Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Who owns or has tested a Kimber Montana Model 8400?

I was at my favorite country gunstore yesterday and purchased one of these in 300 WSM, complete with Kimber scope bases and several varieties of factory ammo to start the ball rolling with. This is a nice looking, seemingly well-made factory rifle that should be fun to work with. I was really impressed with the quality of the stock, action ("C" ring Mauser!), balance, over-all concept, fit, and finish. I love the classy, unobtrusive scope bases as well!

Man, do I hope it shoots.............

The dealer I bought it from wasn't too excited about the threaded bolt handle attachment method, but my feeling is that I'd rather have a threaded bolt handle that stays on, rather than a brazed handle that might pop off.

Somehow, I'll have to find or make a bore guide that fits this receiver, because all of mine are too large. Perhaps I can get a smaller diameter sleeve from Stoney Point that will work.

So who has worked with one of these rifles so far?

AD

Allen, I have no experience with this rifle. The darn things are all wrong handed. So I guess my reply is in regard to the bore guide. Give Sinclair a call and have em build you one. Dewey also makes a guide that might work.

Chuck

Allen,

I just bought one two weeks ago for local moose hunting. I put the Leupold 2.5X Ultralight and Talley and came up with 6.6 pounds.....It required no break-in to immediately shoot sub-MOA with Federal 180 TBBCs...no moose in the freezer yet but it's delightful to carry ....recoil is very moderate for this light of a rifle.

I sure hope it shoots too! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />

I got one of the first ones that came out in the fall of 2004. Mines a 270 WSM. I like the rifle but not the bases so it has the steel Talleys on it now. Mine has never been super accurate but it stays sighted in.

My trigger has a intermitant creep even after adjusting it and putting moly powder on the sear.

I shot some coyotes and deer with it. After shooting it almost every week and maybe a thousand shots I am attached to the rifle but the trigger needs attention. I was going to take it apart myself but I think that I will drive it down to Yonkers next week.

The feed ramp on mine is steep but the bolt and feeding have become quite good. At first the feeding was abrupt but now I am used to it.

The combs on Kimbers are very high. Keep this in mind when selecting the ring height.

Good luck.



The old picture shows it with the factory bases, Leu extension rings and a 3-9 Conquest.

Mr. Day,
Call Mike Lucas at 803-356-0282(after 6 P.M. Eastern Time) and tell him what you need(Action, Chambering, and Cleaning Rod Make & Diameter). They run $35.50 with the insert, however, the are the best of the best. He will ship the guide to you with an invoice. When you find that it fits properly and you are satisfied drop a check in the mail.

The only downside to a Lucas Bore Guide is that you'll not be satisfied with anything else. Especially for those Echol's Legends...

Mike Lucas, (803) 356 0282
225 Browns River Road
Lexington, SC 29072
email: LUCASMJB@nuvox.net

Regards, Matt.

AD for what it is worth the last 3 that I worked with fed extremely poorly. Like Sav99 said the feed ramp is at a very steep angle.

The 3 that we worked with fed so poorly I just couldn't believe a company would send them out.

Nice feeling rifles, some good stories about their accuracy. If your's feeds and or can be made to feed the way they should then I believe you'll be allright.

Vern is the one you bough a wood stock or African Walnut?

Good luck

MD

by the way I just can't believe you went this way, who knows maybe I'm next.....

Matt, thank you so very much for that referral. I'll call on those bore guides this coming week. Beautiful looking product!

Mark, I bought some Federal and Winchester factory ammo, and I did conduct some feeding tests. The Federal ammo tends to want to bind and seize on the way up out of the magazine, particularly the first round. Winchester ammo feeds noticably better, and I'm going to take some case measurements to see why.

AD

I bought Brads and I haven't been able to shoot it yet. Just too hot here in AR right now.
They will not feed as smoothly as a broken in .270 like my Sako but I am getting more used to them. I also bought a 7 WSM Classic from DJ. I'm sure y'all have seen the target pics <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />. It shoots great and feeds a little better than the .300 but I'm sure it's been shot more. It will hold 5 shots under an inch with 140 Accubonds at 3280 fps. Thats as good as I can hold.
Oh yeah, mine closes over a round loaded straight in to the chamber with no problem, some have stated they wouldn't. Mine has the Talley lightweight rings and a VX 111 2.5-8.

SakoLuvr, I'm glad to hear that it's shooting good for you, I miss that rifle. I've had 3 others (still have 2) and both shoot as good or better and since I've already been made fun of I'll not repost the pics.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />..
Allen, obviously they aren't going to be as refined out of the box as your Legends are, but mine haven't needed too much tuning to smooth out. I like to work the bolt back and forth a few hundred times while watching TV or something and it seems to really smooth things out. About 2 minutes with a Dremel and cratex burr will smooth the ramp up a bit. If I were going to recommend to you a Caliber I would think you might enjoy the 270 WSM. I've shot a couple others other than mine and the 270 WSM seems to be a very accurate round and would give you a little variety over the fine 300 Win Mags that you already own.
I would also recomend that you use Talley Rings instead of the Factory mounts on a 7 WSM to 300 WSM. The factory mounts seem OK on my 270 WSM but I felt much more secure with the Talleys on the 300's.
As you all know I really love the 8400's, if you can find one with a nice stick of wood on it I'll bet you'll enjoy owning one too..................DJ

Mark,
I bought the Stainless/Kevlar.....I've been loading/unloading a few times a day just to test feed etc.....thus far, I have had no feed failures and the feeding is getting smoother. The trigger is a bit heavy at 4+ pounds but very crisp and clean....I'll probably get it lightened up a pound or two after season....

I couldn't resist DJ, but someone else might be new and not seen your pics. Keep posting them, it makes me happy every time I see what a good shot can do with one.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Allen--

I apparently have the same rifle as you do, walnut stock, etc. I had to tweak the bedding in mine (it was sort of in-between free-floating and full-bedded, so free-floated it). The feeding is OK, in my experience about average with a CRF chambered for one of the short-fat magnums. I suspect you will find the problems with some ammo are caused by the particular bullet.

Mine shoots very well, in the limited testing I have done so far, but the barrel fouls like crazy. This will lessen as the rifle goes through the shooting/cleaning cycle a few more times (especially cleaning with JB). I have shot other Kimber barrels that fouled a lot less, a few that were more like this one.

MD

MD, I bought the synthetic-stocked, 'Montana' version.

I'll break the bbl. in very carefully and see how it fouls. It's funny how certain bbls. foul like crazy, while others don't. I have 24" Kreiger bbls. on matched pair of 338 Win. Mag. rifles I own, both of which were thoroughly broken-in when new. One of them fouls like crazy and delivers about 50 fps. more velocity with the same loads compared to the other bbl., which fouls minimally. The first bbl. may be tighter than the other, which could account for the difference in velocity, as well as the fouling, I'm not certain.....

I bought this Kimber 8400 for the fun of it and to gain some experience with the 300 WSM, and especially as a foul-weather blacktail deer, Roosevelt elk, coastal blackbear, and goat rifle. To keep with the "new & different" theme, I installed a Leupold 2.5-8x VX-III with the B&C reticle, plus a 'Montana' rifle sling.

That sling is really nice, by the way, and I love the 'Titan' sling swivels that come installed on it.........

AD

Here are pictures of the feed ramp on an early Oct. 2004 Kimber 8400 Montana in 270 WSM. The ramp is steeper than a M70 Classic in 7mm WSM and the feeding is more abrupt but it works.

Allen, I anxiously await your observations after you've shot a few rounds down range. A mutual friend from Montana considered the recoil a little rude. I can't help but think he might have a case there.

Chuck

I had one come in to rectify feeding problems. It was not a real difficult fix ( about 3 hours worth). Customer reported accuracy as quite good. I felt the rifle was, by and large, pretty nice but excessively priced for a rifle which didn't feed. GD.

I have a Montana in 300 wsm that feeds flawlessly it is a later
model so maybe they have rectified feeding problems at the
factory.

Sakoluver,

Your Kimber + scope is what my next tax return is destined to become.

I have the 8400 in 270 WSM with a S&B 1.5-6 scope mounted. The rifle is very accurate and consistent, trigger had a bit of creep but I adjusted it to 3.5 lb and it is working great. The rifle feeds well, and handloading has made it a shinig star when fed a diet of 140gr Accubonds, the factory 150 PP also puts them into an inch or less. Great carry rifle that will going with me to Saskatchewan this year.
bigbull

I took the Kimber out this morning for its first range test and break-in, shooting it alongside my favorite custom Model 70s in 300 Win. Mag. and 338 Win. Mag.

In a nutshell, the trigger and safety on my Kimber is very, very good, and there would be absolutely no benefit in reworking the trigger or retiming the safety. On my rifle, the trigger/safety system is exactly where it needs to be, and I'm happy to say it came this way right from the factory. The shape of the trigger lever itself is well thought-out, and aids significantly in trigger control.

The stock is well-shaped, but it's rather slippery and it would benefit greatly from some molded-in checkering. But the stock is extremely well-made and sturdy, complete with pillar-bedding, and I'm not sure if a better synthetic stock is available on an off-the-shelf production rifle today.

Since it's light and kicks a bit, I named this rifle 'Snotty' after the first three shots, and you really have to hold on to it front and back for best results. I found that accuracy and shootability (off the bench) was best if the forend was on the front rest just ahead of the front sling stud.

Feeding isn't the great, and I believe Kimber needs to continue to develop the magazine box/follower system for this rifle. They have NOT arrived yet with the current system.

The action itself is really delightful though, and it has that smooth, bank vault-type feel and sound as a good Mauser 98. It's a well-made receiver and bolt in every way, although I must say, I'd rather see a bolt-sleeve latching system that's similar to the Model 70 or current Dakota instead of the Kimber's ball-bearing detent. I do love the Kimber bolt release: It's simple, functional, handy, practical, and good-looking.

After getting the scope sort of zeroed and after break-in, I tested for accuracy with two Federal factory loads, one with 180 gr. Nosler Accu Bonds, and the other with 165 gr. Nosler Partitions. Even with a warm barrel, the 180 Accu Bond load produced a 3-shot 1.0075" group at 100 yds. and with a very warm barrel the 165 gr. Partition load produced a very satisfactory 5-shot .9370" group, which just ain't shabby!
You can bet that when I start handloading for Snotty, I'll start with Nosler 165s.........

As far as I'm concerned, Snotty has a place in my hunting battery. For what I think is a reasonably-priced production rifle that's practical, shootable, portable, well-made, tough, weather-resistant, accurate, and potent, you'd have to go a long way to find a better rifle for the money.

I've tested and owned custom rifles that cost a whole, whole lot more than this little Kimber Montana but some of them weren't anywhere near as good............

AD