Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rebarreling Long Action Kimber Montana 84L to Short Action Cartridge

Pardon me if the subject has been discussed recently, but my search did not reveal what I was looking for. I have seen several people state that they prefer the short action 84M over the long action 84L in the Montanas. Not sure why that is, my 84L seems fairly light and trim, and reasonably manageable for recoil.

I have an 84L in 270 Win. that regularly shoots sub-MOA 3-shot groups with the right ammo and when I do my part. I have no plans to change this anytime soon. However, I thought I might like to rebarrel it to a 7mm-08 Rem. if I ever decided to re-barrel it.

What are the Pros and Cons of rebarreling an 84L to a short-action cartridge? Are there any benefits to using an 84L for seating higher BC bullets out long? Or would it just be better to use an 84M action if one wants a 7mm-08? Thanks.

My big question is why given your 270 is accurate? Performance wise they are fairly close with the edge going to the 270 inside 500 yards or so. 7-08 likely recoil a bit less.

I think one thing that gets lost in all these discussions are the real world results. High BC 0.284 bullets are more available than 0.277 bullets - but the 270 will start them at higher velocity which negates the higher BC at "normal" hunting ranges which I'm defining as inside 500 yards. Same goes for wind drift.

Then we move onto bullet integrity. As much as I'd like to shoot a bullet with an astromical BC, I'm affeared of them when elk and similar size animals get close. A more sedate velocity like the 7-08 with a high BC bullet mitigates thinnish jackets but I lean strongly toward less BC and more bullet integrity in almost all situations. As I've said numerous times before, for me, I've shot more elk at 50 yards and under than over.

Then comes ability to harness the higher BC bullet. Before high BC bullets, we all shot mid caliber magnums at fast velocity in order to get flatter trajectory. The 270 fits in this category as does the various 7mm and 30 cal magnums. Start a good bullet at 3000+ and learn holdover using your crosshairs and various gaps between reticle and edges or thicknesses. It worked but we can be way more precise today.

But wind is still wind, it still blows in not so constant velocities and directions, and can change from one side of a canyon to the other. Shooting from field positions in these conditions requires alot of skill. I'm not opposed to those that can do it but think way too many guys plunk steel off their bench under good conditions and think they are capable in the elk woods. I'm not one of them but don't need to be because I pass on those shots. Plus my hunting style is way more conducive to close and quick. I do sit openings, do range the edges, AND set myself up accordingly. Keeping the wind in my favor, I'll move/set up where all my shots will be within my comfortable shooting zone. Takes a bit of discipline to pass on shots outside of that comfort zone but have done it more than a few times.

After saying all that, if you want to build a 7-08 on a Kimber LA, go for it! I considered rebarreling my 280 AI to a 7x57 because I simply wanted to. I wised up and bought a 270 instead

I rebarreled a Montana L to 7x57 once. Worked beautifully. 150 partitions at 2850 and nice small groups. Should have kept that one, but circumstances at the time didn't allow it.

Teeder...I hate it when you have regrets after selling one.

Should work fine. I have an 84L rebarreled with a 55mm cartridge and it feeds. Check the feeding prior to rebarreling with the bullet you'd like to use and make sure things are acceptable. The Hunter models with their center feed have super slick feeding if there's any question.

Bwinters...
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I suppose my questions are somewhat of an academic exercise. Since I may ever only own one Montana, I would like to understand the versatility of the 84L action, and what my options are for future rebarrel. I certainly do not intend to rebarrel a perfectly functional Yonkers 270 that is accurate and cycles and feeds well, as some say those are hit-and-miss. I was originally looking for an 84M in 7mm-08 when I found a great deal on the 270, so I suppose I still have that chambering on the brain. The 7mm-08 would be on the short list of cartridges for a rebarrel in the future if I was gaining anything by taking advantage of the longer magazine box in the 84L.

I do realize that the light and handy Montana is not the
best candidate for a long range rifle and I have no intention of doing so. So perhaps the 270 is the easy button for good velocity within typical hunting ranges for that rifle, using 140-150gr bullets. Using handloaded 145 ELD-X, she smacks back pretty good, and I don't consider myself particularly recoil shy.

I try not to buy into all the hype, as the 270 has served quite effectively for taking deer and elk for many years. But the idea of an efficient 7-08 using high BC bullets has piqued my interest. Maybe I should be really looking at a fast-twist 270 if I ever rebarrel the 84L?

Prairie_goat...good to know. Did you rebarrel to a 6.5x55 Swede?

If recoil is an issue, the super high BC 7mm-08 is going to be fairly comparable to the 145 grain 270. Running the numbers, a 180 ELD out of a 7mm-08 vs. a 145 out of a 270 is within 1 ft. lb of recoil of one another.

A wildcat made from the 6.5x55 case.

Copy that. The recoil is near the upper end of what I might comfortably shoot in that rifle, despite having experience with several magnums that I've enjoyed shooting. The Montana stock was hitting me in the top of my clavicle when sighting in and load development from the prone position. But I rarely have opportunities to shoot prone while hunting the timber I tend to gravitate to, so I expect to be using more comfortable field positions.

I think an 84L in a 7x57, 6.5x55 (plain jane or improved) would be a wicked set up for todays bullets.

Of course there is always 6.5x284 😉

If you were to go full rifle looney, a 7x57 AI would be skookum. Be the best of both worlds - max case capacity in a mid length case, 0.284 high BC bullets, and enough mag space to capitalize on it. I seriously considered the 7x57 AI in my LA. I even loaded a few rounds at various overall lengths and bigger bullets to get an idea. They fed well. It is very feasible......

Thinking about it today, I would be curious how a 7-08 would perform in the 84L with high BC bullets. You could certainly seat them out a long ways. Twisted right it should have better long range capability than a plain Jane 270. But the ol' 270 do shoot pretty flat out to reasonably long range.

I don’t disagree.

Sometimes ya just gotta kick the tires on stuff

I don't want to get too looney, as I would prefer not to spend a bunch of time fireforming brass. But it would open up a new world for some of these old long action cartridges. My understanding was that 7x57 was similar performance to 7-08. But something tells me that making it an AI could turn some heads. 284 Win could be a lot of fun, but I'm not sure the availability of quality brass for it now that Lapua has decided to stop making it for now.

Along those lines, something I've wanted to build for a while is a fast twist 6.5x55 or 7x57 on a Kimber Classic, as a bit of a long range sleeper.

Hmmmm....your guys' "sickness" is much worse than mine😵‍💫🥴🤪

Headache said one couldn't rebarrel the 84M to .284 Winchester due to the wall thickness iirc.

Wondering if that applies to the 84L as well.

Inquiring minds want to know!

I'd think any short fat cartridge might go better on the 8400. But I've no idea the thickness of each action.