Here in the S&W forum, we tend to LOVE the Model 52. I certainly do.

If you visit a true competition Bullseye forum, you will find many that certainly respect the history and the craftsmanship of a Model 52 and you will even find a few folks that actively shoot them. But the hard core, long established and accomplished Bullseye competitors won't choose a 52 for many reasons, including but not limited to:

52's are notorious for being feed/eject finicky at times

52's are sometimes known for having two DIFFERENT bore diameters... similar but different, making some shoot better than others

I have to agree that a 52 is seriously unforgiving on paper -- I shoot some inspiring groups with mine and then immediately follow them up with gut-wrenching and embarrassing efforts. I have other elite target handguns that are incredibly consistent in comparison to what I can accomplish with my 52's. 52 is equally capable of making you look brilliant and horrendous. I don't know another gun that does this like a 52

Many argue that S&W made a bad choice in the twist rate of the rifling and they say that a 148gr HBWC yaws because of this twist rate, resulting in capable 25 yard groups but disappointing 50 yard groups

Also because of twist rate, Clark Custom has been reportedly working on an aftermarket 52 barrel -- shocking when you consider the gun has been OOP since 1993!

Competitors like custom guns built by elite gunsmiths and 99% of those 'smiths build 1911 pistols, they don't tweak fantastic collector guns OOP since 1993

Competitors also see the advantage in the larger .45-cal hole in the target

Competitors also often use a rimfire top-end on a 1911 for the .22cal portion of their event which allows them to be trained one basically one style of pistol in their hand... this also gives a large edge to the 1911

1911 parts are absolutely everywhere, made by everyone. 52 parts are old stock and far less available. Ditto for grip/stocks, sights/mounts, etc

I may have forgotten some reasons why a 52 isn't a typical choice in Bullseye today even if it was a force back in the late 1960's or thereabouts, and the guys at the club who tell you to avoid a 52 may be seeing it from that angle. While I fully believe all that I wrote above -- I am not a competitor, I'm an enthusiast and I just love my 52's!