I just bought a pre-model #39, a run of the mill 59, and a nice 52-2. The 39 and 59 are the typical SA/DA with the decocker. The 52-2 is modified to shoot S.A. only, which I expected, but the decocker does not seem to work as expected in that no matter which position the lever is in, the hammer stays back and a trigger pull will drop the hammer.

I assume this is not correct and needs attention. Am I right? Even though it is a target gun, and is SA only this seems problematic.

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I think that is just a hammer block, not a decocker. With the hammer cocked, look at the firing pin as you move the lever. It should cover or uncover the firing pin.

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protocalldesign.com

M52 doesn’t have a “de cocker”. Agree with Protocall. It sounds like you got the trifecta of the 1st gen S&W autos. Congrats.

Thanks! I will look. Appreciate the quick answer.

Thanks. Now I have them to join my 39-2 and 439
They get addicting!

Congratulations on the new family! A 52 has been on my "buy it if you see it" list for a long time. I'm talking about finding one in a gun store/pawn shop, or a local listing.

As much as I enjoy loading and shooting flush set full wadcutters for my 38 special snubs, it would be a good match for me. Looking forward to a range report on all 3, but most specially, the 52!

Good job!

As said above, no variation of the Model 52 ever made use of a decocker and the manual thumb safety is used as a hammer block only.

I looked at the picture you posted of your 52. Though it isn’t a very high resolution photo, I can still tell that something is very much NOT normal with your trigger. It is out much further than a 52-2 trigger typically ever sits forward. And although the picture doesn’t show great detail, that trigger does not appear to even be an OEM 52-2 trigger part — it really looks very much like a 39 or 59 trigger.

I wonder if you have any back story on this pistol. That trigger simply doesn’t look the way that S&W shipped them and it makes me wonder who swapped it out and why.

Can you post a better, more detailed picture in better light?

Pichers please.

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Goal Life Member
Traveling Man

i agree - the trigger does not look normal for a 52-2. For the sake of comparison, here is a shot of my 52-2 with the trigger in the normal position. As for the safety, it was designed to just cover the end of the firing pin to prevent an inadvertent discharge and to allow dry firing with no possibility of damage to parts.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

I think the trigger is stock but it does look like it's too far forward. The top screw adjustment is to cock the gun,(with slide off) raise screw, up until it fires ,then down a quarter turn. Dry firing the Mod 52 is ok.

When I am chamber checking a new round of handloads or I am checking feeding ability of a new to me magazine or one where I have adjusted feed lips, I will use the manual hammer block safety for safe handling with live ammo at home.

I am not of the camp that the safety should be willfully and purposely used for dry fire. I don’t on my 52’s or my 745’s or any of my single action only true PC Limited target pistols.

It’s my position that the hammer was purposely designed to smack the firing pin and NOT that safety drum. And a firing pin is easier to source and replace than that safety unit is.

I do all my dry firing with the safety off.

On the subject of the pictured trigger that seems wayyyy too far forward, it's worth mentioning that the 52-1 and 52-2* pistols are two-way adjustable when it comes to the trigger.

After a field strip and peering top-down in to the frame, you can see a hex head screw with a relatively large head and adjusting that screw should adjust the pre-travel of the trigger, the amount of free play pull you have before you are met with the resistance of the sear.

If this screw is adjusted -FAR- out of a typical setting, it can allow the trigger to be further forward than anyone is used to seeing on a Model 52-1/52-2.*

Personally, I cannot imagine even the far over-adjustment of this screw would allow the trigger to be that far out as shown in your picture. My initial guess is still what I think... I think some non-original parts may be in that pistol.

But better pictures in higher resolution and with more light and at a couple angles would tell more.



(**I leave the original no-dash 52 out of this simply because I have never had the pleasure of working with a 52 no-dash and these guns used a different trigger part and these pistols also had a hardly used and sometimes hardly known double-action ability that made little useful sense on a Bullseye target pistol, and that's why they were slightly redesigned for the 52-1/52-2 models.)

As for decocking, when you squeeze the trigger the hammer does not fall completely forward, when you raise the lever back you will see the hammer move to the full forward position.

Well dang. Now I need to get the tool to field strip it as it came with no tools.

Sevens, you perked my ears up when you said adjust the lips on a 52 mag.
Pls., do tell how you do that.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

To don, please dont use the supplied bushing wrench for any disassembly.
Just use a wooden dowel to depress the plunger and hand loosen.
Just swab the barrel out and go shoot. Every 52 I have ever seen shoots
perfect right out of the box. If it shoots, dont diddle with it.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Better (I hope) photos.
While the trigger does appear further forward than others, I doubt I will mess with it if it functions as it is. It is the smoothest and lightest trigger I have experienced, probably under two pounds. Now to find ammo!!
.

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A 3/4-inch 12-point socket is THE tool you should use to very carefully remove your 52 barrel bushing. And for reassembly, finger tight is absolutely tight enough. You do not need a socket wrench or any hand tool — just the socket in your hand. It will safely grab the bushing teeth and it will depress the pin for you also.

When you think 52 barrel bushing, think like the oil filter on a motorcycle. Hand tighten only and the only time you need a wrench or tool to remove it’s because some idiot previous owner put it on gorilla tight, which nobody should ever do.

Good pictures you added! With these I can see that it is indeed a real 52 trigger, but I have definitely never seen one that far out.

donadler, I'm curious. With the magazine removed,What is the stamp on the edge of the magazine well? My stamp was a C or an O.

These photos and the discussion are driving me nuts. I probably have another week or two to wait.

Patience grasshopper.

Easy for someone to say that already has their 52-2! LOL

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Dan
Ps 96 SWCA 2930 SWHF 524

Mine has the letter Y stamped there. Assemblers mark?

yeah, I wish I could remember the guys stamps I used to work with, there were seven of us back in the late seventies. I loved making those guns.

Just to improve your success rate, I would suggest introducing your new M52 barrel bushing socket to Mr. Belt Sander or similar device to remove any bevel before reaching the wrenching surfaces.

As a mechanic I used to buy Craftsman sockets and wrenches from pawn shops and keep them in my roll-away toolbox so I had a supply of tools I could custom configure for specific tasks.

Oops, missed this one.

Occasionally a magazine will come to me with the feed lips too tight — it won’t release a round as easily as it should, and this condition can cause a fail to feed when it simply doesn’t need to. It’s most noticeable when you are just trying to load the first round.

I don’t do anything amazing, I simply grab one of my magazines that I know works well and I use my dial caliper and measure the feed lips in 3 or 4 places and then I take a pair of pliers with the jaws wrapped tightly in duct tape and then I carefully bend the feed lips and measure measure measure.

If you have never attempted to bend the feed lips on a 52 magazine, you might be pleasantly surprised at how damn difficult it is and how much strength you have to impart to get them to move a measurable distance.

Hello Sevens, thanks for hint. Do you strip the mag down to just the shell?
Do you use needle nose and duck bill pliers?

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Nope, haven’t yet taken a 52 magazine apart. And the pliers I use are the large size standard classic. They probably have a proper name, I don’t know what that name is. In lieu of wrapping the jaws carefully in a couple layers of duct tape, I have used layers of cloth, like small piece or strip of cotton t-shirt.

Anything that allows me to grab without gouging the metal.

I have a feeling now that even though the trigger is correct, someone has been fiddling around inside. The more I handle it the more concerned I get. The hammer will follow the slide when racked, frequently, the hammer appeared to slip off full cock once while not being touched, and when cocked and the gun held in one position but moved to another the hammer dropped.
Starting to be less a enchanted with it!

That definitely stinks but... these things can be fixed.

Yes, they can. I was hoping to actually find some ammo and shoot it, but will have to postpone it until I get it fixed. Meanwhiile, the 39 and 59 might need some range time!!