Gentlemen,
I'm curious about the informed concensus of the old Kimber of Oregon Model 89 BGRs. I've seen more than a few and the fit, finish, and wood has been tremendous, however, I rarely hear of anyone hunting with an 89 or using the action as a basis for a custom rifle. Any thoughts on this? Regards, Matt.

Matt,
It seems to me the Model 89's were the last of the Kimber models to come out. I think the Safari rifles were built on the 89 action. About the same time these rifles came out, Kimber started to suffer from Quality control issues and had some real problems, in fact it was very soon after this that they went out of business.
I've seen a few of these and most of them are very nice looking, but I've seen a few that looked like they were put together by a high school shop student.
Much of this could have been avoided, as there were indications of problems from magazine reviews of their products and employees who mentioned the problems to management. I've talked personally to several ex-Kimber employees who relayed this information to me. A shame really that management didn't take care of the problems up front and institute a long term solution to their problems. The 89's were probably the best of the actions that they made.
I would think they would be worth too much as collectors to be used for a custom rifle and I don't believe anyone makes parts for them, so it might be difficult or expensive to desing/build a custom from one. Just my 2 cent's worth.- Sheister

I had the chance to buy one a while back, looked real good, but there seem to be better options for the money.

I bought a Kimber 89 when they first came out. It is of the double square bride design in Super America chambered in .280 Rem. The rifle has been very reliable and the accuracy is decent. It is really a good looking gun for the money but I've heard/read that they have had problems. I still like mine. John.

Gentlemen,
Thank you for your input.

Sheister, I appreciate the information. I've yet to have any real world experience with the 89s, however, the few I've examined seemed impressive to the untrained eye. I own a few 82s in .22 LR and a very early 82 "S" series Hornet , all of which have impressed me to no end. However, I've yet to come across anyone who had a great deal to say about the 89s other than the QC issues you mention. Unfortunate they wer'nt in the same league as some of their .22s.

Regards, Matt.

Matt,

I own a M89BGR in .375 H&H that I have used on two hunts in Africa. The wood and metal finish are excellent.

The only bad thing it did was dump the magazine of cartridges the first time I fired it. The action screws had been improperly tightened at the factory.So maybe that guy at Kimber assembled it.

The trigger is excellent 1 Kg (2.2 pounds) and crisp.

It shoots Swift 300 gr bullets into one-half inch at 100 yards.

jim

------------------
"if you are to busy to
hunt, you are too busy."

Matt, I've got a M89 deluxe in 270. Judging from the serial #, it's a VERY early rifle, so it may not be indicatve of the quality throughout the production of this model. However, fit is awesome, it feeds as well as any modern M70, and it shoots under an inch in spite of a long throat. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

I have one in 30-06, 375H&H and an African 416 Rigby. I love them all.