I have what I believe to be a model 52 magazine. It holds 5 rounds of 38 Spec WC only ammo. What is a fair value for this, it appears to be in excellent condition.

Pictures available by email: [email protected]

Thanks

Recent listings on fleaBay range from about $200 up to $350. I think the $350 is out of line, but I expect they'll eventually get it. My M52 came with two many years ago and I foolishly didn't buy a few more when they were somewhat reasonably available. I'm taking real good care of the two that I have. I see dealers sometimes listing them for as little as $50, but they're always "out of stock." I guess if I didn't have any I'd sell them for $50 too.

I think $75.00 to $100.00 is an honest price of a decent original M52 magazine. Anything more and it starts getting into larceny. Similar if you will to what certain people are asking for primers today. My only hope is what goes around comes around for these dolts.
and people remember who they were when prices get back to reasonable.
Rick H.

My gun came used with five over the years I acquired a few more for $50.0 to $60.00 dollars each.

Today at $75.00 it would sell in minutes. Anything higher I'd just buy spare springs.

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Goal Life Member
Traveling Man

Asking prices and selling prices are often dissimilar. I believe $150 to be a fair price in today's market, but I'll be the first to say I wouldn't pay that.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

I recently bought four from a friend who no longer shoots the 52. He sold them to me for $50 each and I was happy to pay it. Today they are fetching $150 and more and that is just price gouging.

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handlebar-proud to be American

The last two I bought were $50 and $85. Still need one more.

A couple of years ago I posted I was looking for some . Another S&WCA sold me 6 of them , one is new in the package , the old style blue cardboard . Wonder what I could get for it , as if I would sell it .

I recently paid $175 plus tax, plus shipping from an ebay dealer. The lowest price on the site for a 52 magazine. Not pleased but who knows if they will ever go down in price?

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

Being as the 52 magazine has no longer been produced for many years now it would seem that the price will go through the roof. The major problem being no after market mags are coming as the design is unique and the market small. I have paid $50 for used to $200 for a new in the package and in between for others. If I find a pretty one for $150 I buy it. It's not like there will be more coming later. Those that are coming are used, converted to 6ers, and from Heirs that sold the gun with 2 mags and are peddeling the rest for whatever the market will bring.

I found a (second) 52 on consignment at a local gun store awhile back and decided to purchase it because it came with 5 new looking mags total - 4 extras! Total cost for the pristine - possibly never-fired 52-2 was less than what I would have paid for just the gun with only one mag. Both 52's will be in my estate with 8 mags total. I am not sure the store manager was aware of the 52's value, not to mention the mags. He seemed to be a little "young" and oriented toward the new AR-15 clones hanging on the wall.

Jack

I have to say I have seen 3 plastic follower magazines sell for $450.00 shipped on GB recently, make sure yours is not Plastic. If it is I would sell it for as much as you could get, and then add 20-30$$ to it and buy a steel follower one. I doubt mag prices will come down, be glad it's not a 41-1 magazine, selling now near $600.00 Ea. I would never buy one for that money, I have my own stock of them, I remember buying some from a forum member for $100.00 ea. Pristine, new. Now I wish I still had them all.

Recent sale on ePay for 3 mags:

Smith & Wesson model 52 .38 Special WadCutter Magazine 5 round Factory OEM S&W | eBay

This is just ridiculous.

Jack

That Ebay auction closed out at $178.00 a piece for the 3 magazines. $535.00 total I think. Lots of money but individual mags are going for much more than that. It's almost to the point the M52 magazines are more valuable than the pistol and that is a sad statement. I sold a Swiss made P210 when I couldn't find magazines for it for less than $125.00 each. That was several years ago, but I certainly wouldn't buy M52 magazines for the absolutely insane prices some of these "individuals" are asking and getting for them. Hope there's a special place for these sellers down the road. And no it isn't supply and demand nor is it capitalism, it's larceny. Just because you can get $300 or more dollars for a magazine doesn't mean you should sell it for that. Just my 2 cents worth.

Rick H.

Is there any other auto that has mags at a >$$ than the model 52? Model 41, possibly?

I see that Midsouth has 10 all-metal AR-15 30 round mags for $139 with free shipping - $14 per mag - that seems real fair.

Jack

That was for a lot of 5 magazines. Thats $107 each and IMHO a very good price.

When I sold my 52-2 some 20 years ago I included 5 spare magazines, and threw in a 500 round box of Star 148 Gr HBWC's. What I sold that for was nearly double what I paid for all of it, but is about half of what it would go for today.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I did not catch the 5 mags in the description. All the pictures showed only 3 mags. I'd bet that is a misprint and confusion by the seller and he was thinking of the 5 round capacity while listing. If the buyer purchased this on the basis of 5 mags, and it was actually only 3, somebody will be really disappointed and may want to return the sale.

My ePay experience has been that the pictures are usually correct - not necessarily the verbiage. I wish the buyer luck that he actually gets the 5 mags! That is really not an excessive price per unit for 5 pieces - all things considered.

Jack

I bought two nice ones at the gun show last Saturday for $200.

How is this add confusing? It has a pic of three mags and states 5 round.
Some nags have been altered to 6 rounds. Read the big print.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

But it did state 5 ("five") mags in the small print - I did not catch that at first, but I do suspect that may be an error by the seller and there may have been only 3 five round mags actually sold as supported by the pictures.

Jack

Jack, I apologize. Man, that small print will kill you everytime.
That confusion may have warranted a phone call. best.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

I'm the guy that bought the 3 mags for a total of near $197.00 ea. They are mint, new, no scuffs or scratches, just as I saw in the photo's.
Now I ask was I totally nut's, or is the person paying $150.00 ea. for 3 plastic follower model 52 mags?
Not to mention, I saw on seller on e-bay with 2 steel follower 52 mags, $250.00 ea. 1 Left. People are paying the money, but the plastic follower mags, did not have a very good follower, that plastic edge wears, and then it's gone. I doubt it would be very hard to machine followers for the 52, even out of 7075 aluminum, would be better than the plastic ones.
Try the model 41-1 magazine, I remember buying a quantity on the forum here 5-8 years ago, $100.00 ea. Now $350.00-$566.00 is the highest I have seen one go for on GB. And he sold 4 of them, the price went up from $380.00 to $450.00 and up more on the 4th.
So that is where the 52 magazines can be headed. Model 41-1 mag's can be copied quite easily, I have seen one modified model 41 mag, altered to a fully functioning 41-1 mag.

Hello Jim, nuts? No I dont think so. I paid $150 for a new steel follower mag last week. And glad to get it. These 52 mags have entered the
realm of pre-39 mags. Damn near impossible to find. Good snag.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

several years ago, when I had a number of the plastic follower magazines to get rid of, I noticed on e-bay that people were paying $100. plus for the plastic follower mags, and the steel followers could be had for like another $20.00, so I offed all that I had and exchanged them for the real deal, it still surprises me, that S&W didn't do a better job on the lets call it the Gen 2 mag, plastic follower, as it get's to the top, it's able to wiggle around left to right a great deal more, messing with the slide stop, and potential jamming.
Just a poorly designed follower.

I have been lucky, and have accumulated 5 magazines for my 52. All at sane prices. I have three steel follower mags and 2 plastic follower mags. I can see no difference between them performance and durability wise. The steel follower mags are the older ones, plastic newer. Prices on either nowadays is getting grim. Looks like the 4 extra mags are almost worth what the pistol is..

Here is one for the record books:

S&W MODEL 52 MAGAZINE 38 special wadcutter 5 round RUSTY AND NO SPRING | eBay

A rusty, corroded, disassembled, incomplete Model 52 magazine just sold for $77.00.

How can this be restored to a useable magazine economically?

This reinforces the concept that the parts, themselves, are worth more than the whole!

Jack

I would just clean up the follower and replace a plastic follower.
You could also clean up the rest of the parts, and save them in case you need them.

Durability wise, you will find the plastic will wear long before the steel follower will, it's where the follower contacts your slide stop. The very edge will start to wear away. When I first purchased my first 52-2, I had steel follower mags, my friend was shooting his with the plastic followers, he had issues, and I'm sure many people have also had no issues. They just will not last nearly as long, and if your going to pay $150.00 ea. for plastic, you might as well go for broke. At least you will never have any trouble selling them.

Finally some one pointed out the weak point on the plastic follower.
Happens on the 39-2 mags also. Thanks for finally pointing that out.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Okay, so a guy on Ebay has M52 magazines for sale, but only has 3 in his pictures. But in his description he states 5, but only in one spot does he give a number for sale. So if it really is/was 5 for sale, why weren't all 5 in his pictures? Were 5 too many for the pictures? I guess I must be missing something here. If I am selling more than one of anything the number for sale goes at the top of the ad so potential buyers or interested parties see the amount for sale right away. With only 3 in the pictures one naturally believes only 3 are available. Now if there really was 5 in the purchase price, the end price of the auction was a really good deal and I missed the boat.....again. So to make everyone feel better here I will gladly take all your junkie, trashy, no good M52 plastic follower magazines that are doomed to absolute failure, off your hands for oh, $25.00 a piece. I will be doing you a favor because you won't have to worry about them failing and no doubt they contain some cancer causing material in them especially if you live in California. Now if you ask me how many S&W plastic follower magazines I have seen fail due to the follower over my career in law enforcement, it would be 1. Just 1.

I have personally rebuilt a few M52 magazines that were rusty and had some finish problems and they turned out just fine. I vapor blasted the components and sent them out to be Parkerized, put them together and they work great. I use them as my routine shooting magazines so I don't scuff up my good mags. I will admit the one that went for $77.00 on Ebay was pretty rough though, but it is still good for parts.

Rick H.

What mag spring is used when you rebuild them?

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Are we saying that eventually, a plastic follower 52 magazine will fail to lock a slide back after final shot?

Or are we saying that the magazine will be some how or someway NOT useable eventually?

I had a thread on this recently. Maybe I should link it or bump it.

Anyone who wishes to trade me TWO Model 52 magazines with plastic follower in exchange for ONE Model 52 magazine with metal follower, send me a PM.

Rick,

The ebay buyer/winner revealed his experience in post #23. He seems to be very happy with his purchase, as these were apparently new, mint steel follower mags!

I guess I am too conservative in my thinking - the $77 beater parts magazine which sold recently apparently does have some significant value after all!

Jack