Troy, AL Kimber Rifles

I was over on 24CF earlier and one of the guys posted up his new Kimber rifle from the Troy, AL factory and I was wondering if any of the ALDeer brethren had one yet? I’m jonesing for a .280AI and I don’t know why. Sure is nice to see our state represented by a major firearms manufacturer. That AL rollmark sure does look good on that stainless barrel!

That's cool. Would like to have one for sure.

Yes it does.

Theyve got a couple of cool limited edition 1911s too.

Notice the serial numbers on them too. KAL and KTA for Kimber Alabama and Kimber Troy AL

That's pretty awesome, I need to try to get into the plant.

Thats cool I love kimber never had any lemons I hear about

I like to see that. I think I'll have to get one.

Are they making all their rifles here or just a select few models? Anyone know? I honestly didn't even realize they had a plant up and running yet.

Same thing I was wondering! The rifle that guy posted up (Stainless Classic) isn’t even listed on the Kimber website.

Those are some slick 1911’s.

Might be some sort of special distributor exclusive or something similar to that.

I didn’t even think of that possibility

A wood stainless rifle is about as sharp as they come. I'd love to have one in either 25-06 or 280.

Kimber??? No Lemons???? Seriously!! Kimber is the recent victim of corporate America greed!! When they were smaller, they put out a great product, one of the best! Now it’s all about mass production. I have heard real bad stories from both consumers and dealers about them not backing the quality of there product. Sorry to piss on your parade, but unless they have changed in the past 8 months, they need to be spending more time focusing on the quality of their product!!!

The stainless wood is on their website, but is only offered in 6.5cm: Mash here

According to my dealers Kimber rep, most of the rifles are now coming with the Troy roll mark.

That must have been added in the past few days. It was just the Classic Select and Super America under the Traditional tab. Dang shame it’s only available in 6.5Gheymore.

Thanks for the update from the dealers rep. The 2 gun shops I called didn’t even know Kimber had a plant in AL.

If you are looking, call Family Firearms in Troy. Dang good folks, and their prices are hard to beat.

I would love to see a "live graph" of 6.5 caliber sales over the past 25 years.

6.5X55 probably hummed along selling 1 per day, oh hey a new 6.5 caliber 260 Remington that could have been awesome but Remington screwed the pooch selling 5 per day, outcomes Hornady eating everyone's breakfast, lunch and dinner selling like hotcakes.
How do you know the 260 is more or less dead in the water, when Remington is producing rifles in their competitor's caliber.

Would also be interesting to see a graph of 7MM08 sales from the time the 6.5Creed came out to today. I can only assume they've absolutely tanked.

Until the 6.5 Gheymoor, the ONLY wildly successful metric nomenclature cartridge in the US was the 7mm Remington magnum. All other prodded along with little to no success, and 6.5 mm cartridges only enjoyed a small cult-like following despite their long success in Europe. The 6.5 craze is just another example of rebranding something in a shiny new package and capturing a changing market base.

It's a phase. It will pass soon.

If the 6.5 creedless did a single thing for hunting that couldn't be done just as well with a .260 Rem or 7mm-08, I would buy one this afternoon.

Truth is, it don't, but you'll never hear one of the fanboys admit that. They all swear they're running around with .264 Win Mag killing power packed into that creedless case.

It would be nice to have a Kimber with that Alabama rollmark, though. They build some fine rifles.

They used to have a stainless classic. I bought one in 243 several years ago. I was too worried about scratching it up to enjoy it. My wife fell in love with it and hunts a lot more casually than I do. I gave it to her and bought myself a Montana in 308. I have no complaints about either.

Update, Famiy firearms just messaged me that the only rifle with the Troy roll mark is the limited edition 6.5 cm pictured above.

Daaaaaang ..... thanks for update Fuzzy! (Even If it was bad news )

Factory loaded, match grade accurate, premium (high BC) bullet, hunting ammunition at most wal marts, academy, and local mom and pop.

I ‘like’ the 7-08 better overall, and some others as well. The creedmoor doesn’t do anything I can’t do by loading for MANY others. It does do it over the counter, often cheaper, and generally with less recoil and blast, with more bullet than a 243 or 257/25-06. On game, it’s just a Swede, nothing more or less. Stuff dies, but it don’t usually die any more spectacularly than other stuff, and often less so. If the creed wasn’t so cheap and easy to max out over the counter, most wouldn’t have one, dang how it kills.

I have the internet, with Midway Ammoseek, GrabaGun, and many others. I have not relied on local ammo supply for a decade or so, and I have zero concern regarding the cost per shot on a hunting rifle that I will shoot a few times a year. I have never noticed recoil while killing an animal.

Like the Swede, it does kill, but no better than any other medium bore cartridge.

And I can buy factory loaded, match grade accurate, premium ammo from a number of suppliers in a few dozen calibers. I'll pass on the creedless.

If someone only shoots enough to check zero and miss a deer or two, not much matters, except what they refuse to shoot.

In the case of non-shooters? Recoil, flinches, high prices, bigger cases, harder to find, huge muzzle blasts, and what Bubba thinks is cool, are all far more important than recognizing efficienc and economy of design, or contemplating anything remotely considered ‘practice’, much less training.

Some folks are koolaide drinkers on the 6.5s, as a whole or the creed, for sure.

Some folks are so self conscious about someone knowing they might secretly own a creedmoor, that they’re looney, creedophobic.

Others of us don’t really care too much about head stamps, so long as bullees do what we need and how we need it done....and the easier/cheaper/more accurate/more efficient/lighter recoiling they are, the better.....cuz we put hundreds or thousands of rounds through our ‘hunting rifles’ every year, on targets AND game.

The creedmoor does EXACTLY what it was designed to do....maybe better than any commercial cartridge, ever. It expands into other uses fairly well, but it ain’t perfect. Nobody is trying to say it’s even close.....just that it’s worth shooting.

Personally, I am a fan of obscure calibers, and I probably shoot more rifle rounds than anyone that you know who doesn't compete.

I was turned against the 6.5 creed by a legion of snipery douchebags insisting it was the greatest cartridge ever, and would kill way out of proportion. I have even heard it described as the ideal elk cartridge inside 700 yards. Funny, I thought that title belonged to the .300 Win Mag.

Pure crap. I am a 6.5 fan, of the .260 Rem, 6.5 Swede, and .264 Win Mag variety. In several ammo company lineups, the creed is a step behind the .260, and doesn't come close to the .264

All the stuff I hear about the creed, I already do. If I was starting over, maybe, but it just doesn't interest me. Too little variety in bullet weight.

I also have a lot of calibers on hand, and load for nearly all of them. I have several calibers that I don’t HAVE to load for, since everything intended of them is available cheaply an easily, over the net/counter. That’s why my Swedes and 260s took a hike when the creed came out, and I can devote time to ‘06 AI version stuff. The creed is available in more varieties of weight and load and bullet type, over the counter, than the 260/Swede combined. I get the hype. I don’t get why some are apparently so afraid of the creedmoor.... or why the unfounded claims about it, constantly?

I’m just glad there’s a good, major brand being made in AL now. Remington just seems intent on screwing up everything and everywhere it touches.

All the more reason for me to buy a new Mountain Ascent in .300 wsm..... that I don't have the money for, nor do I need.

Remington producing rifles in 6.5Creedmoor is quite funny.

It is pretty funny that Winchester and everybody else chamber 7mm Rem mag too.

Well, Remington sat on their hands, refusing to build anything in 6.5 Creedmoor, until everyone else had already bought a creedmoor from all its competitors. THEN Remington decides to offer it. That is Remington in a nutshell these days.

And nobody will produce any of the Ruger calibers(.300/.338/.375) If Henry or Mossberg would produce the .308/.338 Marlin Express that would be nice.

Just saw Henry came out with a side gate loader in 30-30, 38-55, and 35 Rem. Interesting.

Not afraid, just not interested. I'm glad you are happy with yours.

Midway USA lists 67 different 6.5 creedmoor loads from 120 grain to 147 grain, and over half are target loads, which do not interest me at all.

Also from Midway, .260 Rem is available in 21 loads from 120 grain to 142 grain, mostly hunting loads. 6.5 Swede is available in 21 loads from 100 grain up to 156 grain, virtually all hunting loads.

They go down to at least 90gr, and even the cheap target loads are often match grade accurate.....makes practice a lot easier and less time/$ intensive. I have never been a creed fanboy. Reality is what it is, though. Point is: while half the arguments for the creed are overinflated, half the arguments against it are fictional, also. Nothing about it as a cartridge is really magical. The market setup for its success is something never seen for any other....which gives it a leg up in a lot of ways that are really undeniable.

Y’all let us know when they roll out the 7mm08 from the Troy plant! I’ll pick one up!

Son just snagged a micro nine. I hope it’s an Alabama made one. We’ll check it later.

This...I've worked on a few of their 1911's that had MIM parts that didn't even get molded completely. They still made it into the gun though.

BIL bought one that broke the first time he pulled the trigger. The firing pin block lifter broke off. He'd gone to qualify with it when that happened.

Family Firearms in Troy has a local deal with Kimber. When Kimber makes a new run of models they hold back something like numbers 1 thru 6 or 9 for special clients, then Family Firearms gets the first publicly available numbers.

I bought a turkey gun from them(not a Kimber) and was really impressed with them.
A Kimber Hunter in 280Ai when the Troy rollmarks start happening might be in my future.

A Alabama marked 280ai would best sweet.so would the ks6 357 and a ultra carry2 45 hopefully will have one of those before long starting with the ultra carry2.