Author Topic: kimber of america quality  (Read 1506 times)

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Offline wofat

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kimber of america quality
« on: November 22, 2008, 04:27:13 AM »
any body have any info on there quality. I'm loooking for a new rifle. I'm looking for info on them and cooper firearms   thank's

Offline DC

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2008, 07:14:01 AM »
A couple of friends of mine bought them and had the chance to shoot one of them.  The trigger was wonderful and out of the box accuracy was sub moa.  Fit and finish was superb.  I think he paid $1,200 for it in 300 Win. 
Dana
Ruger M77 243, Browning B2000, Ruger 22's, Ruger Red Hawk, SBlackhawk, Savage 223 Target...about 20+rifles less than I used to have. :-(

Offline Savage_99

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2008, 10:41:40 AM »
wofat,

My son and I use four Kimber rifles for hunting.  They perform and function fine for us.

We have a 84M Classic,  two 84M Montana's and a 8400 Montana.


Offline wofat

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2008, 11:04:41 AM »
Thank's Guy's    Wofat

Offline Syncerus

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #4 on: November 28, 2008, 11:29:57 AM »
Cooper Rifles management supported the election of Obama/Biden. Biden brags that he was the author of the original "Assault Rifle" ban legislation.

You figure out who deserves your business.
Don't vote for Socialists.

Offline wofat

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #5 on: November 28, 2008, 03:29:07 PM »
Syncerus , Well put !

Offline Zachary

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #6 on: December 03, 2008, 03:02:55 PM »
Just curious but, what does Cooper have to do with Kimber?  Back to the original topic, I own a Kimber Montana in .300WSM and it is a very well built rifle.  Fit and finish is outstanding, and the trigger is akin to a Jewell trigger.  That said, the bolt that came with mine was defective.  While quality control should have caught that before the gun went out, I must say that when I returned the bolt back to Kimber, they replaced it and mailed it back to me within a matter of days.  Good luck trying to get that kind of service out of Remington. et. al. 

BTW, the accuracy with Federal Premium ammo with 180 Barnes bullets about about 1.25" at 100 yards, and with the 180 Nosler partitions it was a bit tighter at 1" at 100 yards.  Given that the gun is very lightweight, that kind of accuracy is very acceptable.  I have a Leupold 3.5x-10x VXIII mounted on it.

Zachary

Offline Zachary

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #7 on: December 03, 2008, 03:10:43 PM »
Here are some pics of groups with the Noslers and the Barnes.  Interestingly, my first 2 shots were close together, and the third was further away.  This happened with both the Noslers and the Barnes.  I believe this happened because the Kimber has a very thin barrel and it heated up rather quickly (the gun was fired in South Florida where it is always hot down here, even during the winter time).

Zachary

Offline Swampman

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #8 on: December 04, 2008, 07:28:34 AM »
If you believe what is being posted on many internet forums, the Kimbers seem to have a lot of problems.
"Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the Book?" Sogoyewapha, "Red Jacket" - Senaca

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Offline Syncerus

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #9 on: December 04, 2008, 08:16:35 AM »
I'm looking for info on them and cooper firearms
Don't vote for Socialists.

Offline One Eye

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #10 on: December 04, 2008, 10:54:50 AM »
Just curious but, what does Cooper have to do with Kimber?  Zachary
Try reading the entire first post, as the author also asked about Cooper.

The fact that this company supported to most anti-gun President to ever be elected is very relevant to this discussion.  I am glad someone shared that information so I know who I am dealing with.

The Kimber rifles that I have seen and handled have all been of exceptional quality.  Fit and finish was superb.  Can't speak to the Coopers, but it appears that I no longer need to be interested in them.
Dan
"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Offline klt1986

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #11 on: December 05, 2008, 12:39:15 PM »
Just curious but, what does Cooper have to do with Kimber?  Back to the original topic, I own a Kimber Montana in .300WSM and it is a very well built rifle.  Fit and finish is outstanding, and the trigger is akin to a Jewell trigger.  That said, the bolt that came with mine was defective.  While quality control should have caught that before the gun went out, I must say that when I returned the bolt back to Kimber, they replaced it and mailed it back to me within a matter of days.  Good luck trying to get that kind of service out of Remington. et. al. 

BTW, the accuracy with Federal Premium ammo with 180 Barnes bullets about about 1.25" at 100 yards, and with the 180 Nosler partitions it was a bit tighter at 1" at 100 yards.  Given that the gun is very lightweight, that kind of accuracy is very acceptable.  I have a Leupold 3.5x-10x VXIII mounted on it.

Zachary


You can say what you want about Remington Customer Service but I have a very recent example of excellent service from them.  I picked up a NIB Remington 700 CDL and was not happy with the way the action fit in the stock.  I thought about sanding the stock down but I thought, no, I'll just call Remington.  I called Remington on 12-01-08(Monday) and explained my situation.  I was fully prepared to argue and plead my case but I did not have to.  The CS Rep told me he was sending out a new CDL stock and all he needed was my contact info.  He then told me it would ship out late this week or early next week.  To my suprise when I got home this evening(12-05-08), there was a box from UPS on my carport.  I opened it and inside was a new CDL stock complete with the new SuperCell recoil pad.   

The best thing about it is I did not have to send my old stock in before hand nor do I have to send it back when I replace it!  IMO you can not ask for better customer service than that.

Offline Zachary

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #12 on: December 05, 2008, 03:54:46 PM »
Glad to hear that you had particularly good experience with Remington's customers service.  I noticed that your experience was fairly recent (2008).  I wonder if yours was just an isolated event, or if Remington's policies and/or procedures have changed because I have heard more bad experiences than good in the past.  I'll be the first to disclose that I have never used Remington's customer service, although I once needed to.  I had a NIB Remington BDL SS DM in 7mm-08 that I bought.......hmmmmmmmm.......I guess back in 2002?  Maybe 2003?  Anyhow, the trigger was so bad, that it moved around more than a Brazilian Samba dancer.  I mean it was moving left and right, forwards and backwards, any every other conceivable angle.  Since I was planning on going on a hunting trip to Texas about 2 weeks down the road, and I still hadn't even sighted the gun in, my then gunsmith told me that he might as well install a new trigger on it because, based on his experience with other customers, the Remington CS department could take well over 2 months to install a new trigger for me.  So, I just had my then gunsmith install a jewell trigger.  (Man, let me tell you.....now I know why they call it a JEWELL! lol.)

I own Remingtons, Tikkas, Sakos, Winchesters, Brownings, Kimbers, and I forget what else, but I own more Remingtons than the others, so it's not like I'm a Remington Basher or anything like that.  But again, I'm glad to hear that you had a good experience with Remington's CS, and I surely hope that that's the norm and not the exception.

Zachary

Offline klt1986

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #13 on: December 05, 2008, 05:19:47 PM »
I guess my experience was not perfect.  Even though I called Remington at 9am, I still had to wait on hold for 10 minutes. ;)  I too have heard some horror stories concerning Remington but I wonder how true some of them are.  I've also heard some bad reports on Kimbers, Browning A-Bolts, and Tikka(through Beretta) but who knows how much truth there is to these.

I did read of another recent positive thread concerning Remington CS on an archery forum.  According to the poster, he had a barrel problem with an 1100 shotgun and he was not the original owner of the firearm.  According to him Remington had no problems with sending him a new barrel.

Hopefully this will be my first and last dealings with Remington CS as I don't want to take my chances!! ;D
 

Offline Omaha-BeenGlockin

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #14 on: December 06, 2008, 02:32:55 AM »
Have had 2 Kimbers---nice--light--pretty.

Accuracy?? Not so much

I won't be buying another---the accuracy thing is a deal breaker.

Offline Zachary

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #15 on: December 06, 2008, 03:39:58 AM »
Interesting point.  I have never heard Kimbers being referred to as "tack drivers."  However, to be fair, it is understood that, generally speaking, the lighter the gun, the less accurate it is.  As many of us know, all else being equal, added weight assists in achieving better accuracy.  Kimbers have very thin barrels, which in turn means that they are light.  Then again, when you combine the smaller portions of the rest of the gun, we can see how shaving a little bit here and there can decrease a gun's total weight by a noticeable amount.

So when I bought my Kimber, I wasn't expecting 1/2" groups like I do with my other standard weight rifles.  I viewed it as a trade off.  If I go hunting for elk up in the mountains of Utah, Colorado, etc. (God willing), I KNOW that I'm going to be doing a lot of walking and hiking up at those high altitudes.  And from what everyone tells me, after a while, every ounce counts.  While I don't necessarily take that literally - ie, I can't tell the difference between an ounce in a gun - I get their point.  So my trade off was that I, who am well known as being an accuracy freak, would be willing to sacrifice A LITTLE accuracy for a light gun.  Notice I said A LITTLE.  I can live with 1" group with the Noslers, and even 1 1/4 or so with the Barnes.  At 300 yards (my self imposed maximum limit with this gun and load on game as big as elk) my groups should not be bigger than 4".  Now remember that we are talking about 4" at 300 yards and at an animal that has a vital size about 2 times that of a whitetail deer.  So, under such circumstances, I am happy with the trade off of the Kimber.

On a different note, I have heard from a couple reputable sources (friends of mine) and several questionable sources (i.e. people on the internet), that the Remington Titanium, while also a very light rifle like the Kimber, generally produces noticeably worse accuracy.  My friends who have them have averaged a little over 2" at 100, and that's the best groups with favorable ammo.  Now I would imagine that someone out there may jump in and say that his/her Remington Titanium shoots half inch groups.  Well, that's great, although from what I have heard, certainly not the norm.

Again, the point is, while light rifles can sometimes be just as accurate as their heavier counterparts, they generally are not.  As such, I view it as a trade off...a balancing test if you will.  If a gun is much lighter, I am willing to give up a little less accuracy.


Zachary

Offline Val

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #16 on: December 08, 2008, 04:31:01 AM »
I have a Remy 700 Mountain rifle that had one of those defective gummy recoil pads. I called Remington and told them.  They explained that my serial number rifle had the recoil pad bonded to the stock. They told me they would send me a new stock with a new recoil pad. A couple weeks later there it was. The new stock has the recoil pad bolted on.
Hunting and fishing are not matters of life or death. They are much more important than that.

Offline klt1986

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #17 on: December 09, 2008, 02:17:13 AM »
I have a Remy 700 Mountain rifle that had one of those defective gummy recoil pads. I called Remington and told them.  They explained that my serial number rifle had the recoil pad bonded to the stock. They told me they would send me a new stock with a new recoil pad. A couple weeks later there it was. The new stock has the recoil pad bolted on.

It is hard to believe Remington sends those stocks out as easy as they do.  As I stated I was fully prepared to take photos and put up an argument but did not have to.  Did you have to send your old stock back?  I am not sure if Remington's CS has always been as good as the experience I had but IMO you can't ask for much better.  Hopefully they will continue to stand behind their rifles.

Offline Graybeard

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #18 on: December 09, 2008, 04:31:21 AM »
My only surprise in the deal on the stock is that they did not ask for the return of the old one. I bought a used but almost new LSS Mtn. Rifle in .260 once that I knew had been returned to the store within a week of purchase for trade on another rifle. I figured when I bought it that there had to be a problem of some sort and there was.

The barrel channel was cut improperly and the barrel was hard against the stock on one side with a large gap on the other side. It definitely didn't shoot well. I called and explained to Remington the full details including it was not new but had been bought and returned to dealer almost immediately so I was not the orginal owner. I was told to return it to them and all they needed was the serial number of rifle and they'd replace it which they did promptly. But they did want the old stock back.

I do not agree that light means inaccurate. It does ONLY if poor quality barrels are used. If the barrel is a good one and the rifle is put together properly a light barrel can shoot just as accurately as a heavy one altho it might not do so for as long. Shifting POI as barrels heat up is more a matter of poor quality than anything else. It means the barrel was not properly stress relieved. If it was the heating up should not adversely affect POI at least not until it's far too hot to handle and a whole lotta shots have been fired. If that were the case then machine guns or full auto rifles like the M16s would be kinda useless wouldn't they?

I do not own a Kimber because when I called to ask what was a reasonable accuracy expectation for one I was not given a definitive answer but instead they started the old saw about how light rifles and thin barrels don't really shoot all that well so..... Well if they dont' then why make them?

Had they given me a proper response of what sort of accuracy standard they have for the rifles and what I might reasonably expect I'd have bought but since they didn't I bought another Remington instead.

I've owned too many pencil thin Remington barrels on Mountain Rifles and Model sevens to believe that BS about light weight barrels not shooting accurately. Most all of mine are fully capable of under inch groups at 100 yards and many continue to do it no matter how hot the barrel gets with no shifting of POI.


Bill aka the Graybeard
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I am not a lawyer and do not give legal advice.

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Offline cointoss

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #19 on: December 13, 2008, 11:59:44 AM »
I had a Kimber Montanna in 7mm/08, a joy to hold and carry but it shot patterns.  I had a Leupold III B&C 2.5 x10 on it then Changed scopes to another reliable scope but to no avail, used every kind of factory fodder I could find with the same results.  Kimber was no help, so I sent the expensive rifle down the line.  Of course I could have sent it to Hill to have it accurized but they are not even taking any more Kimbers now- gee, I wonder Why?
cointoss

Offline Cecil

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #20 on: December 14, 2008, 05:34:20 AM »
I also have a Remington with a gummy bear pad called and they said they would take care of it. They didn't say how but got my address!
Cecil

Offline oldelkhunter

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Re: kimber of america quality
« Reply #21 on: December 16, 2008, 06:46:00 AM »
Kimber rifles have a great design. Unfortunately they don't have a quality control department. I  purchased  a 84m in 7mm-08. It didn't shoot worth anything and the foreend started warping. Off it went to the factory. It came back with a new stock , the bolt  cocking ramp was smoothed and it had new bottom metal. I sold it immediately. They do have great CS since it came back to me in 2 weeks.

A friend bought a Montana in 300 wsm and took it on a horseback hunt in Wyoming outside Yellowstone park...the gun had a light primer strike and never went off after a week of hard hunting for an Elk. Temps were below freezing. An observation made at my Local GAnder mountain store shows 6-7 Montanas on the rack and not one has a consistent paint color..they all have different shades of  grey and the fit and finish are different on each one working the actions.  Until they get that Monkey off their back it will be a crap shoot. I have owned more then 1/2 dozen Sakos since 1985 and they are all the same fit and finish whether I own them or someone else owns  one or I spot the same model in a store and carefully look it over.   That is what is referred to as Great  Quality Control.
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