Kimber 82G Good or Bad?

[SlartyBartFast]

Perhaps unfair to the person trying to sell one in Buy, Sell, Trade. But what are peoples opinions of this rifle and whether it it would be a good risk/investment to get one?

Asking around the few shooters that I know, the reviews and opinions seemed to be very positive. And like myself they were very impressed by the photos of the particular gun in question. So the question became one of how I was going to come up with the funds, who I would use to handle the export/import, and how to vet an online seller.

But then I began reading up on the rifles. Lots of praise, lots of "good value for money" reviews. But also many questions about accuracy and consistency between different rifles. The most detailed post that I found that got me concerned about the accuracy of the rifle is here:
http://bentongunclub.net/smf/index.php?topic=875.0

So what do others think?

[ChipEck]

Bought one for my daughter about 10 years ago. Very heavy but one heck of an accurate rifle. She used it on the junior team that won the State Junior title. When she lost interest I sold it within a couple of days. Not sure I would buy for investment as they are kind of ugly....but very accurate.

Chip

[Gwelo]

There is a wealth of info on the 82G on http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/index.php
Scroll down to the Kimber forum and do a search on 82G. Probably the most info anywhere on ALL Kimber rimfires. If you shoot rimfire you should be a member.

[NuJudge]

I bought two. One I have shot a good bit, the other very little. Both had ignition problems, apparently because of the striker spring having taken a set, and this went away when the spring was replaced. Both of mine were classed by CMP as "Rusty," but the only rust I've found was on the striker spring.

The cocking stud on the bolt is a wear part, and there is little in the way of spares available for the rifle. An aftermarket company has started making cocking studs for it. Keep your cocking stud lubed, and buy several spares. They also make striker springs, so also buy several of those.

With decent ammunition, the one I have shot groups decently at 50 yards. All of them had to shoot decently with really good ammo in order to be accepted.

The trigger is heavier than many people like. Recently, there was one batch of (much lighter) aftermarket triggers made for them. There was one gunsmith modifying the factory trigger, but he's had some problems, which caused some hard feelings with customers.

[Bob Smalser]

The bottom line is that the 82G (9lbs) is the most disliked rifle in our 100+ kid junior program, with the most-liked award going to the Anschutz 64C (7lbs) for smaller kids and the Anschutz Match 64 (8lbs) and Walther KK100 (9lbs) for larger kids.

The problem isn't weight, it's balance. The Kimber specs were developed by the Army based on 1950-era 40X and 52E designs that favored the muzzle-heavy, where more modern designs balance at the receiver ring. You can fix the balance using lead, but doing so brings the rifle up to 10+lbs. You can also cut the barrel and add a bloop tube, but that's a lot of work and expense when for the same money Anschutz 64s are pretty common.



That said, accuracy with the 82G is adequate, and can be made better with bedding and recrowning. The counterbored crown is rough, collects baked-on crud and eventually requires recutting.



So I'm slowly selling all ours off in favor of more Match 64's. If you really, really want one, I have one left, fully balanced and upgraded for accuracy.

[BarryB]

Bought 2 82G's from the CMP about 5-6years ago and have to say that they were well worth the $$$ paid. One I left stock so I could shoot 50yd bullseye matches with and the other one had the buttstock hollowed out and 4" cut from the barrel so that I could make weight for NRA silhouette matches, including the scope I mounted. I've never had any problems with either one; just remember to keep some grease on the cocking bolt to reduce any wear and they'll both outlive me for sure.

Accuracy is great on both with the stock iron sighted one easily capable of 200-18X or better at 50yds.(about .3CTC) and less than 1" at 100yds. Better performance is there, but limited by my ability to read the wind and not the guns.