Kimber 82G Project

[Mark W]

Here are a few pics of Kimber 82G that I picked up out of the classifieds last summer. After cleaning it up and doing a trigger job it really didn’t shoot any better than my bone stock CZ 455. I decided that since it didn’t shoot great I would try to make it look a little better. A friend who is better than I am at woodworking helped me shape the stock and add the maple inlay where the factory rail used to be. I spent several weeks putting on coats of tru oil and sanding in between. The last coat was buffed out with 0000 steel wool and waxed before final assembly. This was my first time tackling a project like this, so I thought it turned out pretty good. I’m thinking about having a Lilja barrel installed to see if we can get it shooting a little better.

 

[JMayo]

Cool !

 

[gaboy]

Some of these 82 G's shoot pretty good. Might want to try a recrown and a new striker spring. J&P springs have the springs and cocking studs that you'll also need. Lot of good info over at rimfire central. Bedding also helps.
Oh yea, good job on the wood, that's sharp.

 

[Gabe22BR]

Where can one get mags for a 82 ??

 

[Tim s]

Perhaps before you go down that road, ditch the Tasco, they are generally less than reliable even for a rimfire.
With it, frankly, you cannot determine how the gun shoots.

 

[Mark W]

Some of these 82 G's shoot pretty good. Might want to try a recrown and a new striker spring. J&P springs have the springs and cocking studs that you'll also need. Lot of good info over at rimfire central. Bedding also helps.
Oh yea, good job on the wood, that's sharp.

I’ll do some more research before going too extreme. I’ve had it apart for a good cleaning and it looked pretty much new. Honestly it may not even be broken in yet. My CZ didn’t come around until after 1000 rounds or so.

 

[Mark W]

Perhaps before you go down that road, ditch the Tasco, they are generally less than reliable even for a rimfire.
With it, frankly, you cannot determine how the gun shoots.

I tested the rifle with a different scope but I’ve had pretty decent results from these old Japanese made Tascos. My only complaint with this one is that it’s a fixed 36X. I shot some pretty nice groups with it on a 223 so I’m not too concerned with its performance on a 22 RF.

 

[JMayo]

Action torque makes them shoot different also. Look up the specs.
My buddy has one that shoots really well.

 

[natdscott]

Fully bed and pillar it, checking for tension in that POS trigger guard..if it's there, just bed the bottom with the rear screw, and leave the front absent. There is also a dude on Rimfire Central making barstock aluminum guards.

Do all the parts replacement that JP Gunspring can sell you.

Replace the trigger with one from Xtreme, or have somebody stone and reset the factory unit. I did the latter myself, and I ended up with a spectacular trigger for the weight it was. One of the very smoothest rolls of any single stage I've ever done.

Shilen Ratchet.

You look like a bench guy...so go straight 0.850 contour if you're going to tune it, R0 or R5 contour if you're not. Personally, I would cut it at 22" or longer.

Into that barrel, I would spin a "JGS Match" reamer. Bueno. Wichita Arms has one in carbide because I sold it to him. You COULD go shorter on the leade and tighter spec, but it would be debatable if you pick anything up except a little longer barrel life (in a theoretical world where all the lands wash evenly).

 

[Tim s]

I tested the rifle with a different scope but I’ve had pretty decent results from these old Japanese made Tascos. My only complaint with this one is that it’s a fixed 36X. I shot some pretty nice groups with it on a 223 so I’m not too concerned with its performance on a 22 RF.

Better than the current ones but not by much. You’re shooting rimfire score, which means regular clicking. Exatly what might you expect from 25 year old wave springs and o-rings.
You’re throwing around all kinds of ideas and spending a fair buck on a marginal platform to begin with, and ignoring the single most important part of the equation......good luck.
Hint... I have been shooting rimfire BR at local, state, regional, national, matches over 20 years and have never seen a Tasco on a comp rig. Think maybe there’s a reason why?

 

[Mark W]

Better than the current ones but not by much. You’re shooting rimfire score, which means regular clicking. Exatly what might you expect from 25 year old wave springs and o-rings.
You’re throwing around all kinds of ideas and spending a fair buck on a marginal platform to begin with, and ignoring the single most important part of the equation......good luck.
Hint... I have been shooting rimfire BR at local, state, regional, national, matches over 20 years and have never seen a Tasco on a comp rig. Think maybe there’s a reason why?

I guess you set me straight....lol. It’s too bad you made so many incorrect assumptions in the process.

Here are a few hints for you sir......

1) You’re sorely mistaken that I’m interested in any sort of formal rimfire benchrest competition. I’ve been to a few centerfire events and met some really nice people but the whole thing was pretty boring to me.

2) If I were interested in competitive benchrest shooting, tweaking 25 year old equipment wouldn’t be my approach. I would commission one of the top BR Gunsmiths to build my rifle. I would then of course equip said rifle with the the highest quality glass on the market.

3) I can have plenty of fun exercising the limits of sub-par equipment that causes equipment snobs to turn up their noses.

 

[Tim s]

You have a gun costing X. You are interested in spending furter Y.
You are developing a “ system”.
You have a weak link in your system.
You can lead a horse to water but sometimes they just don ‘t look down.

 

[426nut]

https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1094946&page=4

hello, the stock refinish looks terrific. Did your rifle escape the box knife?
You might want to read the article posted on this page as it concerns accuracy improvements for the 82g.
There are also stickies at the top of the kimber forum for the 82g. e.

 

[1raggedhole]

Some of these 82 G's shoot pretty good. Might want to try a recrown and a new striker spring. J&P springs have the springs and cocking studs that you'll also need. Lot of good info over at rimfire central. Bedding also helps.
Oh yea, good job on the wood, that's sharp.

82Gs are usually very good shooters. As you know virtually all are U.S. stamped and sat in storage for a long time. Before spending more time and money, suggest you disassemble the bolt and make sure there is no corrosion inside. It is very common and can create inconsistent firing pin movement. Be aware that the cocking screw is left hand thread... you have to remove that to get the bolt apart.

 

[Sparky570]

I have one,,shot great,,,after recrown shoots even better,,,I spent hours reading over at RFC,,Guys say they did something bad when mounting barrel,,,try a q-tip test on the crown,,also they said action torque is a big factor,,,more so than others,,def needs bedding

 

[johara1]

The thing you may want to look at is what ammo it likes, is very important. Pillar and bed it and it will shoot. as mentioned earlier a good scope. The new Sightron 45 is a winner if you can get one at the right price.... jim

 

[velocette]

I started NRA smallbore prone competition with a Kimber 82G. It was good enough to get me to the top of Expert classification. (99.4% & below) The changes I made were to re-crown the muzzle, clean & polish all the trigger parts & replace the trigger spring with a much lighter spring. Brought the trigger to ~ ~ 1lb. Epoxy bedded the action.
I then lightly chamfered the chamber mouth removing the sharp edge that was shaving lead from the bullets.
When I say lightly, I mean it, just break that sharp edge enough to stop the shaving. (I used a .25" diameter round stone with the end rounded epoxied to a dowel.) A Weaver 24X scope was used. 82G is a good rifle and a good start, capable of very good accuracy.

 

[johara1]

If I remember right it is a copy of a Winchester 75 action, but at 75 years old it is getting fuzzy LOL.... jim

 

[M16_4_REAL]

Those 82’s can be pretty accurate. I had one for a few years that was bought as a project from a gun show. Unknown round count, rough stock, some damage to the crown.
After tearing it down, I faced the barrel to clean steel, recrowned it, rechambered it, did some polishing on the trigger components, and some serious scrubbing with jb bore and kroil. Once I had the barreled action squared away, I turned my attention to the stock. I’m not a wood guy at all, so I had a local guy sand the stock down, repair the surface dings, fill the wood, and finish with a few coats of linseed oil. Turned out amazing. Once I had it back, I drilled stock for aluminum pillars, bedded pillars and skim bedded the action.
After doing all the hard work, I cheaped out on optic and mount. BIG mistake. Shot like 2-1/2 to 3 inch groups at 50 yards with every type of ammo I tested. Figured I was fighting something. After narrowing down to scope/mounting issue, I bought a one piece picatinny base from NF or leupold, can’t remember. Then added a swfa fixed 16x Mil hash scope. Completely changed the accuracy. With bulk boxed ammo, groups were averaging 3/4” at 50y.
Moral of the story, don’t cheat yourself out of all that great work and effort. Give the rifle a fighting chance and put a decent optic and mount on. You won’t be disappointed.
Btw, very nice work on the stock. Looks stellar.

 

[Sparky570]

Theres a guy on RFC makes some really slick trigger guards,,i Cant remember his name,,