S&W Model 52

There was a time when the United States badly wanted to beat the Russians in every way, any way, whatever it took. The Russians had established some embarrassingly good records in international marksmanship competition.

With an eye on upcoming international competition, Smith & Wesson developed a pistol that might be helpful in beating anything other countries could come up with. Of course, this was a big deal - to have a pistol designed specifically for international target shooting competitions.

M. Sgt. Bill Blankenship, among other Americans, soon set some new world records using the pistol made by Smith & Wesson called the Model 52. The men received a great deal of news coverage for their efforts. Even I heard about it.

In 1963, I bought a Model 52 for my personal use since the Corps only issued us .38 revolvers for center fire competition against everybody else using semi- automatics. (We didn’t do too badly with the revolvers, though!)

Smith& Wesson stopped making the Model 52 some 25 years ago. It is now an expensive, ≈$1250 in 2015, heirloom so I passed it on to one of my sons. He was delighted to have it but soon I noticed he might be having some problems with it. Finally, he admitted it; the pistol was either not extracting or not ejecting its spent cases properly. This matter embarrassed him before his friends as he tried to proudly show off his heirloom weapon.

In time we learned my son and his friends were doing something considered pretty simple; they were not gripping the pistol adequately. (They weren’t trained in military ways.)

The Model 52, designed to enable victories in extreme competition, has been manufactured to critical specifications. The pistol absolutely depends upon the shooter gripping the pistol firmly, very firmly, (a matter manufacturers prefer to call a “normal” grip) because that much resistance provided by the shooter allows the the limited power of the recoil to be used properly, allowing the extractor and the ejector, etc., to work sufficiently to spit out spent cartridges and more.

Using a "limp wrist” grip on most any pistol takes away some measure of the force needed for the pistol’s slide to fully cycle on recoil. The Model 52 pistol is so precisely tuned as to be almost underpowered. Attendant to this sort of power management issue is the kind of ammunition specified for the pistol. In this case, the Model 52 is chambered for only the .38 Special Midrange Wadcutter, a round the pistol's mechanism is carefully tuned.

The Model 52 specifications are so tight that the wadcutter rounds used must be flat headed, not rounded in any protruding manner from the cases, and contain 148 grains of gunpowder. (The magazines holds only five rounds each.) These days, local gun shops may not to carry the right kind of wadcutters for the Model 52. The correct kind of ammo is still available from specialty shops. (One known reputable supplier: http:/georgia~arms.com)

So my son had to learn to grip his pistol tightly and to keep his arm stiff so his pistol’s slide might fully cycle. Too some extent, all pistols depend upon the shooters tight grip, although with small caliber rounds, we might get used to a “limp wrist" grip which can be very misleading when switching to larger calibers. (A .45 caliber round fired might be shocking if you aren’t prepared for the recoil effects.)

If you’re interested in the Model 52, see these: and
Recoil is such a mechanical issue that gun manufacturers have gone to great pains to find alternatives, without much success (possibly creating even bigger problems). If you’re interested, take a look here: https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/walther-ccp/

Manufacturers today issue instructions specifically related to the way their semi-automatic pistols must be gripped to avoid malfunctions.