Thread: Kimber's Hunter model Pros/Cons

I've been offered a nice deal on a new Kimber Hunter model in 243 . . and its tempting the hell out of me - I haven't purchased a new in the box right out of the shop rifle for a long time!!

Anyhoo I've read up on them and there are plenty of Pro's to be noted (so don't really need any more of those) but how about the "cons" with these?? You know failure to feed/eject, breakages, POI walking, lack of options, wholesaler ambivalence etc etc - what issues have people struck with them??

Any other thoughts (especially from folks like @nor-west and others who try and keep me on the straight and narrow).

Thanks

Grab while you can it will be a couple of years before can again . From the horses mouth .

Only con I can think of, is that mine (84m in 7mm08) hates hornady superformance - like 5" groups at 100m. Everything else I've tried is sub MOA, and my hand loads shoot brilliantly.

Go for it.

Buy it, lovely rifles, sell off some of your others that do similar if you need to. Talk to Headcase he has one, lovely little mauser action almost like a modern Kurz.

Probably no cons except they are a bit heavier than the montana etc. However you can lighten by taking the gel out of the stock

The only con I had with mine in .308 was that it was too light....used to boot me to the degree that shooting it wasn't fun and its weight made it difficult for the longer-range shots. However, as the one you are looking at is in 243, the ultra-lightweight will not be a factor. Everything else was great although the action is not what I would call smooth....and the first round feed took a while to 'break in'.
If you buy it you'll just need to find a nice and light scope so as to not diminish the svelte, trim look Kimber rifles have.

Originally Posted by Gkp

Probably no cons except they are a bit heavier than the montana etc. However you can lighten by taking the gel out of the stock

Hah.....and I found it too light.

Originally Posted by Hermitage

Hah.....and I found it too light.

Lol, yeap you definitely need to hold on to the kimbers

@Tentman Pays to be careful inserting the mag as it easily damages the mag inlet of the stock. Round of the mag release mech edges. It has a crescent shape to it and the pointed ends can catch on things and drop the mag.

Love my 243 Kimber's
Great lightweight accurate little guns
Suppressed 243s kick very little and are easy enough to shoot accurately
Kimber's have awesome triggers and the mini controlled round feed actions are a work of art
Mine stacks 80gr Winchester soft point factory

Hmmm - I see the 243 is a 1:10 twist and another branch has a 6.5 Crudmoor for the same money with a decent 1:8 twist (and I have brass etc for both) so what to do?? @Bill999 I see you run a 243 one of these, what projectile do you use?? Thanks

Originally Posted by Bill999

Love my 243 Kimber's
Great lightweight accurate little guns
Suppressed 243s kick very little and are easy enough to shoot accurately
Kimber's have awesome triggers and the mini controlled round feed actions are a work of art
Mine stacks 80gr Winchester soft point factory

oops - messages crossed

I read elsewhere (don't know whether it's true) that the odds of getting an accurate Kimber have gone up sharply since 2014 when Kimber stopped fitting their own barrels and starting using ones from Bergara. Apparently they're either Bergara or Criterion barrels now, so marked by a small 'B' or 'C' in the extractor cut.

Yep beware of how you insert the mag. Get a spare one if you can. That is really the only cons about it. Mine (308)does not like hornady ammo. But stack the sierras on top of another. Rec