Very excited to stumble across a really nice Kimber 82 Government this weekend. My daughter had a lacrosse tournament Saturday morning a couple of towns over from where we live, and I had some time to kill in between games, so of course, I went over to a LGS to kick some tires.

Sure enough, this beautiful 82G is sitting on the shelf. It was on consignment from a guy that’s slowly selling off his collection, and the rifle came with its original box. Didn’t take long for me to tell the owner to please box it up…

I’ve always had my eye open for one of these rifles for years now, and this one looks like it’s never been fired. These rifles were made for the US Army marksmanship program, for training rifles, from the late 80s to the mid 90s (I believe). It’s a very solid rifle, and seems like top quality made. With its heavy barrel and beautiful walnut bench-rest stock, she’s pretty heavy. It has a really nice sight on it, but I’m thinking that I’ll want to put a 36x target scope on it.

I really enjoy .22s, and over the years have picked up some pretty nice ones to shoot. I used to do quite a bit of .22lr bench-rest competitions, and have an Anschutz that shoots really, really well. This Kimber will just be a nice rifle to enjoy some good plinking.

Here’s some pictures I took when I got home with it, I didn’t even wipe it down…

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NRA Life Member

congrats on your find. very nice looking rifle. I've never seen a sight like that but also haven't been into that type of shooting. need to fix that as it must be a lot of fun. thanks for sharing, krs/kenny. Mauriceville, texas USA

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Too good

I see an outstanding flaw in your rifle! Some idiot was ordered to verify the serials on the 82Gs before shipping and used a utility knife to slice the plastic bag open! Every single one I've ever seen (about 20) have "The Cut!" Your cut free rifle is obviously an imposter! While the peep sight are not the best out there, we found them to be extremely repeatable and return to the same POI after removal.

5 of us had the whole batch that were traded in from a High School rifle team. Mine was #5 a friend bought #4, which was like new! Why would a team rifle be like new? Because it didn't hit anything! My friend played with it and found the barrel channel was binding, so he shimmed the action and then being like new, outshot the rest of ours!

Ownes one for about 10 years and had a 30x Leupold target on it most of the time. Mine really liked Eley Team ammo. At 100 yards 3/4" to 1" groups were the normal. I sold it, a Anshutz 54 prone rifle, a Winchester 1917 Enfield, a bull barreled Anshutz 54 22 Hornet with AAA wood, and a Redfield 3200 16x for enough money in 2014 to pay my last 3 trimesters of my BA, pay off my credit cards, and have walking around money for 6 months! Good guns bring about good results shooting and selling!

Ivan

These classic .22 target rifles are great. I have a Remington 513-T that I picked up because that's what we had at the school rifle club, and a 1922 Springfield. Once this eye of mine clears up I'm going to have to take these out and play with them.

I bought my Kimber 82 from the Civilian Marksmanship Program many years ago...paid $600 for it, if I remember correctly. It does have "the cut" along the left side of the stock, but it's not too prominent. It's a beautiful rifle, very well-made.

Now for the bad news...

I also have a Harrington & Richardson Model 12, which I bought almost 20 years ago from my LGS for $300, well-used and dirty. I cleaned it up, got rid of some areas of surface rust and cold-blued them, and re-finished the stock. It outshoots my Kimber, and is almost as accurate as my Remington 540X.

Don't get me wrong; my Kimber is accurate, with great ergos and a terrific trigger. It's just that my Model 12 (in the middle in the below photo) is more accurate, and at a little more than half the price.

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Where Law Ends, Tyranny Begins

Have had half a dozen Kimber 82G's, from the CMP $600 gun to the CMP "Rusties" for $300. Some shot very well and some did not. Have had 2 or 3 of virtually every common manufacturer's heavy barrel target .22's. Still have a Remington 513T (simply because it has a 12 ounce trigger & shoots great), a Remington USMC 40X (because it belonged to the Corps) and a Winchester 52D (because it shoots for me the best).

Enjoy your rifle. Nice looking piece.

The cut on the stock came from an Air Force inventory years and years ago. Had some stupid E-1 or E-2 was using a razor knife to cut open the plastic to verify the S/N's. No thought of taking any care of a brand new rifle. CMP Forum is a good place to go for info. Smallbore -

CMP Forums

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

AIR Force? who would of thought someone in the Air Force didn't respect rifles! (Sorry Rusty!)

Ivan

My brother has an 82 he got from the CMP with that same cut!!!

I still kick myself for not getting one of these when CMP had them

If you got one without a cut you were lucky.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

They had them for a long, long time. They did not sell well. Finally, they called them "rusty" and cut the price in half. Then they sold. I bought a rusty just to see how rusty they really were. It was just dried cosmoline and came off with a bit of scrubbing.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

You have to love when you get an inexpensive gun that turns out to be a real shooter! Same goes for the .22 rifle that happens to like a particular brand of cheap ammo vs. the expensive stuff.

I’m curious on how this Kimber will shoot. I’ve read that some are great shooters, some are not, and some people have to tweak them to get them there. Hopefully I’ll get to wring it out this weekend!

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NRA Life Member

You’ve had some great target .22s! I’ve always wanted a Winchester 52D, maybe some day it’ll happen…. Everyone that I know that’s had one has raved about it.

As for the cut stocks on these Kimbers, that’s a real shame. Fortunately, I’d don’t see one on my rifle, so I guess I’m lucky. Mine looks like it’s not been fired, and except for a small/light scratch on the fore end (that I think I can easily fix) it looks like new.

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NRA Life Member

I bought a couple of the 82G s from the CMP store and was able to browse the racks for wood that had not gotten slashed
I still have one unfired and one that I do shoot on occasion

Here are three targets that I shot with various Kimber 82G's. The one I sent off to a Board Member from Rimfire Central. He measured the 5 shot group as 0.167" Center to Center. All were shot at 50 yards from the bench with iron sights,

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

That’s some great shooting AJ! I’m assuming those targets are from the 82s that shot ‘well.’ Were the ones that didn’t shoot well much worse, or just a little? Need to get mine out to shoot this weekend.

What kind of sight is on your 82G? Is the sight on mine what would have come on the rifle, or one that would have been put on aftermarket? Have you done trigger work on any of yours, or just used it as you got it?

Also, you’ve got a good eye. I double-checked my stock, and sure enough, there is a cut mark from our friends at the USAF. Really hadn’t noticed before…. It’s not really through the finish, and not too noticeable, but it’s definitely there.

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NRA Life Member

Really, do not remember which of the 82G's that shot those. But yes, they were probably the better ones of the bunch. I used the standard Kimber Sights that came with them from CMP. I fact I have a Kimber Rear Sight in my sights box for when I need one like that. No, there was no trigger work on those. Just pulled them out of the box, cleaned them, sighted them and shot them a bit. Just never could warm up to the Kimbers. Much prefer the 52's.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I've owned a few 82G's and they wouldn't shoot to the same level as the 40x's, 52's, Anschutz, etc. that I had, but if you collect military trainers, you've got to have an least one in your collection.

I’d rethink a 36x scope on a 22. I tried a leupold 36x on mine and it was too much, 100yds had a small field of view. If you’re chasing groups then sure, but be prepared for the hazy picture on even warm days. That scope is on a 40x 6BR now and is much better for 200-300yd work. My 82G has a leupold 24x and is perfect for 100yd work, to me. Has fine hair with dot. No haze in the heat.

Hopefully yours will work the same, but mine isn’t very picky about ammo. The federal bulk, mini mag, and cci sv all hit bottle caps at 100yds every time. Golden bullets and Winchester anything are golf balls at 100yds. Best group I ever got came from RWS Target, but that stuff even 25 years ago when I bought it was expensive for general range fun. The 82G is my self esteem redeemer when I can’t hit the broadside of a barn.

Oh, mine came with those sights, best I could tell they were 1/8th adjustment per click. I liked them just fine, but if you keep them, get the thin post for the front, mine had the globe or whatever it’s called with the hole to look through, I despise that type of front sight.

Hope you like it, mine found its forever home with me.

When I started shooting bench rest I used a 36X Leupold, as were a lot of others. Still have it. Then a lot of the guys switched to the 45X Leupold. Somewhere along the line I started shooting strictly irons for the most part. Still shoot irons 99% of the time. ONce in a while I will use a barrel mount scope (Lyman SuperTargetSpot 25X). I use plastic inserts in my Redfield Olympic Front Sight. Like this : FWB 22mm CLEAR APERTURE | Champion'''s Choice or you may try Ebay. The metal inserts I throw in boxes and store away. The targets you saw me post are with that type of plastic insert. I despise the metal ones......

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I'll chime in also, I have an 82 G I purchased from the CMP (don't remember how much I paid) and it too has the cut and the same sight.

My M82 came from the CMP store in Anniston. I was fortunate enough to be able to hand select mine and it doesn't have the "cut." It does have a beautiful a "cake bread" walnut stock.

The sights are very good but, the base for the front sight was apparently misaligned. In order to get it on paper, I had to use all of the right windage and the point of impact was still 2" left of center.

I mounted a 12x Leupold target scope and had no problem in centering the group. The groves for the scope mounts require specific rings and I had to use the CZ rings to mount the scope.

The rifle was a gift from a good friend for helping him get into high power rifle competition and coaching him to his Expert qualification.

Won an EBay auction on a like-new used T Series Weaver 26x scope. I don’t like the iron sights, with its circle front sight.

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NRA Life Member

I bought my 82G about 15+ years ago. I went thru 14 'Rusties' before I found a perfect stock. The owner's manual explains trigger adjustment, mine came out safe and under 1#. I mounted a 15X Unertl Varmint and a modern Athlon. It also came with front and rear sights. Lee Shaver sells additional front sight inserts. The Kimber lets the shooter be at the range for hours with very low ammo consumption. Single shot bolt guns are not rapid fire.

Beautiful rifle by the OP.

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S&WHF 366