Shooting 52-2

[noylj]

The M52 is made for "mid range" wadcutter only ammo.
It is NOT made for standard .38 Spl loads and will bulge a case before normal pressures are even reached. It has what is called "an unsupported chamber."

 

[Engineer1911]

In my M52-2, Remington factory 148 grain wadcutters ejected empty cases between 6' and 8' from my right hand shooting one-handed. My cast bullet reloads ejected fired brass 2' to 4' from my hand, and the accuracy was as good as factory ammo.

 

[Lee's Landing Billy]

I appreciate everyone's comments/suggestions.

The reloads I do trust. They were reloaded by my father in law and grandfather before they passed. They were competition shooters for many years. I will definitely take a load apart to see how it weighs.

I did not mean to make it seem the 52 is uncontrollable, just noted that it was more than I expected out of this. I have other 38's that shoot just fine.

Thanks again!

Curious....what other 38 autos do you own? If you are talking about revolvers, that's not a good comparison.

 

[kornax]

Curious....what other 38 autos do you own? If you are talking about revolvers, that's not a good comparison.

No other 38 semi autos. Only a 14-3, and the 52-2.

Really, I had hoped more comments about what I experienced. Again, its not uncontrollable, and it shoots quite accurately as it should. I just personally didn't think it would have as much muzzle flip/recoil as it did out of a 38. No big deal, was just wondering what others might have thought.

I own other semi-autos. Shield 9mm, 459, Colt Govt Model 70, etc etc.

The 52-2 is a sweet shooter, don't get me wrong. I just thought it was more active in the hand than I had expected. I almost wonder if its not the fact that the loads are too much, but that the loads are weak in general, and don't do enough to offset the action of the slide.

Again, appreciate the comments from everyone. I will continue to enjoy it!

 

[Ignatz]

Look at the high barrel line on the Model 52. Its going to want to jump, just by its design. Shoot it a lot, and it will feel fine.
Modern pistols, like the Pardini HP have a low barrel line that pushes back more than flips.
Still, the 52 is capable of high scores due to its accuracy. Years back I shot a 52 well, but used to practice it a lot.

 

[Satoken]

Rule No.1 = Never, ever shoot someone else's handload!
There are way too many people who have no idea what they're doing and even really experienced shooter/handloader makes mistake every once in awhile. Start with fresh components and make your own as precise as you could.
Remember. You only have one set of eyes and hands.

 

[StakeOut]

The Colt Mark I,II and III National Match was another Semi Auto made to shoot 38spl 148gr HBWC ammo.

I liked this pistol for Center Fire matches better than my two Model 52-2 because of the grip design

EDIT: there was also a parkerized 45 conversion chambered in 38spl 148gr HBWC only done buy/for the military shooting teams and sold for a very short time to civilian shooters at Camp Perry in the mid 60s.

I didn't own one but my good friend,Stake Out Unit member,Distinguished Pistol shooter Bill Allard did have one and wouldn't part with it no matter what I offered.

 

[Nevada Ed]

If you reload.......

You might see if Bullseye at a lighter load at just 2.5grs will work the action.
A second choice is 3.1grs of W231 if you have this powder........
that with a 4" barrel should be around 788fps, pew Winchester data.

 

[824tsv]

The Colt Mark I,II and III National Match was another Semi Auto made to shoot 38spl 148gr HBWC ammo.

I liked this pistol for Center Fire matches better than my two Model 52-2 because of the grip design

EDIT: there was also a parkerized 45 conversion chambered in 38spl 148gr HBWC only done buy/for the military shooting teams and sold for a very short time to civilian shooters at Camp Perry in the mid 60s.

I didn't own one but my good friend,Stake Out Unit member,Distinguished Pistol shooter Bill Allard did have one and wouldn't part with it no matter what I offered.

Not to be nit picky, but the Colt .38 special wadcutter pistol was never called the MKI, II, or III by Colt. Colt named it the "Gold Cup National Match" chambered in .38 Special Mid Range. In actual fact there was never a "MK I" but collectors/shooters refer the MK I to the original barrel offered in the pistol. Colt added "MK II", "MK III" to the revised barrel designs that they installed in this pistol and collectors/shooters continued calling the pistol MK II, MKIII. Just sayin, no offence intended.

 

[StakeOut]

Not to be nit picky, but the Colt .38 special wadcutter pistol was never called the MKI, II, or III by Colt. Colt named it the "Gold Cup National Match .38 Mid Range". The MKI, II, III are what shooters/collectors refer to the versions of barrels that Colt installed in these pistols. Just sayin, no offence intended.

Nit Picky = yes,I agree

Well I'm a shooter so It's OK then.It's how I and many other shooters referred to them.

I done like to use Gold Cup for this fine pistol because there's another called Gold Cup in a different caliber that's not so fine.

 

[824tsv]

I'm even nit picky to my own post as I've revised it...

"I done like to use Gold Cup for this fine pistol because there's another called Gold Cup in a different caliber that's not so fine."

Both Gold Cup National Match pistols were catalogued together.

O.P. Sorry for the thread drift.

 

[kornax]

O.P. Sorry for the thread drift.

Its all good. Conversations are meant for just that.

To be honest, the post went a little sideways from the get go.

 

[MAB93]

One other thought as to the perceived muzzle flip, just consider that when you fire the Model 14 you feel the immediate recoil impulse to the bullet leaving the barrel and that's it, nothing else happens.

With the Model 52-2 the bullet moves, the slide unlocks, cycles open, hits the end of its travel, moves forward, picks up a round and locks into battery. A lot of commotion causing the muzzle to waggle that you don't get in a revolver. Perhaps what you are experiencing is the action cycling rather than the recoil.

With a light Mid-range load the action cycling might almost be more obvious than the recoil impulse. Just a suggestion as I've not shot a Model 52 myself.

As an aside, I'd go with most advice here and not use someone else's reloads unless I really knew the loader and had broken down some rounds to confirm their make up and also put them over a chronograph.

 

[kornax]

One other thought as to the perceived muzzle flip, just consider that when you fire the Model 14 you feel the immediate recoil impulse to the bullet leaving the barrel and that's it, nothing else happens.

With the Model 52-2 the bullet moves, the slide unlocks, cycles open, hits the end of its travel, moves forward, picks up a round and locks into battery. A lot of commotion causing the muzzle to waggle that you don't get in a revolver. Perhaps what you are experiencing is the action cycling rather than the recoil.

With a light Mid-range load the action cycling might almost be more obvious than the recoil impulse. Just a suggestion as I've not shot a Model 52 myself.

As an aside, I'd go with most advice here and not use someone else's reloads unless I really knew the loader and had broken down some rounds to confirm their make up and also put them over a chronograph.

This is exactly what I thought is happening. The motion/cycling is really what I am noticing. All other semi autos I wont have a more powerful round with higher pressures that I expect eats up or otherwise counters the recoil I am feeling. I mentioned something similar on this post the other day.

As for the reloads, I do trust them. But have taken the advice and took one apart. They weigh as marked.

 

[Krell1]

I had a 52-1 that I recently passed on to my son. When I shot it the load I used was also 2.7 grains of Bullseye. I believe I increased the load slightly to eliminate jams and stovepipes. I never really noticed any excess recoil and thoroughly enjoyed shooting that gun. As stated before, it's one of the best target guns ever made and could compete with any custom gun. The trigger on mine was outstanding.

Although 2.7 grains of BE is most common, that's not to say other powders also work well. With the recent powder shortage, I switched to another, found the right load and never had a problem.

Everyone I've allowed to shoot the gun, including my son, have all ended up with a big smile. I usually get a big "ME LIKEY"!

I'm 72 now and remember drooling over the gun back when it originally was produced. I believe the original price was $650 but not quite sure of that. It was priced above what I could afford so never bought one. Later in the mid 80's I found mine at a local gun shop. It was pristine and in the original box. I offered $400 for it and my offer was accepted. I've cherished it ever since and now my son is using it. I hope he can pass it on as well.

 

[Kevin G]

From my limited experience with my 52-2, ejected brass from a proper load falls in a nice pile practically right next to my feet.
If brass were ejecting differently I would suspect a possible hot load. Not saying this is a hard and fast rule but it could be an indication.
Kevin

 

[Sclays]

Both National Match Mid-Range and the 52 are among the finest target guns ever made.
Be aware that many 52 parts are near impossible to find. Especially the bushing.
Take good care of your gun.