While mechanical precision is a substantial attribute, it is far from the one thing which one would look for in a wonderful hunting rifle. More often than not, relaxation, reliability, stock layout, trigger quality, and handling characteristics all contribute. Together these characteristics are what separates an excellent hunting rifle from a fantastic person and in so doing, determine whether a search that will pivot on a single shot ends up good or not. To save on weapons and ammunition, here are the features that you need to look for when buying your hunting rifle.
Accuracy
Accuracy is important, of course. The arbitrary 1 MOA has been the standard of what a true hunting rifle should achieve for years, and it’s not a bad benchmark. The Hunter is guaranteed by Kimber to hit sub-MOA, which means it puts three shots in a group that stays under an inch (center to center) at 100 yards.
All of the Kimbers I’ve reviewed easily meet this standard, although I know numerous shooters who fall short. It’s fashionable these days to brag about exceptionally long shots. Quite frankly, a sub-MOA rifle like the Kimber Hunter is capable of shooting at any reasonable distance that you can experience in real life.
Construction and Stock Design
A rifle can be so well designed and have the best barrel, that if it doesn’t fit an excellent stock, it will never reap the benefits. A stock must do two things: fit the shooter and maintain activity. While the fitting inventory may be as different as every hunter or shooter possible, some things are right for almost everyone. A stock designed for use with the scope should have a comb large enough to align the eye with the mind and should have little, if any, comb drop.
The grip should be open enough to allow right-hand positioning for shooting from improvised disciplines – you won’t find a vertical grip (made for tactical rifles) on my shotgun. The fore-end should be long enough to allow for a good forward grip, and also to facilitate the use of a shooting brake or barrel. The Hunter has incorporated all of these features into its design, and the result is a really comfortable and very shootable stock.
Size and Weight
Hunting in remote locations can mean packing a lot of gear and, if all goes according to plan, hauling a lot of meat home. A gun that doesn’t add unnecessary weight can be a real advantage on the road. The Kimber Hunter weighs about 51/2 pounds without a load and scope or mount. That puts us in the 61/2 to 7-pound range with the scope and a lot of weight, which can be very fair. With an overall length of 411/4 inches with a diameter of 22 inches, the Hunter can also be compact, making it effortless to navigate through wood or brush, or practical when used in a tree stand.
Round Charging
All Kimber rifles feature the controlled shot feed system, and it can be an integral part of layouts. On a CRF rifle, a large non-rotating extractor holds the rimfire cartridge for the time it exits the magazine before the instance is ejected from the rifle. The last piece of the puzzle is a fixed ejector that ensures the empty instance flies out without a receiver. Snap-fed rifles eject the capsule from the feed rails of this magazine, allowing it to bounce freely into the open receiver; it is held in place only by gravity. The capsule is then pushed forward by the bolt until it enters the chamber. Only when the bolt is closed does the spring-loaded extractor engage the edge of this circumstance. Push guns work well most of the time, but occasionally the machine fails in its effort to immediately process the coil.…