Thank you so much. I do not feel guilty about shooting this pistol; that's what it was made for. Back in the day (late 80s, early 90s) I bought one new (I think the prefix was TWZ or something like that) and used it to clean house in an indoor 25-yard bullseye league. The gun can shoot. It leaves something to be desired at 50 yards outdoors, but at the short line, or indoors, the thing is a laser.

I was just thinking when I read your post how much has been lost with the changes in the industry and at S&W. The same thing has happened with Hammerli. When the old guys who gunsmithed the 208s and 215s retired, it was just too much trouble and too expensive to replace them, and so, now we're left with ersatz plastic ******* that can be assembled by people who just don't have the same skill level as the folks they replaced.

If Smith would bring out a version of the 52 that shoots, works, and looks like the old ones, I'd buy one in an instant, no matter the price. The 952 is not that gun, but it gives me hope that Smith can still produce a championship-winning right out of the box centerfire pistol.