Kimber Hunter 280AI
- Thread starter Barlow
- Start date
I have the Mountain Ascent...same action and pretty much the same stock, just has camo. The rifle I have shoots fine and the action and trigger are nice. I would pay attention to the barrel length on the hunter...I think it might be a 22" carbine. The 280AI is a fantastic caliber, but it's not so fantastic when you cut the barrel in half. The ballistics become something that is not worth having to reload for. I believe gun companies make all rifles carbines these days because it is easier to get accuracy out of a short barreled rifle, but that don't help the ballistics any.
It has a 24" barrel, which is probably o.k., but I would prefer a 26". My buddy is a handloader and hunter, and is going west this fall with his two boys. I'm pretty sure he's going to buy it. Thanks for your input. Barlow
I have been working up loads for my recently rebarrelled Ruger 257AI. I finished it at 25" and it balanced out great. I will be carrying it this season, and I agree, though I love my old 94 Swede carbine, it never bothered me to pack a longer barrel. Barlow
Good caliber but I'll never own another Kimber. Bought one used only to have it refuse to feed or shoot under 3 MOA. Sent it back to Kimber and they said the action was machined "out of spec." They were also kind enough to tell me that since I wasn't the original owner and it was more than a year old, the warranty was invalid. They offered to sell me a new one at a discount. Gee, thanks.
nakneker
Gold $$ Contributor
I reload for a friend who uses 150 grain ballistic tips in his Kimber Montana. The accuracy impressed me for a pencil barreled rifle, 3 shot groups under 3/4in at a 100 are the norm, he has shot some 1/2in groups. I like the actions, slimmed down controlled feed, I don't know if the hunter has that same action, I imagine it does. He enjoys the rifle enough were it has become his go to rifle racking up quite a few big game notches in its short life.
This afternoon we fired some forming rounds on target. He took the target home and I didn't get to measure them, but they show promise. We shot four then cleaned it before it got too hot. It was an overcast day in the high forties, so conditions were good. His dies were supposed to show up today so he can start load work up. Feed and ejected smooth as silk and has an excellent trigger. We did have one primer fail to bang, and we tried it at least 6 times. It looked like a light strike, but all 19 others looked fine. Went back to my loading room, pulled the bullet, dumped the powder and replaced the primer (all WLR) put it back together and it fired. I will try the primer in one of my rifles asap. All in all it went pretty well. If you have any pet loads with 160 gr Sierra BT's, I would like to see them? Thanks, Barlow
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.