Swift Bullets Kimber Adirondack — Ideal Hunting Rig

My wife’s new Swift bullets Kimber Adirondack combo is swift and deadly for all the reasons hunters care about — field proficiency. Chambered for the short-action 7mm-08 Remington and spitting 150-grain Swift Sciroccos, this rig is light, short, fast and deadly. Darn near weatherproof, too.

Photo shows the Swift Cartridge Kimber Adriondack rifle with Swarovski scope Betsy finds ideal as an all-round hunting rifle.

The Genesis of Swift Bullets Kimber Adirondack Combo

At 5’ 2” and some years beyond 39, my wife wasn’t shopping for a 10-pound sniper rifle. She wanted a hunting tool that would get the job done out to 300 yards with minimum strain and pain. Based on previous experience with several rifles, she'd learned that the less her rifle weighs, the more she enjoys carrying it. And the farther she can carry it. This means she might make it to that far mountain or deep draw where the big buck hides.

With the Adirondack she also discovered she can more easily handle a short, compact rifle, whip it into action, and point it toward the bullet’s destination. That means she’s more likely to bring home the bacon so I can fry it up in a pan. (Role reversal at our house.)

Specs on the Kimber Adirondack

Betsy gravitated toward her Swift bullets Kimber Adirondack combo after handling the Kimber at a gun show. The stainless-synthetic Adirondack’s slim stock is built from a reinforced carbon fiber. It’s then given some sort of soft exterior finish in Gore Optifade camouflage. Betsy immediately liked both the feel and look of this, and that goes a long way toward love at first shot. With its 18-inch barrel and blind magazine, this 84M Adirondack rifle weighs just 4 pounds, 13 ounces. Betsy added a 12.7-ounce, Swarovski Z3 3-10x42 riflescope in Talley aluminum mounts that contributed another 3 ounces. After clipping on a light nylon sling and stuffing four Swift Cartridge Company 150-grain Scirocco rounds into this rig, she's holding a sprightly, 37.25-inch-long, field-ready hunting machine that weighs less than 6-pounds. But that’s not all…

Even though the Adirondack’s 13.63-inch length-of-pull is nearly an inch longer than Betsy’s optimum, she finds the fit acceptable, probably because the light, short rifle is so compact and handy. “I can hold this and aim it for as long as I need to,” she said when first getting a feel for the rig. She’s never commented negatively on the recoil, either, other than to note that she hardly notices it. When I shoot the rifle I'm impressed with how well recoil is controlled. 

Swift Bullets Kimber Adirondack Range Performance

Betsy is shown zeroing her Swift Bullets Kimber Adirondack rig from a bench in moose camp.

On the range the little Kimber punches .830- to 1-inch, 3-shot groups at 100 yards with Swift Cartridge Company 160-grain A-Frames and 150-grain Sciroccos. The Sciroccos chronographed just a few fps under 2,600 fps. The Scirocco’s relatively high B.C. of .515 minimizes wind deflection while maximizing reach despite the less-than-magnum velocities of the short-action 7mm-08 cartridge. If you worry that the rifle's short barrel sacrifices too much reach, rest easy. (And read this explanation of short barrel advantages in an early RSO post.) Zeroed 3 inches high at 100 yards, the Sciroccos drop just 6.5 inches at 300 yards and 23 inches at 400 yards. Swarovski’s BRX reticle compensates for that. The fourth stadia-line down proved spot-on at 400 yards, and that's generally 100 yards farther than Betsy likes to shoot unless conditions are perfect.

Swift’s heavier A-Frames — a partitioned bullet like the Nosler Partition but with the added benefits of a thicker jacket, thicker internal wall, and bonded lead core — hasn’t the long range profile of the Scirocco, but has been proven time and again to hammer through the toughest bone and hide. It penetrates extremely well. It is quite possibly the deepest penetrating lead-core bullet of any type I’ve ever hunted with.

Betsy used handloaded Swift A-Frames in a 7mm-08 Jarrett Rifle several years ago in Namibia. She applied one each to the chests of an oryx bull, kudu bull and blue wildebeest bull, all of which joined us for dinner. Those are roughly elk-sized antelope and arguably tougher. 

Over the years I’ve used Sciroccos to end the rutting season for whitetails, mule deer, elk and even one moose. I had no hesitation in agreeing to my wife’s choice of the new Swift Cartridge Company’s 150-grain Scirocco 7mm-08 loads for a moose hunt. Swift advertises these are absolutely waterproof, no small consideration in moose country. On the outside chance that the Sciroccos wouldn't be up the the task of handling a moose, Betsy opted to back them up with A-Frames. Not a bad option should you have to reach the vitals of a departing bull. Unfortunately, my hunting partner didn't get to test either bullet because someone forgot to inform the moose about its role in the production…

Swift Bullets Kimber Adirondack Combo Goes Moose Hunting

We were hunting with Chase Gallagher of Chinchaga River Hunts (http://chinchaga.com/). Based on the way he called moose, Chase, unlike the moose, did understand his role. First he called a bull for another woman hunter in camp. Meat on the pole. Two days later, while canoeing amidst beavers on a sub-Arctic lake, Chase moaned, whined and sweet talked two more bulls from the timber, simultaneously, sucking them within 50 or 60 yards of Betsy’s sprightly little Kimber. We could see flashes of black hair through the boggy spruce limbs, tips of antlers above the boughs. I was shaking so much I could barely keep the camera focused on the scene. And then the wind caressed the backs of our necks, inspiring Betsy’s moose to show their rumps at a healthy trot. Naught but a fleeting opening for the Kimber, Swarovski and Swifts to get in the action. Both bulls are still out there. If the wolves don't get them, next year Betsy and Chase plan to. I'm hoping to get in on the action, too. With more than just a camera. 

Swift Bullets, Kimber Adirondack, Swarovski Ideal

Moose or no moose, this combination of Swift Scirocco and A-Frame bullets, the 7mm-08 Remington cartridge, the Swarovski Z3 3-10x42 scope with BRX reticle and the Kimber 84M Adirondack constitute an ideal, all around North American hunting rifle for small or lightly framed hunters of any sex. I'm thinking of borrowing it myself. The Adirondack reminds me of my first deer rifle, a Winchester M94. It has the same short, light, compact, fast-handling feel. But in 7mm-08 Rem. with a Swarovski scope, it has a huge ballistic advantage. Lest you think the 7mm-08 Rem. is inadequate for elk or moose, consider Karamojo Bell's famous elephant rifle.

Just over 100 years ago Bell, an adventurous Scott, used his little 275 Rigby Mauser (the British designation for the German 7x57mm Mauser) to drop not only 800-some elephants, but also such reportedly impervious beasts as buffalo and lion. The 7mm-08 Remington shoots the same diameter bullets as the 275 Rigby, but about 100 fps faster. Essentially the 7mm-08 Rem. is an "improved" 7x57mm Mauser "elephant cartridge," suggesting it is more than powerful enough for elk and moose.

Betsy, however, is withholding final judgement until she actually tests it on a moose. Guess where we'll be hunting next September. 

Over the years Ron Spomer has introduced several hunters -- men and women -- to lightweight rifles in 7mm-08 Rem. None has ever regretted it.