Author Topic: Recent Kimber Hunter HS accuracy??? (Read 1538 times)

greer · « **on:** April 11, 2004, 11:06:46 AM »

After being a little dissapointed in an earlier HS that I owned I was wondering how the more recent rifles were shooting. I liked the way the rifle felt and was considering giving another one a try. I'm shooting a Cooper 57 now that shoots pretty good but ejects terrible. The trigger is positioned a little awkwardly also. Thanks. greer

jbeckley · « **Reply #1 on:** April 12, 2004, 04:02:11 PM »

I have an earlier model HS and it really shoots, but I was one of the lucky ones. There were at least 4 people who shoot in Phoenix, who bought a Kimber after I did and they were not thrilled. I would pass. Jim

Turkey Popper · « **Reply #2 on:** April 13, 2004, 12:52:41 PM »

I purchased a HS about 2 1/2 years ago. It did not shoot as well as I liked so I sent it back to the factory. They turned it around quickly and it now shoots extremely well. With the right lot of Lapua MultiMatch, it will shoot well under one inch at 100 yards. Two other members of our club have purchased the HS rifle since that time and have had good luck. I watched one of these gentlemen shoot a 34/40 and a 35/40 last August (he used the HS for both the hunter and standard rifle matches that day).

I also have a Kimber SVT that I use as my standard rifle (had Briley add a barrel extension tube and weight). It was bought a couple of months after the HS. It shoots even better than the HS (My best score with it is a 36/40 a couple of weeks ago).

I have shot and briefly owned a 1710. I think that the trigger on the HS is better than the 1710 and I like the stock configuration much better for offhand shooting. The 1710's are not without their problems. I started with that rifle but after having problems with two of them, I gave up and went to the Kimber.

I guess that there are no guarantees with anything but I think that you will be happy with the Kimber HS.

greer · « **Reply #3 on:** April 13, 2004, 04:30:27 PM »

Thanks to all for the replies. I was hoping the later Kimbers might average a little better accuracy than earlier ones. Also the recent rule changes regarding the smallbore hunter class will allow me to take the comb down enough to clear the cleaning rod. That's another thing that I didn't like that I remember. We have owned 1710's,1712's, old 54 Sporters, Sako's, Rem.541's, Ruger's, etc. and the Kimber HS felt better than any on the shoulder. Mine just wouldn't shoot all that great.

Turkey Popper, we are headed to Jacksonville ,FL. this weekend for the Sunshine Classic. Are you going? My wife and I try to make that match every year. Hope to see you at a match sometime. greer

Turkey Popper · « **Reply #4 on:** April 14, 2004, 01:51:03 PM »

Greer,

Due to a busy spring/summer, the only big match that I will make this year is the Southern Nationals/LA State Championship. Go slow on taking the check piece down. This is one feature that I really like. I have hit it a few times with my cleaning rod handle but that is a small price to pay for having a high check piece. When I first got these rifles, I was determined to keep them in perfect shape (no dings). The first ding in the stock was from the cleaning rod and there are now other handling marks. I finally gave up and came to the conclusion that these rifles will be handled a great deal and the stocks will get dinged.

I very much like both my Kimbers and plan to keep them for a very long time. I think that they will take me as far as I can go in this game.

John B. Stokes

Bald Barry · « **Reply #5 on:** April 14, 2004, 04:20:55 PM »

I bought a Kimber HS about a year and a half ago. It was made in Younkers. The first thing I noticed was unreliable ejection. Most of the time the empties just dribbled back into the action. Sent it back to the factory and then it ejected successfully about 85% of the time. But the feed stroke was really rough. Took about a case and a half of ammo to smooth out. But now the ejection is getting weak again. It also had a nasty habit of driving the top round in the magazine back down inside the mag. It did it in a match once and it took two people to extract the mag from the rifle. But the most maddening thing about it is the cold barrel flyer problem. I tried several brands of ammo and thought I was cracking up before I talked to other HS owners who said the same thing. I got a kit from Midway Arms and fire-lapped it. That helped a little but the problem persists. One owner out here says it takes as many as five rounds to stabilize. After you warm it up, it shoots OK (just about an inch at 100 yards with Wolf Match Target and just under with Eley black box). Unfortunately you can't shoot "warmers" at matches. Building .22LR rifles that shoot well and function reliably is not rocket science. Folks have been doing it for what, a hundred years. Why can't Kimber figure it out? I don't think I will buy any further products from Kimber. Hope that answers your question.