Met a guy at the range the other day with a Winchester 52. .22lr feed one at a time by hand. The round fits into the chamber so tight that it stops about an 1/8'' out and requires the bolt to push in. The guy said that Winchester made these rifles not for profit but rather to have bragging rights for the most accurate .22 at the time. The scope and rings were really cool. I forget the name of the scope but I'm sure someone here knows and can elaborate more than the just things I was told about it. Zero adjustments are done with the mounting rings because the scope has none. Cross'hair' is human. The spring acts like a shock absorber.

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Looks like a Winchester Model 52-D, and scope looks like an Unertl or could be a Lyman targetspot. The adjustments to the scope are via the external rings, no internal adjustments, quite common in target shooting circles in the 50s,60,70s, I have two 52-c one with an Unertl 20X external adjustment scope and one with a Lyman Polaroid sight tube. Both very accurate, I use to target shoot with them but at 76 years old can not see well enough to use them much anymore. I had a model 52-D but the 52-cs are magazine fed and I prefer them.
Glen

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NRA Life 1969
OGCA

The scope is a Unertl. Was a top of the line target scope. Looks to be the 1 1/2" target model. A common power was 12X, 16X, or 20X, but were available in many more. The depth of field when focused was barely a foot or two, but you could see the edge tears in the paper at 100 yards easily. I have a 1 1/2" Target model in 20X mounted on an Anschutz 1407 match rifle. These scopes retain their value much like find guns do.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Here's my 52D - if you're interested in learning more about these great rifles, rimfirecentral.com has a whole subsection on 52's.

I finally got mine for a reasonable price only because some shade tree gun plumber "fabricated" a rear sight and soldered onto the barrel lol. Ya'lls are too pretty for me, I can't be trusted with something that nice lol.

That's what is known as olympic chambering when the bullet is literally pushed into the rifling so as to eliminate the small jump from the chamber
to the rifling.

As you can imagine, that's a high dollar rifle!!!

Does "olympic chambering" really give that much of an accuracy advantage? Or is it a marketing gimmick?

At one time both the rifle and the scope were the best one could obtain. I own copies of both. Neither is now made. There is a XXXXX forum for Unertl scopes where they have a list of Unertl scope serial numbers etc as to when they were built etc. Lots of good info there as well. They do require that you sign on but it is free. Just go to XXXXXX or use this url

Thanks for the additional resources but we're not supposed to post links, promote or otherwise advertise other Forums here. Phil

It was strange.... The round would just stop about 1/8'' out and you couldn't push it in the chamber any further. Kinda hard to explain, but when using the bolt to fully chamber the round it wasn't like it was "mashing'" it the rest of the way in, but it felt more like a "click".

I have always wanted one of those. Nice rifle.

Some of the S&W third model perfected single shots had the olympic chamber.Once the round is fully chambered and then extracted,without firing,you can readily see where the bullet is engraved by the rifling.

When I joined the ROTC rifle team back in '64 we were shooting 52-C's and the next year traded them in for 52-D's. A year of so later, everybody changed to the much more difficult international targets and we we were suddenly competing against teams equipped with Anschutz rifles. That moved the competition to an entirely different level, and the old conventional Model 52's were no longer good enough. They were great rifles and I fired about 5,000 rounds a year through them with nary a problem.

Here are a couple of photos of a similar set-up; used for 3-position competition back when I could shoot straight. The Unertl is only a 10X, but it's a tack driver:




It is interesting to see the recoil from a stnd.velocity 22 lr cycle the scope's spring with such a heavy rifle. You can hardly feel it, but you can sure see the laws of impulse and momentum in action when you shoot it. I seldom shoot this thing any more; I find that I get almost the same accuracy with an el-cheapo Izmash Biathlon (with me behind the controls, anyways); and I'm not concerned about lending out the Biathlon. The Win 52D is and will be a safe queen for a while. -S2

Target rifles have short very tight "Match" chambers, the last 1/8 inch you are actually engaging the rifling of the bore. If you remove the round after chambering you will see the rifling in the lead.

A 52D with a Lyman scope.


Yes, match chambers work. In semi automatic setups a Benz chamber with a short tapered throat into the rifling is used as a semi would not feed fully in a true match chamber. With centerfires you can make your cartridge tight to the chamber, with a .22lr you have to make the chamber tight to the cartridge.

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

Wish I could play with an olympic chambered rifle and see how accurate it really is. Sounds like an interesting concept. I knew you basically fireformed your brass and maintained it by only neck sizing your brass, but I had never thought about going about it backwards for a rimfire. Interesting concept.

The only rifle I know of that comes both ways is the TC Contender you can get the plain barrel or the match barrel. I went the extra mile and had a Bullberry Match barrel built for my old Contender and the guys with Winchester 52s and other heavy target rifles would laugh at me and my tiny little carbine with the oversized 50x scope until the matches began, after I took their money they stopped laughing.

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

And thats why I don't bother old guys or guys who show up carrying an odd gun or one with lots of age and wear. Best case they win and take your money, worst case they shoot you while you're running away

I found one of these with the Unertle scope today in excellent condition.
Does anyone know what these are worth. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Greg

Well, I'm a little late to the game, but that is definitely a Unertl scope. I have a 1939 vintage 52 with both the detachable receiver sight (with Globe front sight and inserts) and a 10X Lyman Targetspot. It was my late uncle's (KIA at Anzio in 1944) gun, with which he won the 1943 outdoor small bore National Championship. His team also won the team trophy that year. I used it in small bore competition from 1965-69 (the "issue" gun for the rifle team at my academy was, by then, Anschutz, and I could consistently outshoot them with my old 52). I'll have to dig it out and take some photos. It is probably the last gun that I would ever part with - a wonderful gun with lots of family history.

I haven't kept up with the market for 52s, but I would bet you're looking at a minimum value of $2,500, possibly up to two to four times that, depending on model, scope variant and condition.

I have a Winchester 52-B with bull barrel and 16x Unertl scope. I used it in competition through the 1950s and 1960s with great success. It also has a Marble-Goss rear sight, which was the top of the line target peep sight back then. You bought your own rear sight in those days, as different shooters had strong sight preferences. I don't think I would sell my setup for less than $2500, even though I very seldom use it anymore. It has lots of memories.

This brings back memories. I started International 4 position competition with a 52 in 1967 at the ROTC range at UMass, but quickly switched to an Anschutz with all the fancy accessories. I think I found my original cuff sling and mitt when I moved last year. I had a lower-end Anschutz I had used as a youth coming up through the NRA Junior Markmanship program.

I did have one of these Unertl scopes on a prone rifle for a while for long range .22 matches, but most of that stuff went away when I went in the USCG. I wish now I had been more forward-thinking and kept some of that good equipment, but at 20 years old, it just didn't seem to matter.

I still find myself lingering near the guys selling the old target rifles at the gun shows, but then I have to remind myself that I'm not as young or steady or sharp-eyed as I was as a late teen.

Well guys I am as old as dirt and I just switched from a 1913-54 to a 2007.

I am going to continue to shoot off-hand until they put me away. I don’t make an elegant display getting into prone (even less elegant getting up) but am too old to care.
As for holding steady, I probably never was very steady anyway, it’s just a case of pulling the trigger at the right time.

Interesting thing about tight rimfire chambers is that you sometimes have to push a misfire out with a cleaning rod because they don’t extract. I have Bully barrels for my M41s and a misfire almost never extracts. I keep a wood dowel handy.

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Ipsis Rebus Dictantitbus

I missed this thread the first time around. That little "click" you heard/felt just before closing the bolt was most likely the dual opposing extractors snapping over the rim of the cartridge.

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"I also cook."

A quality rimfire is capable of jaw dropping accuracy. Those 52's are still used to win matches in my area.

A side note to those not familiar with rimfire rifles. These like anything else are only as good as the weakest link.

You can't expect Federal Lightening or other promotional ammo to shoot a single ragged hole @ 100 yds. Fed the proper diet, the 52, 40X, CZ's, and Annie's are quite capable of doing it though.

I recently traded off my last Anschutz, as I so rarely shot it anymore. I still have a couple of CZ's that'll stackem about as well as I can shoot though.

Rimfire match shooting is very addictive. I wish it were more popular in my area.

Really great to see the pics guys, Thanks!

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GOA
USA Shooting Supporter