Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Kimber Caprivi .375 H&H--Any Improvement?

A bunch of posts here and on AR from late 2008 and early 2009 detailed quality problems, service problems, and nasty customer service personnel problems with this rifle. Barrel bands coming off when it was shot, bad headspace, etc. on this $3000 rifle.

Trouble is, I went and looked at one at the local emporium and it is the slickest looking thing I ever saw (almost). Better yet, it seems to weigh about 8 pounds, not a ton and a half like the CZ and a lot of others. I would really like one. About the only alternatives are the Model 70 Safari Express, which isn't released yet, and Ruger's .375 Ruger, and I'd prefer the H&H cartridge.

The guy at the gun store ordered 5 and has sold 4 quickly. He claims (based on other Kimbers) that his customers have gotten really good customer service, better than most other makers.

Does anyone know if Kimber has gotten their act together? Perhaps the poor reports were just startup pains.

just wait for m70 of new or look for a post 64 al lot are on gun broker

A bad Kimber? hard to believe but I've only owned four.

The CZ is still the 375 H&H and since it's not a mountain rifle, the weight is hardly an issue.
Any pre 64 70 will cost a ton and has a horrible kicking stock, the push feeds were not much and the "new" one will no doubt cost more that a CZ and has that stupid new complex trigger.

700s also work well and are reasonably priced. Word on the street is that Savage will build you one as well. Brownings and SAKOs are also fine guns.

My opinnion on most of the high dollar mass produced so called custom rifles is that there sure are a lot of really good custom gunsmiths,many right out of school, that can build you such a better rifle for the same money and many for less if you search them out...I see a lot of plastic stocked rifles and laminated stock rifles out there bringing upwards of $10,000 and that tells me that W.C. Fields was right, there is a sucker born every minute and there are those who value everything by the amount they pay for it...

It just does not cost that much to build a composite rifle stock or a laminated stock, and the cost of a blank for either is zilch, they don't cost like a piece of exhibition Circasian walnut does, and even that is another story..the cost of walnut really varys from maker to maker and from distributor to distributor...Walk carefully among the giants is good advise.

I've looked at a few of the Caprivi's...they are nice looking rifles,but for $3k a copy I'm looking for a pre 64 to restock,or a Classic to work over,or a great Mauser 98 even if they do end up costing more.

And any day of the week I would take a Whitworth Mauser 375H&H for a grand or so over a Caprivi.

Get a Ruger.

My Alaskan (375 Ruger) shoots great and was 1/3 the price.

BMT

Quality control aside, I would hate paying Kimber Caprivi money to get an action that looks like a Model 70 but when it comes out of the stock you have a Rem 700 including the washer recoil lug.

Only ran one Caprivi through the shop so far...and it hasn't come back.....

That said, our experience has been "Kimber Roulette"....

When you pay $3000 for a rifle, you shouldn't need customer service...

JMHO....


Ingwe

INDY......I would be patient and just wait on the model 70 Winchester period!!! You already know, it is the PH's dream to own such a rifle and it just doesn't get any better in working ability with all the bells & whistles factory installed.

I too saw a nice looking Kimber the other day in the gun-room of the store I do business. However, all of my big bore rifles are indeed model 70 Winchesters and I have never had a problem one with any of them from the day I took them out of the box.

I have turned a couple into other calibers and still have never had a problem with any of those rifles. Go with a track record, Winchester and you will still have a dime or two to spend on ice-cream later down the road.LOL

Yeah but you have not had one with the "new" trigger either.

Have you tried one. It looks OK from the pictures but still no sear engagement adjustment.

From the drawing it looks basically like the old system but the sear no longer rests on the trigger piece. Will it take triggers like the Jewell or is the mounting changed....it looks as if it might take the aftermarket triggers for the older M70

And especially since the Kimber is a copy of the M70 and a cheap half copy at that.

I absolutely loved kimbers, their look was second to none. The French Walnut with ebony tip for some reason said buy me at every gun store I went to. I purchased the .300wsm, .270 wsm, .243 and the .375 H&H. All the guns but the .243 went back to the factory due to the wood contracting and expanding. Their customer service was great! As for the .375 this rifle is not floated, and therefor the expansion of the stock wasn't that critical. However, when I first reported my problem to Kimber they thought that the barrel should be floated and mine was not. After 6 weeks and a new barrel Kimber admitted to me that it was in fact not supposed to be floated. Nevertheless I got a new barrel with no explanation of why. A few months later with a box of sample loads from superior the best groups I could get where 2.5" at 100yds. Long story short I sold a gun that had been shot a total of 30 times for 2k and was happy to get rid of it. As for the rest of my kimbers I still have the .243 and a montana .204 the rest have been sold. I just dont have confidence in their product at that price range! I do think that they look good though.

CZ-USA is advertising they have a Express Rifle custom shop in Kansas City. I'd bet for the $3K or less someone could have a rifle built exactly how they want.

Just curious -why wouldn't you consider a guaranteed accurate Sako 85 in one of their many permutations for about half the price? My 375H&H Sako 85 is the finest factory rifle I have ever owned - nothing else comes close.

BCBrian

Which model 85? The Kodiak? Is the 85 really a "controled feed"? Similar to a Mauser type CF?

I think it is generally off the agenda because not the Mauser style exractor CRF bullshit.

Although I have always just loved M70 375 and have owned heaps of them the best 375s are the Sauer, HS Precision and Wby Mark V. The Mark V is a super reliable feeder and with the long magazine. The Sauer and HS Precision have the vertical stack in line feed and nothing beats that for reliability or smoothness.

I'm looking at a nice Stainess camo A Bolt for under a grand.

Mike378

Sako advertises it's model 85 Kodiak as a CRF rifle. That's why I'm asking BCBrian about it. I appreciate CRF for dangerous game rifles. But only one my four rifles, a 30/06 Mauser, has that feature.

It is totally "controlled-round feed".

Upside down, right-side up, left-side up and upside-up.

Not only is the feed totally controlled - it's slicker than goose you-know-what. So's the trigger.