Model 52 Questions

Can a factory unaltered model 52 be competitive today or will it need some work, tightening or a new barrel? They're expensive enough to buy one I'm just wondering if after that I'm looking at paying for labor too. I'm thinking next year or within the next three years I'd like to get into a 38 Mid Range of some kind. Either a 52 or a 1911. But I was curious about these 52's and how good are they?

I think its luck of the draw. I have a friend with a 52-1 and claims he's ransom rested it at 1.5" which is plenty good enough for bullseye use, the trigger is pretty nice as well. On the other hand I've seen people buy some used that won't shoot. I've spoke with Jon a good bit about 38 special autos and he much prefers the Clark 1911's over a 52, if you find one in really nice shape it will be upward of $2k though. You can find them cheaper sometimes but might have to have it rebarreled which isn't cheap, Jon says 38 special in a 1911 basically doubles the labor over a 45/9mm/38 super. Have you considered just going with 38 super?

probably the cheapest dedicated centerfire pistol to shoot is a revolver. Nothing is ever good enough though, everything can be improved.

If i shot a 38 revolver it would need a ground up rebuild, what i have in time and $ into this game now and in the future, the cost of a modified gun is small in the long run.

I like 38 special over 38 super because 38 special brass is plentiful at my range. 38 super is rare. I don't want to have to invest in super brass and make the effort to capture it and not lose it.

Cheap, Fast, Good, pick one. 

That's pretty much what it works out to be. You can build a good gun, but my bet is that by the time you've turned a Model 52 into a good gun, it will have cost more than a .32 ACP or S&W Pardini or a custom 1911 in 9mm or 38 super. 

The people that I know who shoot revolvers have put money in them. The possible exception, and I don't think that it is that much of an exception is rvlvrlvr.

Here is his post on revolvers. He made master with them before switching to semi-autos. 

https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t20p100-show-me-your-bullseye-pistols#18490


I have more than 5k pieces of .38 special brass. But I would go with a Super or 9mm for a dedicated centerfire pistol. It will do all of the same things, maybe better and certainly cheaper.  And brass, like barrels and springs, are consumables. You can still use all of that special brass for DR.

Tim:H11 wrote:I like 38 special over 38 super because 38 special brass is plentiful at my range. 38 super is rare. I don't want to have to invest in super brass and make the effort to capture it and not lose it.

Well you can buy 1000 Starline 38 super brass for $140, that should last a LONG time. Plus you're going to be using a brass catcher either way. The conclusion I've come to is 38 super is going to be cheaper and less finicky in the long run. I still want a 1911 chambered in 38 special at some point, might be 10 years but at some point I'll own one.

I shoot everything I build. I build primarily .45's, then 9's, then .38 spl's and finally a few .38 supers. Im my opinion the .45 is the most forgiving to shoot and reload for. 2nd would be the .38 spl. People make a big deal about having to follow through with the .38 spl. I think they are making other mistakes (trigger) which are bigger contributers to bad shots. The 9 is snappy and unforgiving in a 5" slide and a little more forgiving in a 6" slide. 9 is a bastard to reload for but when you figure it out they will shoot. But comes at cost of higher velocities. I haven't played with powder puff loads in the .38 super so I can't comment. If the super is similar to a .38 spl when downloaded then its got great potential. .38 spl's aren't finicky when built right. They require more time to build but they flat out shoot. The 52 is unforgiving and typically will not shoot 50 yds to save its life. I have several 1911 .38 spl's and love them. The bullets go straight into the target, the recoil is mild, and it shoots 100% on call everytime. Now throw bullet diameter in the equation. I normally shoot better .45 scores than .38 spl scores because of the close shots. So no matter what you shoot you have to squeeze the trigger well for .22, CF & 45. 
Jon

Tim, just noticed you recently made Master.  Congratulations.

joy2shoot wrote:Tim, just noticed you recently made Master.  Congratulations.

Thank you!

+1 on the unforgiving nature of the 52. Even hard holders have difficulty, but I'm certainly not one. However, they are plenty accurate for bullseye. But S&W will not even work on them anymore.  Clark Custom is testing new barrels with a 1-10 twist which will be interesting.

52's are great pistols. the only 52's owners need are spare parts,a New barrel with bushing. the fitting in my 52-2 is very loose,need tightening. other situation are the magazines,scarce and very expensive.

Chris Miceli wrote:probably the cheapest dedicated centerfire pistol to shoot is a revolver. Nothing is ever good enough though, everything can be improved.

If i shot a 38 revolver it would need a ground up rebuild, what i have in time and $ into this game now and in the future, the cost of a modified gun is small in the long run.

What kind of work would a S&W Model 14 need to be competitive? I use one for DR now but what if I were to put a red dot on it? Would it need anything else? It locks up good, good trigger. What else could it be?

The 14 would probably not need anything. I think you need to go back to the 52 idea though. Shoot one and you will fall in love with it. And FYI. I am still waiting for your address I did have all my 38's cylinders checked but they didn't shoot better after they were reamed. But that could have been me.

Len, check for equal cylinder gap in360*. Mine was .004/./015
Shot much better when the barrel was faced square and re-fitted.

Tim:H11 wrote:

Chris Miceli wrote:probably the cheapest dedicated centerfire pistol to shoot is a revolver. Nothing is ever good enough though, everything can be improved.

If i shot a 38 revolver it would need a ground up rebuild, what i have in time and $ into this game now and in the future, the cost of a modified gun is small in the long run.

What kind of work would a S&W Model 14 need to be competitive? I use one for DR now but what if I were to put a red dot on it? Would it need anything else? It locks up good, good trigger. What else could it be?

Kent over here has shot 2600 with all revolver, I believe he just did some light trigger work and had scopes put on...would have to check with him.

I would want one built like ppc but with a scope and single action only. I'm sure a revolver guy could step in add what is normally done to a match revolver.

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Years ago I had a 52-2 that Ransomed 2.25" at 50yd with factory.  Sold it.  Recently found another 52-2 "A" serial number that I could Ransom, but I plan to peddle it and some other guns soon.  Soon as I get more pictures made it goes on the block.

The best way to get into shooting CF bullseye with a revolver is to buy a Colt Python and shoot that.  Or a Colt Officers Model Match though the sights weren't as good.  These Colts were usually better than most 14s out of the box.  Shot single action there were none finer.

The problem with shooting revolvers now is finding a good 'smith who understands how to set them up for bullseye.  Setting them up for PPC is similar but different enough to be aggravating.

"Buy a Python and shoot it"..... Have you seen the price of Pythons lately? They've become collector pieces. I'm not sure I have the balls to shoot one.

james r chapman wrote:Len, check for equal cylinder gap in360*. Mine was .004/./015
Shot much better when the barrel was faced square and re-fitted.

James my 14's were fine on the gap. I had a 27-2 with a crane that needed tweaked and now it shoots great. This is how I set my 14's up for Bullseye. Both pistols will hold x ring at 25 with lots of loads. Likes 110gr XTP the best followed by 148gr HBWC. S&W triggers didn't need anything.