Kimber Subalpine

[oenanthe]

Hey, Brightside, you're not alone. I got my .30-06 Subalpine this week and had similar issues.

The bolt head can catch on the receiver if the bolt is angled just so, but I'm not too worried about it. I rounded off the corner on the receiver a tiny bit with a jeweler's file and polished it up with 600-grit paper and that helped a lot.

The feeding was horrible, especially on the first round. I had to force it pretty hard and the feed rails left deep scratches on the brass. All's well now, though. A piece of 600-grit paper wrapped around a carpenter pencil, a little bit of spit as cutting fluid, five minutes working on the rails, and now it feeds just fine. I'll polish the feed ramp later.

My mag box was binding, too, so I filed .010" off the front bosses. Now I can wiggle it just the tiniest bit. Perfect.

I love Kimber rifles but I can't figure out how some of these make it past QC and out of the factory.

Now it need a trip to the range to see how it shoots! I'll probably skim bed it but it looks pretty good as-is.

 

[Brightside]

After leaving such a rough review of the Kimber Subalpine last year, I thought I'd go ahead and follow up. As @oenanthe did, I filed a slight ramp on the receiver and the bolt kinda taps it and keeps going. Eventually, this smoothed out and became a non issue. While this was due to tolerance stacking, it passed QC. The engineers must know the rifle will work itself out. The mag box was binding as well, once again with the file and it has just enough movement now. The feed lips required quite a bit of sharp edge smoothing. More than should be required out of a decent rifle priced over $1000 in my opinion. That being said, the smoothing out and break in on this rifle was actually an enjoyable and educational experience once I got into it.

If this work is required on every Kimber Montana I buy, I would still say its the finest mountain rifle a guy could get under $2000. This rifle is very accurate, solid and light. The VX5 is too much weight for this rifle, it makes it cumbersome. I suggest a lighter option such as the newer Leupold VX3 in 1" tube or possibly the Maven RS2 on Talley LW.

 

[oenanthe]

Hey, @Brightside, I'm glad to hear you like the rifle now! How does yours shoot?

I ended up skim bedding mine just for grins. It shoots several varieties of factory ammo to 1 1/4 or 1 1/2" five shot groups which is plenty good for me. I still haven't worked up handloads for it. Maybe next summer.

Mine went on one hunt in 2019 and scored a small moose. And one hunt in 2020 where it scored a medium caribou. Two fer two ain't bad!

 

[Brightside]

Hey, @Brightside, I'm glad to hear you like the rifle now! How does yours shoot?

I ended up skim bedding mine just for grins. It shoots several varieties of factory ammo to 1 1/4 or 1 1/2" five shot groups which is plenty good for me. I still haven't worked up handloads for it. Maybe next summer.

Mine went on one hunt in 2019 and scored a small moose. And one hunt in 2020 where it scored a medium caribou. Two fer two ain't bad!

 

[MuleyFever]

Since this is back up I will say that once I found some hand loads it liked, my Montana will shoot .5-.75” groups repeatedly. It still feeds a little rough. Overall, I really like it.

 

[Brightside]

It shoots better than I do! Factory Federal Premium 180 Accubonds

 

[Brightside]

I like these Kimbers enough that I am going to build a 338-06 outta one. 21" bbl, Oregunsmithing rebore and stock, Maven rs2, banded front sight. Whatcha think?

 

[SkunkCabbage]

I’m planning on the same but might go the benchmark route instead being in Canada. Built a 6.5rpm on one already

 

[oenanthe]

I like these Kimbers enough that I am going to build a 338-06 outta one. 21" bbl, Oregunsmithing rebore and stock, Maven rs2, banded front sight. Whatcha think?

I think my shoulder hurts!

You might want to read Moffat's thread on a Kimber .338 Federal:

Uberlight Kimber Rifle Build, by Luke Moffat

Luke is always pushing the limits when it comes to ultralight gear. In fact, he decided ultralight wasn't good enough and is now going uberlight! In his quest for a lighter pack Luke came up with a plan to build the lightest hunting rifle he could. In this article he details all the changes he...

www.rokslide.com

 

[SavedByGrace2001]

Hey guys I know this thread is a little over a year old. But just picked up a kimber subalpine 300wm. Any recommendations for factory ammo, (I usually prefer Barnes vor-tx ttsx-bt ammo) and any tips for shooting? I've never shot a kimber rifle, most of my lightweight are fieldcrafts.
Thanks in advance

 

[MTMeatHunter]

Hey guys I know this thread is a little over a year old. But just picked up a kimber subalpine 300wm. Any recommendations for factory ammo, (I usually prefer Barnes vor-tx ttsx-bt ammo) and any tips for shooting? I've never shot a kimber rifle, most of my lightweight are fieldcrafts.
Thanks in advance

I’ve owned four Kimbers and all were sub MOA with a factory load other than one. Never did get that last one to shoot… there was no consistent brand or bullet that mine liked across the board, but two did very well with the precision hunter line and the ELDX (280AI and 6.5creed). A buddies ought six M.A. does very well Barnes. In short, I didn’t find anything consistent but I recommend being patient and trying a bunch of loads out. Mine all liked something well enough! I found that all liked to be shot off bags, from behind (not coming in from the side) with a natural point of aim and holding the forend down. I wasted a lot of ammo learning that for my sample of Kimbers, all needed to be held down as the barrel jump affected accuracy. I always wait two minute between shots as those barrels are thin. Seems to work for good groups.

 

[SavedByGrace2001]

I have used hornady precision and Barnes vor-tx ttsx-bt, so I guess I'll start with the ammo I like and hope it shoots good. What about shooting posture, from what I've read numbers can be finicky and the way you hold them makes a difference.
So you reccomend putting some weight on the barrel when shoot?
Thanks

 

[Fishmaster196]

I have used hornady precision and Barnes vor-tx ttsx-bt, so I guess I'll start with the ammo I like and hope it shoots good. What about shooting posture, from what I've read numbers can be finicky and the way you hold them makes a difference.
So you reccomend putting some weight on the barrel when shoot?
Thanks

Just hold the forearm. Don’t let it free recoil. Lots of muzzle jump. My MA 06 does pretty well with Hornady Precision Hunter 178 grain.

 

[MTMeatHunter]

Yes, mine all seemed to shoot best with a fairly firm hold. They’re light enough that they jump quite a bit without a good grip and some downward pressure up front. I experimented with a hand on top of the scope as well, but settled on slightly pulling straight down on the forend. Light rifles really taught me about consistency. I owned one FIeldcraft and it seemed to be more forgiving on shooting form than my Kimbers.