S&W. 52-2

KnotRight

KnotRight

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Anybody know much about a S&W 52? Friend has one and shoots 38 Special Wad Cutter. I have never fired an auto that eats 38 was cutters.
 
The S&W mod 52 was a premier target gun of it's day in Bullseye shooting. The only other way to shoot the 38 Special wadcutter was to have a 1911 heavily modified at considerable expense. Most people shot the wadcutter through a Mod 14 but the 52's and 1911's always seemed to win.

If you decide against buying it see if he would let it go to someone else....
 
Great guns! I had one for a number of years before selling mine. Unfortunately I never gave mine the attention that it deserved.

There were several variants out there, the model 52, 52-1 and the 52-2. There was even a version made for he Army chambered in .38 AMU

I ran mine using a 148gr HBWC over 3.2gr of Win231 with a very slight taper crimp. A very light and accurate load

Mags are quite expensive and will cost $60+ a pop.
 
BB, the guy does not want to sell it. He kept saying that he has a 38 wadcutter semi-auto and I was thinking 38 Super until I saw the gun last night. It is a 52-2.
 
I love mine, very much.
It was a bucket list gun for me.
 
I have always wanted one since seeing my first example 20 years ago. I think they are a pretty serious collector's piece and probably a must have for S&W enthusiasts. They are from the golden age of S&W and are supposed to be tack drivers, especially given their age.
 
Had several. The most interesting was the last one. I got hold of a S&W kit with all parts but the lower. Along the way I picked up another 52 slide. I converted it to 9mm and fed it with 39 mags. Stunning accuracy. Barsto used to make the barrels in 9 mm for them so the swap was easy. In their factory form when they first came out S&W guaranteed 2 inches at 50. A 148 HBWC with 2.8 of Bullseye would just stick them in a hole at 25.
 
Guys, you are going to make me tell my good friend that the gun is a dog and he needs to sell ASAP. I would be willing to pay him $150 in cash. Sometimes you bring the best of me out.
 
$150 might get you a factory counter weight for a model 52! If you're planning on getting one, plan on spending around $1k. Add $$$ for box, papers, accessories. As stated, definitely a bucket-list gun.
 
BatteryOaksBilly said:
Had several. The most interesting was the last one. I got hold of a S&W kit with all parts but the lower. Along the way I picked up another 52 slide. I converted it to 9mm and fed it with 39 mags. Stunning accuracy. Barsto used to make the barrels in 9 mm for them so the swap was easy. In their factory form when they first came out S&W guaranteed 2 inches at 50. A 148 HBWC with 2.8 of Bullseye would just stick them in a hole at 25.
Click to expand...
Sold this one on the GB with all parts included for $2,700.
 
The S&W Model 52 is one of the most accirsresemi-autos ever made. They are incredible pieces of engineering and workmanship. S&W discontinued them when the tooling for making them wore out. Tooling up to make them again was deemed too expensive for demand and they dropped them from the catalog. It was the end of an era.

As was said earlier, a shooter grade gun will still run you close to $1K or more. Factory mags bring $125 each.
 
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