Well I got the new Kimber up and running briefly today. Hotter than the hubs of heck,and busy to boot. I looked over several. Some were more more figured,but not in a way that I wanted. One 308 was quite nice in the wood department. Unfortunately the barrel laid hard to the left side of the channel,and wide on the right. I didnt want to have that to deal with right off the bat. So,this clear,straight grained one followed me home. Initial inspection didnt turn up any gremlins. I wish I would have turned down the trigger a little. It'll do for now. I took time to run three rounds through it. 165 gr Hornady boat tails printed right at 1" @ 100 yds. I hope with a little fiddling around we can improve on that a little. Rifle,scope and a single ply nylon web sling (more of a carrying strap) come in at 7.2 lbs. One thing that will likely change are the Leupold scope mounts. Talley light weights should get her down closer to 7 lbs. maybe a little less. She is nearly 2 lbs lighter than my Tikka T3 Hunter 7 mag. Liking that.

Nice rifle. They make some great looking rifles. Sounds like a great shooter as well.

I like that wood. It gives the rifle very clean lines.

Nice they seem to come in many different color variations.

Good looking gun, it's amazing how little they are fully loaded, scoped, and slung they come in less than most competitors weight naked.

It is amazing how svelte they are. I bought it with still hunting in mind. Save the heavier rigs for stand hunting. My m700 based 280AI build comes in at nearly 9 lbs. Not a deal breaker,but she gets mighty weighty by the end of deer season. I generally take bear season and both weeks of deer season off. Lots of toting the rifle around hill and dale. The one that was freaky light was the Mountain accent. Maybe too light.

I think you made a great choice. I bet O'Connor would love these rifles.

Nice I like that stock

The Kimber Montana gets a lot more discussion on the fire, but there's quite a few rifles with similar attributes from NULA, Forbes (RIP), Barrett, and others.

But in wood stocked rifles, there is really nothing like the Kimber Classic in an off-the-shelf rifle.

Great looking rifle Otter!

Beautiful rifle, sir.

Otter

Congrats ! !

ALL that matters is, you are HAPPY !!

Jerry

Good lookin' rifle!

I agree with your idea but I find it a little funny that you mentioned all the competition to the Montana that is really the same rifle.

Thanks all. Put a few through it this evening. 56 gr of IMR 4350 and a 165 A-Bond went three in .830". Getting her smoothed out.

Just saying that in stainless synthetic rifles there are a few choices that are around the same weight as the Montana.

I still prefer the 3-position safety and the CRF action of the Montana, and I like the price a lot better too.

But I don't know of any off-the-shelf wood-stocked rifles that match the weight and have the classic lines of the Kimber Classic.




Otter . . . .83 is a damn good start!