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Kimber Model 82 Help

7K views 65 replies 25 participants last post by  A square 10 
#1 · (Edited)
Since I have really taken a liking to Rimfire Target shooting, I have been offered a deal on a Model 82. I don’t have specifics besides this so far:
Kimber Model 82, $600 for rifle, scope & mount, also target sights set up.
Pictures are now posted. Thanks in advance.
 

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#2 ·
I have a Kimber of Oregon model 82 serial number 1602, made in the first year of production. Worth over 1k in mint condition. If it's a Kimber of New York, I don't know the value. Mine is dead nuts accurate. Good luck, let us know when you get more information.
 
#11 ·
I own one of the Kimber 82G "rusties." It is simply a fantastic shooter with the target sights that came with it. There wasn't a spec of rust on mine, and it was $425 delivered. The deal of the century.

I would say $600 is a very good deal, especially if the rifle is still in good shape.

Ask if the seller still has the original literature that came with it, as well as the front sight apertures. They also had an adjustable sling swivel which can come off. Make sure that comes with the rifle. Also, the butt was adjustable for length of pull via three removable plastic shims. You'll want to make sure those are present.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I got some pics and it is a Government 82 with the slash stock. Wood looks nice except for the slash 🙂. It is hard to read serial number in the picture but I think it is GM010731. It has the weaver scope and the front “globe” sight is still on and the rear sight comes with it. I assume the front sight can be removed easily? Blueing looks good and but pad is in great shape. What do you experts think?
 
#55 ·
I got some pics and it is a Government 82 with the slash stock. Wood looks nice except for the slash 🙂. It is hard to read serial number in the picture but I think it is GM010731. It has the weaver scope and the front "globe" sight is still on and the rear sight comes with it. I assume the front sight can be removed easily? Blueing looks good and but pad is in great shape. What do you experts think?
The 82G was made for the gov't. (hence the "G") and sold years later by the CMP delivered to your door for about $425 ("rusty" - though none that I know of actually had any rust) and $600 or so for a non-rusty. They were made to take all Anschutz accessories, including sight inserts, so they're readily available and not expensive. I liked the clear plastic ones myself. $600 for one in good shape complete with the original sights is a good price. The slash in the stock was common with practically all of them and was made by some careless gov't. employee who used a box cutter to unpack them. Accuracy with these guns varies, with some being just so-so and some very good.
 
#16 ·
Well more details came out. Seller claims he only put 100 rounds through it and was having “misfire” issues and sent the ammo he was using back to manufacturer upon their request. He said he received a refund for the ammunition but no explanation. He said he has not shot it since and has just sat in the safe. Sooo... He told me he wanted to be upfront with me about it. I have bought ammo from him in the past and he seems to be a stand up guy, but I want a gun that fires. Decisions decisions..
 
#17 ·
Ask him if you can have an opportunity to fire it with the ammo you prefer and see how it does. And also find out what ammo he was firing so you can avoid it. There is some really crappy ammo on the market these days- Winchester seems to be about in the running for the least reliable these days but there are others that have been a problem... might just be an ammo problem and not a problem with the rifle...
 
#19 ·
Bolt internals might need to be cleaned too. First thing I did after I received mine was to take everything apart and clean the yellow preservative off. IIRC the inside of the bolt was filled with it
 
#21 ·
I paid $400 for my Rusty which looked identical to ones not on the rusty shelf.
These came with a very nice adjustable aperture target sight. I would want the complete sight package, front and rear, for that price. Mine has the same scratch.
Good to know on the bolt, I will have a look at that.
He is including front and rear sights along with the scope and mount.
Hope to learn more soon.
 
#25 ·
Thanks all for the help, this site is great! I am going to get it and do a thorough cleaning before I shoot it. Couple more questions for y’all.
- Would it be a good idea to have the stock refinished at some point? (Affect value?)
- Should I keep the original sights or sell them since my old eyes require a scope these days?
- He doesn’t have the front sling swivel, what is a good site for Kimber parts?
Thanks again!!
 
#26 ·
Hey one ton

I am sorta late to the party but I would like to offer my observations.

That is definately a Kimber 82G, I own three of them and love each and every one of them.

Wolf, SK, Eley, Lapua, GECO, most all of the european sub sonic ammo shoots very good in my rifles. CCI SV is a bit tight and closing the bolt requires more effort. I do not shoot CCI SV in my rifles because of this which is too bad because I buy it by the case for my pistol shooting.

You can expect that it will shoot close to 1/2 inch at 50 yards using run of the mill sub sonic ammo, if you test ammo you should be able to get that down to about 0.35 inch or 0.30 inch. well, that is what I was able to maintain with my rifles.

The rifle that shot the worst I kept the iron sights on it and probably shoot it the mostest, I have a butt hook for it and use it for plinking off the front porch of the deer cabin. Favorite target is a old pressure tank at 140 yards or so. You can sit on the porch, shoot the water tank, set the rifle down, grab a potato chip, and hear the ping as the bullet hits the tank.

the other two rifles, I put scopes on them and pull them out every so often. I got Bill Calfee's book (availble on amazon) and using his instructions, slugged the barrel and lapped the two tight spots under the two scope blocks. Kept the tight spot from the front sight block but worked on the rear two and accuracy improved to about 1/4 inch at 50 with preferred ammo (SK pistol Match Special). From what I learned and observed, drilling and taping the barrel for the scope blocks and the front sight mount squeezed the barrel a little bit and it was evident from slugging the barrel. If you are interested, get Calfee's book, take your time, be patient, do a couple laps, slug the barrel, test it, repeat until you do not feel comfortable continuing. Remember, I kept the tight spot at the muzzle to keep the accuracy. Although I got better accuracy, I never got it to equal the accuracy of my winchester 52c but they are still fun to shoot.

I am sure you will enjoy your rifle as much as I enjoy mine.

Regards,
Cranky
 
#27 ·
Not sure if there is much of a market for the sights, but one thing to consider is if you try to sell this rifle sometime in the future it is always attractive to most buyers to have as much of the complete package that came with the rifle originally as possible...

As far as the stock refinishing- start off with some Old English furniture finish repair first to see if that will help that scratch. It has MEK in it, so use gloves , but the MEK will "melt" the surrounding finish and spread it around the scratch if you use it according to directions and possible cover most of the issue unless the scratch is into the wood. I wouldn't think refinishing would hurt the value any more than having the scratch on it now.....

Bob
 
#32 ·
It's been several years ago but I'll say I likely started around 100 grit and took it to 400 or perhaps 600, use good non clogging sandpaper from a woodworking supply dealer. Lacquer was satin from Lowe's hardware, I'm thinking Deft or such.
 
#33 ·
OP, on my Kimber of Oregon 82, it has a Weaver 40x45 scope, and it really likes Lapua Center X and Midas + ammo. At 100 yds off of a rest, get 1 jagged hole. And of course the one flier that will mess up the grouping, which is 99% operator error. I know the saying pics or it didn't happen, but cleaned out a lot of pics on my phone and that was one of them. Oops.
 
#34 ·
Thanks again as usual guy’s, a wealth of good information. That bolt will be a challenge but I am going to give it a go anyway.
Thanks for the tip on the sandpaper and lacquer, will be a late winter project when too cold to shoot.
Lots of good ammo suggestions to try out (if I can find it), never thought 22lr would get this scarce.
Seller found the other odds and ends and offered to refund my money within 7 days if it doesn’t shoot to my expectations. I don’t think I can beat that! Should pick it up Thursday and shoot it this weekend.
 

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#38 ·
As long as we're all sharing pics of our 82Gs....

Here's mine in the original stock. It actually looks better in person. The stock has some nice colors. The slash in the stock on other side is small compared to some.



It's in this stock at the moment...





I'm embarrassed to admit that I've had the rifle almost 10 years and I'm sure I haven't shot more than a brick of ammo through it. I think my expectations were a little too high and I was disappointed when it didn't shoot one-hole groups. Tonight I looked at the targets I've shot with it. It didn't do too bad considering the ammo I was using was mid-level at best. I didn't think I had shot it since I moved to Texas but I just found a thread I posted where I had shot it in the SSV stock about year after I moved.

I also found a thread I did after I slugged the barrel and before I shot it with a scope. Warning long read haha. I may have to think about trying to lap out some of tight spots between the chamber and muzzle.

https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=400760
 
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