New to me 52-2

[Rowlf]

Hmmm a trigger shoe on a 52? I wonder if gravity would cause it to fire if you point the gun up? They do have a pretty light pull you know!

They are supposed to be >2.5 pounds for NRA/CMP Precision Pistol aka Bullseye. International (UIT/ISSF) used to be higher but then everyone started selling 22S/22LR/32 S&W kits so now 22LR and 32 S&W are 1 kilo.

 

[Fulwild]

The only other S&W I have is a m41. My father in law introduced me to bullseye mid 80's. He shot and coached the 83rd ARCOM pistol team for a while in the 70's. He retired as a CSM. He shot 1911's and High Standards and recommended I get a Victor which I did. I've tried a few others, 41, 280, and 208s and keep going back to the Victor. I tend to gravitate toward guns that have been shot and worked on and do not have any guns I won't shoot. and have done a bit of .45 reloading.
I have always liked the 52 in the abstract and have actually never shot one before. The idea behind its inception and the fact that it was handcrafted is appealing.
I stopped shooting in the early 2000's (expert knocking on master) as I really was pretty into my kids. My son got a trip to Camp Perry where he asked Mr Zins "Are you an Army man?" to which he replied "Even better, I'm a Marine." Its one of my son's first memories. I took him up to the SAFS when he graduated from HS which he enjoyed and I got my first Leg points shooting next to him in the post school rack EIC match.

Considering getting back in the game but have less tolerance for indoor range shooting and most of the ranges near me won't let you shoot lead. They're making me resort to alternative facts.
I dont know if my eyes are still able to shoot irons.
Anybody have a 52 weight frame mount they'd be willing to part with or know where I could get one as I believe BME is no longer available?
Thanks all

 

[Krogen]

Considering getting back in the game but have less tolerance for indoor range shooting and most of the ranges near me won't let you shoot lead. They're making me resort to alternative facts.
I dont know if my eyes are still able to shoot irons.

Where are you located, Fulwild? While there are indoor ranges around here, with their associated folderol, we also can shoot Bullseye at outdoor ranges. If you happen to be around here, I'd be happy to drag you back into the game. As for iron sights, I can't focus on the front sight anymore. But I use computer glasses which allow a good sight picture without overly blurring the target. Some folks use low power readers in the same way.

 

[AJ]

The only other S&W I have is a m41. My father in law introduced me to bullseye mid 80's. He shot and coached the 83rd ARCOM pistol team for a while in the 70's. He retired as a CSM. He shot 1911's and High Standards and recommended I get a Victor which I did. I've tried a few others, 41, 280, and 208s and keep going back to the Victor. I tend to gravitate toward guns that have been shot and worked on and do not have any guns I won't shoot. and have done a bit of .45 reloading.
I have always liked the 52 in the abstract and have actually never shot one before. The idea behind its inception and the fact that it was handcrafted is appealing.
I stopped shooting in the early 2000's (expert knocking on master) as I really was pretty into my kids. My son got a trip to Camp Perry where he asked Mr Zins "Are you an Army man?" to which he replied "Even better, I'm a Marine." Its one of my son's first memories. I took him up to the SAFS when he graduated from HS which he enjoyed and I got my first Leg points shooting next to him in the post school rack EIC match.

Considering getting back in the game but have less tolerance for indoor range shooting and most of the ranges near me won't let you shoot lead. They're making me resort to alternative facts.
I dont know if my eyes are still able to shoot irons.
Anybody have a 52 weight frame mount they'd be willing to part with or know where I could get one as I believe BME is no longer available?
Thanks all

On handguns I shoot nothing but irons. Just had to get better glasses, then as I have aged I have shortened the range to 15 yards. I just had my cataracts removed and now can see well enough the doctor said no more glasses except readers. Will be going to the range today to see how the old Mark 1 eyeballs work.

 

[AJ]

On handguns I shoot nothing but irons. Just had to get better glasses, then as I have aged I have shortened the range to 15 yards. I just had my cataracts removed and now can see well enough the doctor said no more glasses except readers. Will be going to the range today to see how the old Mark 1 eyeballs work.

Just got back from the range. Eyesight was very good, just wore shooting glasses. Now if I could hold the pistol steady like I did in my 20's,30's and 40's I would be all set!

 

[Rick H.]

True bullseye shooting is tough to begin with and gets tougher as you get older. I just hit 73 years old and my days of one hand BE shooting are over. I use two hands now for most all pistols that I shoot just to stay in the game. If I want the best accuracy test for my pistols and/or ammunition I use a Ransom Multi-cal rest. It works very well for me in my advanced years. My eyes were another issue with cataracts forming. No fun with those either and I did eventually have surgery on one. The first surgery didn't do well for me as I developed some serious floaters that needed followup surgery to correct. Whoever said a persons Golden Years are the best years is full of malarkey.

I have owned several Model 52's in my life at one time having 5 to pick from in my safe. I am down to 2 now. One is a 52-2 safe queen in very good condition with the box and all accessories it came with. Every now and then I pull it from the safe and clean it then put it away. The other is also a very nice 52-2 with no box. That one I sent off to Clark several years ago to have them install one of their newly made, at the time, barrels and bushing. That was the best thing I ever did for that pistol as the barrel installation turned out great. Although I can't quantify it I believe the pistol is more accurate than ever. The real plus for me with the Clark barrel is how easy it is to clean versus the old S&W barrel. It is dramatically easier to clean now. I had given thought to having a Clark barrel/bushing installed on my safe queen M52-2 and I called them about doing the job. They told me they have a "few" barrels left, but not many. Their M52 barrel replacement project didn't go over as well as they expected and they have no plans to have anymore barrels made. When these are gone that is it. Kind of sad in a way, but it goes to show how little interest there is in the fine pistols.

Not wanting to overly use my M-52 I looked at a couple of 952's, but they just didn't trip my trigger. I ended up buying a German made Sig P-210 Target and a later American made P-210A Target. These pistols shoot very well albeit in 9mm. So now I have an option of shooting two different make pistols that are exceptionally accurate and reliable. Last year I discovered CZ pistols and now own 4 of them, but that's another story.

I reload all my own ammunition for everything I own except .22's obviously. My start into metallic reloading was for my M52's when ammo became hard to locate for them. I only use Hornady 148 grain HB wadcutters with Solo 1000 powder or 231. I like to keep things simple so I don't bounce around with different bullets or powder. Solo 1000 is long out of production, but I bought a couple of jugs of it for shotgun and pistol use before it was discontinued. I have played with both rolled and tapered crimps and settled on a slight roll crimp. It looks identical to Winchester factory 148 grain wadcutter ammunition which was my go to factory load for many years. I should note I use an RCBS powder checker in my progressive press just to make sure I never inadvertently double charge or under charge a case. Bulging or otherwise ruining a Model 52 barrel or any pistol barrel is not on my "to do" list.

The S&W Model 52 series of pistols were some of the finest pistols ever made in the USA. I still find it surprising that they haven't become cult classics like the 952, but then again there are far more M52's out in the wild. Obtaining magazines for these fine pistols has long been an issue, but fortunately for me anyway, I saw what was coming and bought all the magazines I could find when prices were reasonable. I even bought springs, followers and base plates just in case.

The real joy of owning or using a Model 52 is in how much fun one can have shooting one. They almost never change much or loosen up thru use like a lot of semi-autos do if they are taken care of. They have a very unique feel to them that speaks of high quality from an American company that is almost impossible to replicate today. Don't get me wrong, you can still get a high quality, well built handgun today, but it will cost you substantially more. It just depends how deep your pockets are. My Model 52's have been in my care for many years and will no doubt be with me until the end. Hopefully my kids will enjoy them after I am gone, but I wonder if they will appreciate the quality craftsmanship Smith and Wesson put into these fine pistols. With them it's all about run and gun stuff hearing metal ring, but that isn't bad either I guess.

Rick H.

 

[Sevens]

Rick H., I loved your entire post but I quoted just one snippet of it even though I feel like I could comment on nearly every single thing you wrote!

Not wanting to overly use my M-52 I looked at a couple of 952's, but they just didn't trip my trigger. I ended up buying a German made Sig P-210 Target and a later American made P-210A Target. These pistols shoot very well albeit in 9mm. So now I have an option of shooting two different make pistols that are exceptionally accurate and reliable. Last year I discovered CZ pistols and now own 4 of them, but that's another story.

The 952 is a fantastic pistol and it kind of looks like a more modern Model 52 but it's really not similar in my opinion, and my opinion is based on a lot of shooting of both pistols. I have three of one and two of the other. The 952 doesn't feel like a 52 in my hands, the sights hit me differently, the contour of the trigger is MUCH different, as is the trigger pull, feel and break. Though the pistols are fitted with a similar (phenomenal!) feel, actually shooting them is like a night and day difference or more.

I've always assumed or argued that it's the blast of the 9mm versus a .38 Wadcutter that's nearly all of the difference. It's fully twice the pressure and then some. I'm not saying that a 952 and 9mm has some kind of heavy recoil (it does not) but the shot is just a royally different experience.

I suppose my point here is that both guns are totally lovable, but anyone who chases a 952 because they hope to replicate a magical experience they once had with a Model 52 is going to be disappointed and his wallet is going to get hammered.

I have also discovered the CZ pistols and I'm a big, big fan, but agreed that this is a different conversation.

 

[CTPete]

Great pistol. Has one for many years. I find it was not particularly fussy about factory ammo.

 

[Rick H.]

Rick H., I loved your entire post but I quoted just one snippet of it even though I feel like I could comment on nearly every single thing you wrote!


The 952 is a fantastic pistol and it kind of looks like a more modern Model 52 but it's really not similar in my opinion, and my opinion is based on a lot of shooting of both pistols. I have three of one and two of the other. The 952 doesn't feel like a 52 in my hands, the sights hit me differently, the contour of the trigger is MUCH different, as is the trigger pull, feel and break. Though the pistols are fitted with a similar (phenomenal!) feel, actually shooting them is like a night and day difference or more.

I've always assumed or argued that it's the blast of the 9mm versus a .38 Wadcutter that's nearly all of the difference. It's fully twice the pressure and then some. I'm not saying that a 952 and 9mm has some kind of heavy recoil (it does not) but the shot is just a royally different experience.

I suppose my point here is that both guns are totally lovable, but anyone who chases a 952 because they hope to replicate a magical experience they once had with a Model 52 is going to be disappointed and his wallet is going to get hammered.

I have also discovered the CZ pistols and I'm a big, big fan, but agreed that this is a different conversation.

Sevens: I enjoyed reading your response. In retrospect I think your comments about the 52 versus 952 are spot on. I was probably looking for a twin sister to the Model 52's I had and thought the 952 would be a good candidate for that except in 9mm. I was wrong in that assumption. The 952 was "different" to me in many respects so much so that I passed on getting one. The 952's were still in production when I took a hard look at them and I shot a couple, but they just didn't trip my trigger as we used to say. Then I shot a German made P210 and loved the pistol and I never looked back at the 952. My current pistols of choice are CZ's which were the great unknown to me. I didn't know about them, nor did I care to know about them until I shot a few. My last four pistol purchases have been CZ's and I couldn't be happier with them. I am amazed with the CZ's every time I take them to the range. Now my biggest problem is deciding which one or two to put in my range box. I wish I was 20 years younger now so I could enjoy them a bit longer.

Rick H.