Nickel Teflon interior finish, and Roguard exterior. They did the Leupold Dual Dovetail rings and bases as well. Added to that a 3.5-10VXIII with the B&C reticle and it's just as nice a rifle package as you can find. It shoots just a hair over an inch at 200 yards, and I have shot lots of times with two holes touching at 200 yards.

I've got no business with these folks, I just thought I should share the good success with this product. If you really want a true 100% custom made rifle that you can afford this is the best option going right now.

Allen Sorry for the diversion from the original question, Just tossing out options for anyone interested.

jjhack,

sounds like a sweet rig for sure.

I ordered one of the new 458 Lotts after seeing it at Dallas Safari Club back in January. THey said to expect delivery some time aroung mid year.

At the price of the Caprivi(and with the myriad Kimber QC problems floating around)I'd be looking hard for a pre 64 in that caliber.

I recently picked up a M70 classic Safari Express in 375 H&H; seems to be an early one judging by the serial number.Only two range sessions so far, but 3 shot groups stay at an inch, and the rifle functioned flawlessly through 3 rapid fire sessions. Time will tell.

The Caprivi looks like a very nice rifle; but at $3k, it should not have the issues Alan's buddy encountered. That is very basic stuff that I would expect to be "right" out of the box.

Jim,

The test rifle impressed me enough that I bought one of the first production guns. I just finished testing it with a few factory loads and found it to be very accurate. It shot right around a half-inch with 300 gr. Barnes and TBBC loads, and was reliable and problem free when I worked the bolt smartly during offhand shooting. I am probably going to use it on a lion this season.

I just ordered the Caprivi and will keep you posted. However, this post may be long gone before I get it due to the 4-6 week wait.

Let me give you the run down on my Kimber experience thus far. I couldn't be more irritated with this company or more concerned about their quality control.
I bought the .375 H&H Caprivi and shot about 30 rounds through it, at which point the barrel band came loose. I was getting 1 inch groups at that point. Sent the rifle back to Kimber to fix the barrel band. When it finally returned, barrel band looked good but groups at 100 yards were now 2 to 3 inches. Noticed that the stock was now impinging on the right side of the barrel. I had a master stockmaker work on the stock until the barrel floated again. But I was also having increasingly frequent misfires. Tried different ammo, but no improvement. Noticed the primer indentation was quite shallow. I had two local gunsmiths look at it. Both agreed the firing pin protrusion was adequate, but they both found that the headspace was wrong in the chamber. The no-go gauge goes just fine, with slop in the bolt.
Here's what really hacks me off: after screwing around with this gun for months trying to work out the bugs, my African safari is rapidly approaching. I only have 3 weeks to go before I board a plane for Namibia. After spending $3000 on a rifle, no one should have to deal with such shoddy workmanship. I'm interested to see if Kimber can make this right before I leave.

MSK07,

Welcome to the Campfire.

I agree with your opinion, and hope you get it working for you...jim

You're between rock and hard place. Rather than gamble on a rifle that you already have low confidence in, get another right now. I think the Ruger RSMs are likely the best pick of the production litter, and are quite likely to work and keep working. You will likely make a deal w/ a reputable dealer on phone, pay by card, have it next day shipped to your dealer.

Then mount your scope securely, and go shoot a bunch in the remaining two weeks before your trip.

That sounds like good advice.

Landrum

if it is the same article that was in american rifleman make sure to read it carefully... you will notice they only tested the gun for accuracy with 300 gr bullets since the 270gr bullets did not group well at all.... the writer even commented about this but stated "I did not do thatn on purpose" which I find hard to believe... they would never trash a major advertiser... even if they needed it.

had two kimbers.... both had to be sent back to make them work.. then neither would shoot better than 2.5" @ 100 yards... I know a lot of guns love them and get good ones... I have not. I really love the montana but after being bitten twice with serious quality control issues I now stay away from them. (which is sad since I think the weight and design of the montana is about perfect)

MSK07,
That is terrible. Just like cars, we get a lemmon now and again. I would look for another rifle for this trip. Either borrow one are like suggested purchase another. I have a couple pre64 375's if you want to borrow one. That is a shame that you buy a semi-custom gun and it falls apart on the bench. If I were looking for a new rifle I would look hard at CZ. GOOD LUCK.

TexasMark,

Very generous. If I were still living in Texas I'd take you up on the offer to borrow a .375 from you. As it stands, the Kimber Caprivi is with UPS on its way back to New York. I'm hopeful that they'll get it back to me in time to mount the scope and sight it in again before I leave. But I realize that's overly optimistic.

"The Caprivi looks like a very nice rifle; but at $3k, it should not have the issues Alan's buddy encountered. That is very basic stuff that I would expect to be "right" out of the box."

Absolutely. I would not tolerate such shabbiness in a rifle costing three grand.

MSK07 - I have had two Kimbers; a 260 Montana that wouldn't shoot, extract or feed that I got rid of quickly and a 7mm-08 that is a dream. Quality seems to be inconsistent from all I've read.

From your point of view, I would not take this gun to Africa without being able to thoroughly test it. I don't believe you have time to get this done before your trip. Time to implement a disaster plan so your expensive trip is not in jeopardy. Sorry about your troubles!

Welcome to the 'Fire

I played with one that a friend had me glass bed, tweek and sight in for him..It was a nice rifle but for the price I think one would be better off with a custom rifle for near the same money. but I tend to be faithful or prejudice, take your choice, to the pre 64 and the custom Mausers.

...............Agree with you here! For $3k, no rifle should have the issues that I`m reading about here on this thread. With all the components involved, maybe a big percentage of that money might be wrapped up in that beautiful wood?

The Caprivi is one beautiful rifle. But apparently underneath that beauty, linger the possiblities of a few issues that need to be addressed by Kimber, which may have been overlooked by Boddington in his initial review.

I`ll take an uglier and far lesser expensive rifle that`s more accurate, more reliable, that has no issues.

The Caprivi is new and the MSRP is $3K. The Ruger RSM rifles have been around a decade. I've seen used, but not abused, RSM rifles for half of what their asking for a Caprivi.

Just something to consider...

..........I know and can relate to you!! I bought my 375 Ruger Alaskan/matte for $821 in `08 and haven`t done a darn thing to it other than to reload for it, hunt some hogs with it (will hunt moose, bison and big bears later), and go to the range and shoot it. I have yet to read where any 375 Ruger Alaskan owner has been disappointed with its accuracy.

It`s not pretty, but it is very durable for field use. Although I don`t, most dislike the Hogue stock and many of my reloading combos shoot moa with extremely good chrony`d velocities, and it handles great in the field as well. At $821 or 27% of the price, it`ll do the same things just as well as any $3K, 375 H&H Caprivi.

But as they say, to each his own. I prefer the less pretty, but very durable, reliable and accurate rifles.

As follow up... I talked with Kimber customer service on the telephone today to confirm that they received my rifle via UPS for repair, and I reminded them that I'm leaving for Namibia on September 7 and would like my rifle back several days in advance of that date. The customer service representative (I won't mention her name) berated me for not sending them the rifle sooner and avoiding the need to rush the repairs. I just about came unglued. I reminded her that this was the second time my rifle has had to be returned to Yonkers, New York to fix flaws that never should have left the factory. She did acknowledge that the barrel had been replaced when they fixed the barrel band the first time around; whoever did that obviously didn't check the headspace in the chamber appropriately before sending the rifle back to me. I've been struggling for months, trying out different ammunition, changing to different primers in my handloads, changing from a quick detach scope mount to a fixed scope mount, floating the barrel, all to fix the accuracy and misfire issues, only to find out the headspace is wrong after having two gunsmiths look at it. And Kimber has the right to criticize me for not being more timely about my return? How about Kimber apologize for screwing up my rifle when they initially fixed the barrel band? Yeah, I'd love an apology from Kimber.
No worries... I do have a very nice Sako .338 Win Mag that I will borrow from my Dad and take to Africa in place of the Kimber if they don't come through. The Sako is tried and true, having taken sheep, elk, and moose. I suspect it will do just fine on kudu and gemsbok.

What a mess!..........Hope you get it back in time.

MSK07: You're a patient guy,and I sympathize with you over these issues.Three grand is a lot of money to spend on a beautiful piece of junk that brings nothing but disapointment.I'd put up with that rifle for about 10 minutes after becoming aware of all these issues,even if I liquidated at a loss.

Problem for me is that I would never trust the thing no matter how much TLC it received from Kimber.

I'd be happier with, and more confident in, a Whitworth Express,a Ruger,or M70 in 375H&H.Or for $3000-$3500, I'd get a pre 64 M70.At least you know these rifles would work.

I've never seen nicer, more appealing design coupled with shoddy and inconsistent QC in any factory rifle than I have seen with Kimber rifles.

I agree, it will be difficult to trust this rifle, which is why I may leave it at home and take the Sako .338 instead.

But here's the latest in the Kimber saga:

Customer service called me today and attempted to blame me for the accuracy and headspace issue:

1. They accused me of allowing someone else work on the barrel, as they found Loctite on the barrel threads when they removed the barrel. I tried to explain to the woman on the telephone that Loctite had been used to mount the scope bases. The screw holes on the forward receiver ring for the scope bases do go fully through the ring and would allow a little Loctite to drip down onto the barrel threads. That's hardly equivalent to allowing another gunsmith to work on the rifle.

2. She also argued that the stock never should have been modified to allow the barrel to float, because the Caprivi is not supposed to be free floated, and that the stock work was the cause of the accuracy issues. I explained that the stock work was done because the gun has shot so poorly ever since it was returned from Kimber the first time. I further explained that even if the barrel is not supposed to be floated, no ebony tip on a stock should exert asymmetrical pressure on the barrel the way this one did. That's a fundamental of stock work. Do you really want the glue joint under that much stress?

Anyway, I suspect it's all smoke and mirrors; Kimber just trying to get out of having to stand behind their product by blaming me for the rifle's problems.

In the words of my wife: "Honey, you are never ever buying a Kimber again. Your next rifle should be a Jarrett."

If Headache were still around, I'd try contacting him right quick to get your rifle fixed properly....

.................Geees! I would find out who the big wheel is at Kimber and write a detailed letter to this person detailing everything in chronological order. If possible, go beyond whom you`ve been dealing with up to this point, possibly a warranty rep, supervisor, or even a person higher up the ladder than that.

If you`re going after non-dangerous game, your Sako 338 is just fine. You don`t need a 375 H&H anyway, let alone a rifle you cannot trust!

My buddy in northern Cal has a 375 H&H Ruger Magnum rifle, which is their $2K version. He bought it recently brand new and from the box, he hasn`t done anything to it. With reloads, his accuracy according to him, is always consistently at 1 1/2" and less, with no other complaints from him except for its weight which he expected anyway.

This ugly businees you`re getting from Kimber, is no doubt certainly frustrating!!

MSK:....Get out of it.....any way you can and get another rifle.

The alterations likely voided any warranty;so back and forth you go on the merry-go-round.Real headache;sorry you have gone through this for $3k...a guy would expect more from them.

Get a pre 64 or a M70 Classic,send the thing to Mark Penrod to go over and make sure it works; be happy.

MSK....I agree with Bob. A 338 will be more than enough gun for a plainsgame hunt. I have been taking my 300 H&H mod 70 made in 1937. It has been a classic hunt with a classic caliber. My wife hunted this last june with me and took zebra,impala and nyala with a 257 weatherby... all hit the ground dead! Mostly take a gun you trust and enjoy the trip.
MARK

That's a bummer. The rifle itself looks like a beauty but if there are problems like that floating about I think a fellow might be best served with something else.

I purchased a Kimber Caprivi in .458 Lott several years ago. I finally got around to shooting it at an indoor range a few weeks ago. It worked very well. Recoil was less than I had expected.
I fired four, five round groups of Hornady 500 grain solids offhand at twenty-five meters. The groups averaged between two and three inches. I was pleasantly impressed with the rifle and my ability to shoot it. I have a couple of handguns that I can shoot smaller groups with at that range, but I haven’t done any serious rifle shooting in a long time.
I was diagnosed with “diabetic retinopathy” fifteen years ago and sold all my big bores on the advice of my Physician. I had five rifles between .375 H&H and .500 A-Square. I kept my 10 pound .300 Weatherby and my shotguns. Five years ago, my “retinopathy” resolved itself, so I wanted another, milder, big bore. I didn’t need it-just wanted it.
I have read some horror stories about the Caprivi in the larger bores. Perhaps I will be lucky with this one.