Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Should I Hill Country accurize a Kimber or sell??

I had a lead sled once for 5 days as well....rifles shot different off of them for me.

I have never understood the facination with Kimber. Every time I have an opportunity I pick one up and put it to the shoulder. Too light for me. It makes no sense unless you are climbing a lot. Heck I can carry a full size 12 gauge autoloader in the mountains of N.C. for spring gobblers all day long so weight is not an issue for me at least not right now. I know they are supposed to be great guns but they are too light and too expensive!

For what it's worth, I bought a $1400 Weatherby Ultralight in 257 earlier this year. It would not shoot. After burning lots of ammunition and barrel life, and losing what little hair I had, I called Hill Country and they said that in all likelihood they could cure it for $450. I was ready to do it, but then decided to take a chance with a local gunsmith. I looked over his should as he took the action and barrel out of the stock, and was shocked at the shoddy bedding job. The barrel touched the stock in multiple places, but none consistently. You could see points of contact at various places.

My gunsmith rebedded the action and free floated the barrel for under $200. The gun now shoots under an 1" at 100 yards with factory ammo.

I saved several hundred dollars, not to mention shipping costs, and several weeks. If I had it to do over again, the first thing I should have done was get the gun rebedded.

I like the weight of Kimbers, what bothered me is the stock design. I felt like the comb was too high, and I was looking down on the barrel, not inline with the barrel. Never tried one with a scope, so it might be fine, but it bugged me in the store.

Also, I have read a lot of posts on where light guns have to ride the bags...they make no sense. If the barrel is floated, it should make no difference where the gun sits on the bags. I have a mtn rifle, with a floated channel, and it shoots fine regardless.

Do you guys really want a finicky gun to use as a hunting rig? If you have to worry about where/how you hold it, how you look through the scope, what ammo it can shoot, it is not a good hunting rig.

They're made in America by Americans! grin

haha.... the mountains of NC...er... Hills of NC have are not even in the same league as the hills... er... mountains, out west. I hunt in Ga and WA state. Heck, I could pack a 50cal Barret around in GA, but out west. Well thats a totally differenct ball game. If you only hunt in NC, then you wouldn't understand. Heck, I don't even take a back pack with me in GA. But when I'm home in WA state I take one loaded up just in case I have to spend a couple unplanned nights in the mountains. East and West coast hunting is very different for the most part. And those things you call mountains in NC, we call bumps out west..

I have had bad experiences with HCR both with my own rifle and customer guns.

NC has mountains over 6000' a bit more than a bump although not the Rockies....

I spend more time in the Adironacks these days but my rememberences of NC and northern GA were there were some hills there that had 3000 feet of gain. I walked up 27 14ers and plenty of passes in the west and 3k of up is still 3k of up. I was mostly peak bagging but some hunting. In fact I find some of the footing in the east to be tougher, Wet leaves over rock is at least bad as the steep scree that I hated out west. Now one thing that the west has (or more correctly doesn't have)is air!!

How's that turkey gun with 130gr TTSX's?

Since they have no sights that's the way the stock is. It places MY eye right in line with the scope. What do you want to look at?



I don't think the floating has a darn thing to do with it. I believe it is a matter of bracing it. If I don't move it back where I can apply pressure to it I end up with an awful lot of muzzle flip. It's also right where my hand goes when shooting off-hand with it.



It's a fine line between finicky and perfect. I have a safe full of guns that all have their own quirks. For the money my Kimber is a great rifle, made in America, with a three position safety, a stock that fits me, accurate with the loads I shoot and it's light because I'm not getting younger nor are the hills getting less steep.

Marty ya got me! I keep trying to get them to grow on me because they are American guns. I know they are great but I just can't warm up to them. I guess that is why I am a Ruger, Winchester, Marlin, NEF, Mossberg guy.
Hey Jetjocky steep is steep and you better log a lot of hours on a stairmaster to keep up with me on our so call bumps!! You better eat your Wheaties too!

Probably about as good as that Kimber!!!

Docatcher,

The Montana and Talley LW low's work together like they were made for each other; the LOW Talleys are a little high, but the comb of the stock is perfect for that.

As to finicky... I can ring my 600-yard gong (elk vitals- sized) with my Montana from a bipod, from a sandbag WITH the fore-end held, from a sandbag WITHOUT the fore-end held, and I could drop a Partition into the chamber and ding it with just one more click of elevation.

It's not finicky.

Now to shoot the smallest possible 100-yard groups with the thing I have found that holding the fore-end works best, but for practical hunting scenarios, it's not real relevant even out to as far as 600 yards, which is a LOOOONG poke and further than I'd shoot at game anyway...

I say, Hill Country.

Im 50/50 with Kimber, .308 was sub moa out of the box, .260 was not. The .260 went to kimber and got the same answers pillpeddler got, 2" is fine.

I did a recrown, rebbed and on HCRs recommendation discovered the magazine well was not floating (missed it the first time and also missed by Kimber). Took it out so nothing was binding the bedding job and it shot much better. It wend to HCR fro a check up and they charged $40 for an inspection and another $40 to recrown, came back 3/4 moa with almost everything. I sold it because I had no confidence in it but I had buyers remorse before I even finished packaged it up to go to its new home.

It would SURELY be a 50/50 deal.

You make $50 & she'll spend $50 !

Sorry... The hills of N GA and NC are nothing like the mountains out the west. My wifes family is from the Blue Ridge mountains in Virgina. They call them mountains and I just laugh. Its fun to climb up them in the fall. A nice little climb, but nothing like the west. Its one thing to have 1 or 2 hills that reach 6000ft. It another all together to start at 4000 or 6000 ft and then climb from there. Ive never been above tree line on the east coast. As a matter of fact, Im pretty sure there is no mountains above tree line on the east coast. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to bash east coast hunters. I love white tail hunting in GA. Its just that the west is WAY bigger and way higher then anything the east offers. Besides, how often do you actually stock a deer on the east coast? Friggen leaves make it almost impossible. Its 90% tree stand hunting. I like tree stand hunting, but lets face it, your waiting for the deer to come to you. In the west, tree stand are all but non-existant. You have to actually learn how to stalk and hunt a deer or elk.. Its totally different hunting for the most part... BTW.. Ive never heard of, or seen a food plot out west. Unless you count farmers fields as food plots... Did I mention I love my HC accurized Kimber... Even over my pre-64 model 70 270...... Ya I know... I hope they have deer in hell...

Where I live hunting by tracking deer is pretty common. Its a traditional way of hunting whitetail where the country is large and the deer populations are thin. My grandfather called it "running them down" There is a vermont family well known for the technigue, the Benoits. Its a hard way of hunting but very rewarding.

As for the size of hills 3k of elevation gain is pretty much 3k of gain, except for some air density. Although colorado used to make me slow down a bit, I didn't think it was really much of an issue till about 13K and doesn't start to kick in hard till after 18K and if there is much hunting above 13K in the conus I sure don't know about it.

I made a good run at climbing all the 14ers before life took my time away and even did a number of the easier ones in the winter and I can pretty safely say they are no more difficult that most peaks in Whites or even the NYS High peeks.

It isn't just the mountains that make hunting out west tough, it is the gear you have to carry. I think my pack weighs about 30 pounds, not including gun. When you are miles from your rig, on the backside of a mountain, you have to be prepared. Not to mention carrying a spotter, and tripod. I use a modified frame pack. I want to make sure the first quarter comes out with me, no wasted trips.