Just picked it up, box (blue foam), tools, two mags. A few questions, date of manufacture, the serial number is A237XXX?

What spare parts should I try and round up?

It looks like only the right side is slotted for the weight, not the left side. Does that make sense?

Ran a box of flush loaded 148 grain HBWC through it before dark tonight. 2.7 grains of Bullseye, Starline brass with a very light crimp, worked flawless.

Very excited.

Thanks for the help.

No, that certainly does not make sense. Pictures? I have a 52-2 from very late in the production run (TZT-prefix) that is not cut at all for a counterweight.

A237xxx indicates a possible 1974 production, in my experience the blue foam box innards is the rarest of all three box styles that a 52 ever used.

Spare parts? None, just magazines. Fantastic pistol!

I agree with Sevens that the counterweight groove on one side doesn't make sense. I am also a little confused about the Blue foam liner. I know both the 52 and the 41 came with the Blue foam liner during a certain period. I have 3 blue foam liner boxes, 2 originally for a M41 but one of them came without the top so I'm not sure what it contained as the box size is the same. The SN's on the two foam liner M41 boxes are A577XXX and A599XXX. Does anybody know the serial number ranges of the M52 and M41 that came with Blue foam liner??
George

George, I don't know exactly when the blue foam liner was use but in a LOT of searching for 52's over the last three years, I'm sure it was the most scarce of the three box styles. I had one with the blue foam liner and it was an A631xxx, numbered to the gun, likely 1980 production.

I would agree that an A237xxx (1974?) is out of the typical range I have seen for the blue foam liner. It's certainly possible that some previous owner took the blue foam liner from some other gun/box and used it in this box... then again, S&W is known for doing all kinds of odd things and using up virtually -anything- they find in stock, letting nothing go to waste.

I should have been clearer, the box doesn't match the gun. Box is for a 52-2 with serial number A482xxx

Left hand side, its like they started to mill the weight slot and then the lunch bell rang.

https://i.imgur.com/AG1k7En.jpg

Heh, that's as good a description as I could have come up with!

I'm surprised that it would have left the factory like that, seems like a big omission for a high end gun.

Thanks for the all the info guys.

I agree with your assessment.

On my TZT-prefix which I believe to be extremely late in the life of the model (which again, has no grooves and also has no divot for the counterweight set screw), my theory is that perhaps tooling was wearing out and since S&W no longer offered the counterweight as an accessory for sale, maybe the bosses said that we can save time/money and skip the cutting of the grooves.

That's merely my theory and I actually haven't found other late production 52's that also have no grooves/divot.

Just for the sake of info, the original no-dash 52's also had no grooves or divot.

Mine does have the divot.

My 52-2 TBCXXXX is grooved and has the divot.

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Ken

That is something that might have gotten through accidentally. When I was fitting the Mod 52, the first step would be to select a raw slide and fit to a raw frame, basically most machining done, no finishing done whatsoever. After fitting the frame/slide set, it would go off for finishing, removing machine marks, polishing and bluing. One side might have been polished a little too close, But as Sevens said, the counterweight was no longer available, at least while I was there, so it probably never got looked at. I am sure the counterweights were fit to each specific gun and sent off for finishing as well.

Comment on above posts.
A237XXX could be between 1975 and 1977 - as usual Jinks/S&W for your 52

52 Weights - not aware of any shipped with pistol - basically a separate buy in my experience. Definitely a fitting problem - seen several that would tend to come off in middle of a match. The 41 weights were a better design for fitting and holding.

Foam box liner - surprised to hear one in the in the A482XXX range as 41s were generally started in the A525XXX range, but 52 were slow moving and probably got into later era box.

Tried a 52 and a 52-1 and early 2. Did not note the described hesitation, but may have not done the test correctly.

TAS in 1987 last I have info on. donk52 - how does that period fit with your working on 52s

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TOMBECK