I have a Kimber 8400 in 300 WSM. It is a beautiful rifle and phenomenally accurate. However, the first round out of a fully charged magazine loads roughly. On close inspection, the bullet tip (NOT the shoulder) hits the steep ramp incline and hangs up when the cartridge is held under fully compressed magazine spring tension. If the bolt is worked briskly, the cartridge loads reliably, but as bolt movement slows down, chambering becomes more difficult. This rough feeding reduces as each subsequent cartridge is chambered.

So, my question is this! Would polishing the feed ramp reduce this rough feeding? If so, is this a task that can be undertaken by the home gunsmith? How would this polishing best be accomplished?

CAREFUL! use of a Dremel tool and a Cratex wheel can do some very nice polishing quickly. Just be CAREFUL and not go too quickly. On my 8400's a little light polishing of the rails underside with 1500grit wet/dry also smoothed up the feeding. With both be sure that you are just polishing and not changing dimensions....................DJ

Would polishing by hand be safer than with a dremel?

I've usually found that it's a little difficult to get a stone up into the narrow space and move it enough to polish. With the dremel you can set the shaft out to the far end and let the motor do it for you....................DJ

Let a decent gunsmith do it.