Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Kimber "S" series

I have an older Kimber M82 22LR with this designation. The serial number is S303-500. Does this mean they made 500 of these S series rifles? I was told once that this was the fore bearer of the Super America.Is that true? It's a very nice rifle and came with a Leupold 2x-7x rimfire scope. Any information on this is appreciated.

Some of the competition 22lr shooters shoot a Kimber model 82 Government target rifle. Might want to google it.

Yes that is true.. They only made 500 in each caliber, 22LR ,22 mag and 22 Hornet. Some were made with iron sights ,some without.

They were the predecessors to the Super America series. They were called "S" models for "Supergrade" but Kimber could not legally use that name because it was already trademarked by Winchester..

I owned one of those rifles that I purchased brand new from the inventory of Kimber Master dealer Tulsa Triumph back in 1982.
The owner brought out all he had from the back which was six rifles.. The boxes were not sealed and had sliding tops so I got to look them all over and pick which rifle I wanted. It was a tough choice because they were ALL beautifully figured stocks. The dealer got a big kick put of watching me agonize over the choice...

The price of admission to buy one? A princely 600 1982 US dollars. The equivilent of about $1,800 today.

It was a nice little gun and about as accurate as any Kimber I owned..

Back in 1995 or so I owned an 82S in 22 Hornet. It was a beauty with very "fancy" walnut, a quarter rib, skeleton grip cap and their rings. It was pretty accurate as well. It did suffer from light primer strikes with some primers but I fixed that. I wish I still had it.

in addition to the info jk16 provided, you may want to PM Mtnboomer as he may have some firsthand feedback from working on the Kimber production floor as the resident beaver.

Thanks for the information. It's a very nice rifle with iron sights and a Neidner steel but plate. Nicely figured stock as well. Would this be valued the same as a Super Grade? I wouldn't mind finding a Hornet like this one.

Actually, the total run of S Series Kimber 82 rifles was 535 in all calibers. That makes a serial number like 535 of 500 sort of strange. They came both plain barreled and with a very nice set of iron sights. They were the precursor to the Super America. The Super Grade already existed but in very small numbers. S series usually have very nice stock figure with an ebony tip. They bring appx $2500 today. If you want to learn more, or see pics of them go to the Kimber forum on Rimfirecentral.com. The pictures can be found in the "Show Me Your Kimber" thread.
Of all of the high end Kimbers, I think they come closest to replicating the design and feel of the long discontinued Winchester 52 Sporters. They sparked my interest in collecting Kimber of Oregon rimfire rifles.

Kimber never made a "Super Grade"...As I said in my previous post they only made "S" and "Super America" models due to the fact Winchester already had the trademark rights to the name "Super Grade".

And yes the "S" grades are worth about the same as a comparably equiped Super America. As Sagerat said, they bring around $2,500.

Actually, Kimber did make a Super Grade. The early versions were stocked by Bishop, Fisher and in-house by Kimber. I actually own SG38 in my collection. You can reference Eaton's "Kimber Collectors and Enthusiasts Manual" for pictures and serial number ranges. Also in 1989 they replaced the Super America for one year with a high end rifle called the Super Grade and I have an example in my collection as well. I have never heard that Winchester had trademarked the term "Super Grade." Do you have a source for that?
They also made other very high end rifles like the Custom Match, the 10th Anniversary and the Centennial.

Source materail?

Every Winchester Catalog in those days had fine print in the back listing all the trademarks owned by the Olin Corporation.
"Super Grade" was damn sure one of them.

Have you EVER stopped to think why only a few dozen "Supergrade" marked Kimbers were ever made in 1981-82 ?
It was because Greg Warne got a letter from OLIN's legal department that Kimber was violating Winchesters trademarks.

Hence the whole "S" grade nonesense.

I ordered one of the very first 1,200 Bishop stocked Kimbers m82s in 1981. I had to send it back because there was a glob of wood putty used to fill a big chip behind the safety rocker. When the gun came back from Kimber with a new handle, it was an Oregon made Claro stock

And yes i know a little bit about the Oregon Kimbers, even though I have not owned any for 20 years now. In the 1980"s and 90's ,I bought at least 30 brand new from dealersvlikebTulsa Troumph,Lawrence Freistad, Nationwide sports and First Stop Gun.

I owned Classics, Custom Classics, " S" grades ,Super Amercas ,a Brownell Continental ,a Custom match,Classic Deluxe ,Extreme Hunters and Classic and Custom Classic Varmints.

Besides the m82s I owned a few m84s and BG-89s. Some of them.were as pretty as any Custom rifle I could have had made.The Oregon Kimbers are pretty, but most don't shoot and/or function worth what they cost..Which is why gradually , mine all got sold off. I do not miss any of them, but that 1982 "S" grade was my favorite..:)

It's not my intention to argue with you, just pointing out that Kimber did make Super Grades and had runs of them appx 8 years apart. I think they currently make a Super Grade version of their 1911 based pistols as well. It would make sense for Winchester to trademark the term but I'm not conversant in Winchester stuff or trade mark laws.
Of the 82's that I shoot from my collection, all of them are easy MOA or less performers. I did have a Star grade that wouldn't do 2" @ 50 yards, but it's long gone after futile attempts to improve it's groups.
Pricing of Kimber rimfires is becoming a challenge as a new generation of buyers has entered the market and are driving the prices steadily upwards. A nice S Series sold on GB last night for $3675, most Super Americas bring appx 4K, there was a Custom Classic HB Varmint that went for over 6K a few months ago on GB and the ugliest Bishop will get you $1000.

There's a really nice Kimber 82 Super Grade up for sale on GunBroker right now.

I had to take a peek sage....Very nice looking gun....and the $5k offer reflects its desirability

Sagerat: I only wish I had purchased more of the original Kimber of Oregon Model 82 "S" type Rifles!
Mine have just exquisite wood on them - and again I only wish I had purchased MORE of them
What a wonderful investment they have been for me.
Some of mine have matching serial numbers (but in different calibers).
I keep mine new, unfired in the box - so no comments on their accuracy from me.
Sadly last I talked to a Kimber factory representative in person, they still have all the tooling for "rimfire Rifles" back at the factory but they are so busy building pistols they hardly have time to do some centerfire Rifles let alone gearing up again to manufacture rimfire Rifles.
I do have a Kimber of Oregon "Ultra-Varmint" in caliber 221 Remington Fireball that I shoot on special Varmint Safaris from time to time - it is an excellent little Varminter with a wonderfully shaped stock and excellent trigger and easily (usually) attains right at .500" groups (5 shots at 100 yards). This with a moderate power Leupold straight 12 power scope.
Another Kimber of Oregon I dearly love and shoot on special occasions is an 82-B in caliber 218 Bee.
This 82-B has very nice wood on it but no where near the quality/beauty of my 82-S's.
Dittos for its accuracy and trigger.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

IMHO my M82 S is a nicer rifle than the one on GB for $5K. It has wonderful wood and the wood to metal fit is exceptional. It's a very accurate 22 and my go to squirrel gun.

I have a Kimber Ultra Carry II in 45 ACP that accompanies me on any trip into a big city and whenever I venture into the woods. Another excellent example from Kimber.

You guys ought to post pics of those Kimbers on the "Show Me Your Kimber" thread in the Kimber forum on RimfireCentral.com.