Possibly due to weak firing pin spring......heard a few reports awhile back, anyone know the truth on this issue with Kimbers?
My 84M's firing pin is distinctly quieter than my M70's or Cooper M22 but I've not encountered any failures in a (on the order of) a 1000 rounds
no problems with ignition here with about 250 rounds in 2 differnt calibers
Mine always goes bang so far....
Not on mine. Where did these reports come from?
None of mine either. Ever.
_
No issues with one 84M and 2 8400s.
No issues with my 8400! Approximately 150 rounds so far.
No issues with my Montana and I bet I have around 250 down the tube.
The firing pin protrusion can be adjusted by the screw visible in the bolt shroud. Mine was light when I got it but I adjusted before I had any misfires. You might compare it to some of your other rifles and make sure it is enough.
Good luck,
TBP
I have had 2, and no misfires so far.
two flawless Montanas regarding ignition, probably 300 rounds between the two.
no problems with my montana
300 + rounds no misfires Kimber classic 300WSM, is your problem from reloads or factory?
I've seen it on one rifle. One misfire (of maybe 50 rounds fired). Round went off on second strike.
I have a Kimber Classic Select in .308 that I bought in December, 2006. During load development in 2007 I had no misfires and was very pleased with the accuracy of the rifle. I probably shot it about 100-125 times during this phase.
Opening day of our 2007 deer season I had a misfire but lifted the bolt handle to re-cock and tried again on same cartridge and killed the deer. A few days later I had this same thing happen again. This made two misfires in six rounds. (Temps were in the upper 40s or low 50s when the misfires occurred.)
I returned the rifle to my dealer and provided them some of my handloads as well. They opined that my loads were at fault. But they also said there was a fair amount of grease in the bolt and that there is some sort of adjustment to increase firing pin spring tension which they increased and cleaned the grease out of the bolt. They test fired the rifle and returned it to me and I've shot it a couple of times since without problem. (Since I got the rifle back it seems to my ear that the firing pin is falling harder.)
It is certainly possible that, as they said, my primers were not fully seated in the cases and that caused the problems. However, I have loaded several thousand rounds of ammo and have never had such a problem before so it strikes me as odd that it happened twice within six rounds without some sort of rifle issue being involved in the problem.
I really like the rifle and I plan to shoot it a good bit after deer season ends to try to determine if the problem is corrected.
I have a friend who bought a Montana model Kimber from the same dealer and he also had problem with his rifle misfiring on factory ammo. That rifle was eventually returned to Kimber and was corrected when it returned. However, as I recall, my friend was soured on the rifle by the experience and got rid of it.
I also have a Kimber varmint rifle in .204. I've shot this rifle 700 plus rounds (with my handloads) with never a misfire problem.
Bottom line, based on my limited experience, I think I've encountered the problem you mentioned but you probably shouldn't extrapolate a general rule from my limited experience.
I don't necessarily believe it's Kimber's fault. I've experienced it a few times with mine, but only in very isolated occurrences. I've lost count of how many rounds have gone through mine so far. Probably in the neighborhood of 300 - 350 rounds though. All loads that have gone through mine so far have been factory; no handloads whatsoever. I've tried many different makes/models, too, including Remington Core Lokts, Federal blue box, Winchester Super X, Federal Fusions, Federal Premiums (different varieties), Hornady Custom SST's, and Remington Premier Swift Scirocco's. None of the rounds that I have ever fired through my Kimber have ever failed to go off except for a few of the rounds out of the one and only box of the Remington Premier Swift Scirocco's I tried. Out of the 20 shells in that box of ammo, probably 25-30% of the loads misfired. Not only that, they have been the absolute worst rounds I have tried out of my particular rifle as far as accuracy and precision are concerned. And, as a result, I'll never buy another box of them again, either.
Again, none of the other rounds I have fired through mine have misfired; only about 1/4 or so of those Swift loads have. Me thinks junky cartridges the real problem............not a junky Kimber!