kimber Varmint, how are they?

[Craigyboy]

anyone using kimbers? I just got wind that a local dealer can get them in If I want one. Never even heard of them before until he told me, checked them out and liked the look of them, but what are they like? Ill never get a look at one as he wont bring one in unless someone orders it, the price is about the same as the Remy vssf II. I was looking at the 84M Pro Varmint with the laminated stock in .204 Ruger. What is the finish on these like? Accuracy? Reliability? Scope mounting options,I heard that kimber make adjustable bases but they are not that good)? Whats there consistency like i.e the way some people refer to remmys as either a good one or a bad one, is this the case with kimber? They do look at least like there well built, but then so do a lot of things that end up as junk. They are at the minute an unkown quantity here, I dont think anyone owns one, if they are good ill may put an order in and get ball rolling for them over here. Always interested in something different.

 

[muzr257]

I bought a Kimber Varmit in 204 - one of the best things that I have ever done. Shoots factory Hornady 40grn very well,under .5 best I can do) and i realy like the cartridge. I sighted it in last sunday 1.5inch high at 100 and when I checked it at 300 it was only about.5 low and drifted only an inch with a good crosswind. Good rabbit shooting round.

 

[muzr257]

I was happy with the quality of the fit and finish and very impressed with the easy of adjustment of the trigger. Kimber bases seem to be fine - they match up with the Leupold rings fine. Overall I rate them higher than a Remington, especially after looking at a Model 7 CDL - not impressed.

 

[rstreich]

I bought a Kimber .243 sporter a couple of years ago when my 700 went lame. Took it out to the range, sighted it in and then shot a 1/2" group with it at 300 yards. Took it out to a PD town to get some familiarity with it and started nailing PDs at 400 yards with no problem.

After that I was in love with Kimbers and so was my brother. Then he bought two of them--a .204 and a .22-250. He never could get the .204 to shoot, so he sent it off to get a Tac 20 barrel put on it. It turned out that the barrel was loose. The .22-250 he sent back to Kimber immediately 'cause the bore was so rough and full of tooling marks he could barely get a patch down it.

I sent my .243 back to Kimber for something, can't remember what it was, but I mentioned that there was a flaw in the stock at the same time. It came back with a new stock--as nice as what I've seen on some of the Super Americas. Never could get it shoot worth a damn again--2" groups at best. Probably could've just rebedded it to fix it, but I sold it instead.

So, after the full story, I'd say that Kimber is certainly capable of producing some really nice rifles. I like their action and I love their sported and Longmaster/SVT stocks, but their quality control left a lot to be desired. Maybe they've tightened up lately, maybe not. Sadly, I quit caring. However, I'd buy another if I heard that they'd improved.