Kemen KM4

[skinnylizzy]

I've just upgraded from a Beretta 682 Gold E to a beautiful Kemen KM4 MkI. I did a lot of research on the Kemen before I went ahead with the deal. I understand that the MkI was not without it's issues, stocks cracking and V springs and firing pins breaking. I was very aprehensive before shooting this Kemen but when I shot it, I just totally fell head over heels in love with the gun. I've never shot anything that made me this happy, I've always been a Beretta man and when it came time to upgrade I shot both the Dt10 and tried a few rounds with some Perazzi MX8's but I bonded with this gun after my first couple of shots. This MkI is a 32", Muti Choke, Adjustable Comb with that semi Monte Carlo style stock they have, was made in '00 and is in amazing condition, I also got it at an amazing price, what equates to about £1,900GBP. The reason I got it so cheap is that the bottom barrel has an intermittent misfiring problem. I shot 100 bird course yesterday and it misfired 3 times on the bottom barrel.

Does anyone have any experience with this problem?

Possibly, what could the issue be?

And the tool kit I got with it only has 1 spare V spring in it, the other must have been used previously, where can I order parts to replenish my tool kit?

I live in Ireland and we have no dedicated Kemen importers, could Kelbrook be a possibilty for me to get some parts?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys.

 

[Jeremy Baker]

Guns should stir the soul or they ain't worth owning.

Good post.

I take my hat off to you buying a faulty gun though.  

Good luck.

 

[skinnylizzy]

Ha ha I know, I must be mad. The way I see it, even if having it repaired costs me a few hundred euro, I've still got myself a great deal. Kemens don't come up very often over here and the only other Kemen I could find over here was €3,500 for a 30" fixed choke so I'm hoping I come out on the right side at the end of it. If not, I'll just have to forget about Sporting and Skeet then shoot 100/300 DTL everytime I shoot......... Easy Peasy!!!! Ha ha.

 

[shootinguru]

:fie:  Now your problems begin? where are going to get spares? don't worry there are plenty of "experts" on here :fie:   :fie:  !

 

[Hamster]

I had to read this bit twice for it to sink in, sorry but how can you bond with a faulty gun and a misfiring one at that. The only way you can gel with a gun is to know you can trust it nearasdamit 100% of the time, one that misfires 3 times in a round will rob you of concentration and cause your mind to wander every time you call for the bird. 

It is imperative that you send this gun away to a Kemen specialist and have the fault rectified, I understand there were quite a few subtle changes made to the actions on later guns which are meant to be retro fittable to early guns, that would be a good start but it needs fixing.

I also got it at an amazing price, what equates to about £1,900GBP. The reason I got it so cheap is that the bottom barrel has an intermittent misfiring problem. I shot 100 bird course yesterday and it misfired 3 times on the bottom barrel.  

 

[squimp]

Mike Megisson at Kelbrook Lodge in Lancashire is (or maybe was) the official UK Kemen importer. They should carry the spares that you require.

 

[shootinguru]

:fie:  DO NOT! DO NOT! SEND IT TO THEM or anyone else!

 

[skinnylizzy]

@ Hamster; Is it not possible to bond with your dream car if it has a faulty starter motor??? Is it not possible to bond with a dog even though it pisses on the floor from time to time???? Is it not possible to bond with a loved one even though you have the odd tiff???? I wouldn't be silly enough to bring this gun into competition knowing full well that it isn't 100%. I shot it, it fit me well, it swung beautifully, it came to my cheek perfectly every time I mounted it, the recoil was minimal and it looks beautiful. I bonded with it, now I want to have it fixed!!!

While I do appreciate the advice, I'm not sure I can say the say for the tone of your post.

Thankyou.

 

[skinnylizzy]

@ squimp; I've read on a couple of sites that Mike is the man to see for all things Kemen. I think a phone call is in order. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Hamster]

@ Hamster; Is it not possible to bond with your dream car if it has a faulty starter motor??? Is it not possible to bond with a dog even though it pisses on the floor from time to time???? Is it not possible to bond with a loved one even though you have the odd tiff???? I wouldn't be silly enough to bring this gun into competition knowing full well that it isn't 100%. I shot it, it fit me well, it swung beautifully, it came to my cheek perfectly every time I mounted it, the recoil was minimal and it looks beautiful. I bonded with it, now I want to have it fixed!!!

While I do appreciate the advice, I'm not sure I can say the say for the tone of your post.

Thankyou.

Fair enough but I genuinely think a gun with a known fault such as misfiring on the bottom barrel ought not be shot on a 100 bird course (unless it is a private one) until the fault is put right. It's also not clear from your post whether this was bought from a dealer or privately, if the former then maybe they had tried unsuccessfully to put it right before hand ?

Take this last bit as a joke but unless your old 682E misfired 4 times per round I'd say it wasn't really an upgrade. :lol:   :lol:   :this:

 

[skinnylizzy]

Ha ha yeah I suppose you're right there, not much of an upgrade!! Yeah the 100 bird shoot was on a course set up at the club, no competition involved. I bought it through the shop in the club too so I do kinda have a safety net there if it all goes Pete Tong. The way I see it now is, if I can get it reapired at a reasonable cost, then I have a lovely gun at a knock down price. Even if it ends up costing me €1,000 to have it repaired, I've got a lovely gun at what is market value over here. If it's irreparable or cost's more than a grand to have it fixed, I either take it on the chin as a very expensive lesson or I go back to the club shop and kick up an almighty fuss.

Cheers Hamster.

 

[skinnylizzy]

@ shootinguru; If I can't send it to them or ANYONE else, what do you suggest I do with it? It's cost me too much to use as a paper wait and it might raise a few eyebrows if I give it to my kids to play cowboys and indians with. Ha ha. Have you heard bad things about Mike and Kelbrook or are ya just yankin my chain? Cheers.

 

[** Pending Removal **]

I take it you checked the firing pins..?

Put the titanium pins in mine......

 

[Dick Arbon]

I don't know if this will be of any help but I still own one although I have recently changed to a perazzi, but I had a similar problem which turned out to be the 'loading dog' being slightly bent down. This is found on the forend, my local gunsmith soon put it right and I bought a new part from Kelbrook just in case but I never needed it and kept it in the spare kit .

 

[Shaun Hopkins]

Sounds like a bargain there Skinnylizzy and don't take any notice of shootinguru the bloke has nothing good to say about anything or anyone and Hamster do you really believe a 682 is anything near as good as a keman! even a faulty one then you must be having a blonde moment having shot a few recently i can say they are a class bit of kit. Do some research on the web and you will find through forums the best place to have your gun issue resolved good luck with it. :nyam:

 

[Sian]

Husband's Kemen went to Mike for Hammer replacement, it did take a while but no complaints about work. Kemen are not interested in dealing direct in any event. They did not even answer our initial email.

 

[andypandy]

mmmmm I love my kemen. I brought mine from mike at kelbrook in 2001. I've only ever had one problem with it, something broke in the trigger unit about five years ago, I sent the trigger back to mike and it was retuned to me within two days fixed at no cost.

Fantastic service.

I recently tried a DT11 at Hodnet, nice but nowhere as nice as my kemen!

 

[skinnylizzy]

Thanks all for the replies all your views and opinions are very much appreciated. It's nice to be on a forum where people take a genuine interest in what you're saying. Thanks guys.

 

[ExSCA]

I regularly shoot with a couple of guys who shoot Kemens.... and I think both guns look lovely, and I've never seen an issue. 

I'll try and find out who they have used for work

(welcome aboard by the way)