REVIEWS
Short Magnum Marvel
Kimber's Model 8400 is sleek, elegant and tailored to three hard-hitting WSM cartridges.
|
|
It's an absolute truth that a hunting rifle gets carried a lot more than it gets shot. Even on hunts when it doesn't get fired at all, it still gets carried a whole bunch.
Unfortunately, this was exactly what happened when Kimber's new Model 8400 made its field debut. Kimber's Dwight Van Brunt and I took two of the very first 8400s--both chambered in .300 WSM --on a grizzly hunt in Alaska.
We had high hopes, of course. Leonard hunts wonderful country along the southwest approaches to Alaska's far-north Brooks Range, 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle where the bears grow very large. On several occasions before the hunt we both had opportunities to practice with the rifles, and I was confident. Dwight and I both accepted that the .300 WSM--or any .30 caliber--was on the light side for the size of bears we might encounter. But it's on the right side of light, and we hedged our bets with some of the best bullets available for large, tough game: Dwight's rifle was set up with handloaded 180-grain Barnes X-Bullets, while mine grouped exceedingly well with Winchester factory 180-grain Fail Safes.
We were ready. However, the bears were not . The winter of '02-'03 was exceptionally warm and dry in Alaska, and some interior areas received virtually no snow at all. That was not a problem as far north as we were, but the snow conditions were horrible and the bears didn't come out of their dens when they should have—and some that did apparently took a look around, didn't like what they saw and either returned to their dens or dug new ones. That spring, Leonard took his normal four hunters. Despite awful conditions and few bears moving, the first two hunters took very exceptional bears--one squaring nine feet, the other just over eight. Either would have suited Dwight or me nicely, but we never saw bears like those. We hunted hard, we saw bears that might have been acceptable in a lot of areas, but not there.
I was disappointed because I really wanted one of the big, wonderfully furred arctic grizzlies. Unfortunately, hunting is hunting, and sometimes the best efforts come to naught.
More Than A Tool
There are many great hunters for whom a rifle is just a tool, so it doesn't matter much what the tool looks or feels like, provided it's adequate for the job at hand. There are also a lot of hunters like me for whom a rifle is something very special, an extension of oneself and an embodiment of one's tastes.
I didn't know the Kimber 8400 well at the start of the hunt. But after ten long, cold, snowy, sunny, slushy days on snowshoes and snow machines, we were old friends, and one of my biggest regrets was that I wasn't able to give the rifle the shot it deserved.
But the Kimber 8400 was a joy to carry—short, light, compact. In the main, I lean toward heavy rifles (although on a hunt like this I spend a lot of time cursing them). Weighing less than 7 1/2 pounds complete (scope, mounts, sling and magazine loaded), the Kimber 8400 rides easily on the shoulder. I hardly ever knew it was there.
Stocked in good walnut, shaped in my preferred American Classic style, with good old matte blue on the metalwork, the Kimber 8400 is a good-looking rifle. That meant that at the end of a long day, I could admire it at leisure. While glassing, I could lay it across my lap and run my fingers over the sharp checkering and smooth wood. Those of you who admire nice rifles know what a pleasure it is to have such a rifle on a hunt. And maybe it's even more important on a hunt where things aren't going well.
