So I’m currently looking at a S&W 52-2 semi auto in 38 Spl. I’ve never seen one of these before and I’m seriously thinking of getting it. Is there anything I should be aware of with this particular handgun.

Sweet pistols! But be aware that why they are labelled 38 Special, the only shoot wadcutters. Unless the bullet is flush with the case mouth, they won't fit in the magazine. And magazines are pricey. Consider how many magazines you want and how many come with the gun. There are some recent thread on 52's elsewhere on the site. Lots of good information in those threads.

This is one of the most accurate pistols ever to come out of Smith and Wesson. As long as you do your part on squeezing the trigger the Model 52s will typically deliver one hole groups

Those of us that own them and shoot them usually love them. I have two at the moment. The 1 I have had the longest has a Bomar rib on it and I have been shooting it for a little over three decades now

I do not know if you are a hand loader or not but this firearm only shoots mid range wadcutters and is most accurate with soft swagged hollow base wadcutters. Factory match ammunition has become quite expensive in recent years

Factory original magazines have become more and more scarce for this model therefore bringing higher and higher prices on the various for sale sites like the big auction site. Magazines are available from a 3rd party manufacturer known as Triple K. The Triple K magazines do have some idiosyncrasies and while they are acceptable considering the price difference they are not perfect

I do have a second model 52 but it is a little prettier and the truth is I have not shot it since purchasing it. It came to me at such a good deal I could not walk away from it

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"Acta non verba"

The most amazingly accurate pistol I have ever shot BUT yes it only shoots full wadcutters, the trigger is so light its scary. So its not something you can use as a carry gun. Mags are big $$$ but my gun came with 2 and I just happened to buy a box of gun parts at an estate sale for $20 and there just happen to be 3 mags in that box for a 52!

I have one & love it! I think I've had it for close to 20 years now.

As mentioned, their triggers are a joy to behold. Had Smith carried those over to their 3rd Gen semis, they'd probably still be making them these days, IMO.

No real idiosyncrasies with them, IMO. The bbl bushing screws in & out rather than just twisting like a 1911 bushing.

No clue on mag prices as I've not priced any in those 20 years. Triple K is not known for their quality, FWIW.

Shortly after I got mine, I was at a gun show in Nashville. I stopped by the magazine guy who was always there. As a joke, I asked him if he had a 52 mag. He thought for a minute, then started digging in his stash box. He went down arms length, rooted around & pulled out his only 52 mag like it was a unicorn. I started laughing but had to buy it after he did all that. It was in-the-wrap, had never been opened. Still is, for that matter. My gun came with two mags, so I was okay on them.

As stated, the 52 will indeed shoot one-hole groups like it's nothing. My 52 is probably why I remain so disappointed in Smith semis in general. Oh, well.

Aguila used to make 38 wadcutters, I have a case of them. I don't think they make any more though.

GA Arms makes them & I've bought them for decades. Excellent quality & decent pricing. In the SE there used to be GA Arms guys selling their ammo at gun shows. Not sure if they do that anymore or not.

IMO, any serious shooter should own a 52. There are very, very few things as satisfying as shooting a group from a 52.

My .o2

Not seen in Bullseye/Precision Pistol Competition. 38 Special is hard to group with the M52 at 50 yards with modern manufactured ammo and reloads.

If you have the chance and it's not too pricey , and has at least 2 mag's , buy it . They are a work of art , and their accuracy is unbelievable . Ammo is not that hard to get , you just have to look . Like bobs guns stated , Georgia Arms makes great stuff , I've been shooting it for at least 25 years . Recently a member brought up Precision Delta , another remanufacturer . They actually package theirs in a box , their w/c's are inexpensive and shoot great . Battlehawk Armory has a good supply of various manufacturers and are really quick in shipping it out . So , it's out there , you just have to do a little shopping . Let us know if you get it and what you think of it .

Buy it, you will like it!!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

With all this discussion of accuracy and performance does anyone have 50 yard target results they would like to post? Offhand or Ransom Rest?

I have some with my rimfire rifles...............

Seriously, the % of shooters who shoot out to 50 yards with a pistol (for score) is pretty darn small, IMO. I would go as far as say it is in single digits.

The overwhelming majority of users do 20-25 yards. The 38 wadcutter is loaded so slow that it bleeds velocity quickly, causing it to drop quickly. This is from either a revolver or a 52, it doesn't matter. That's absolutely no reflection on the 52.

I feel the greatest part about the 52 is that it requires NO mods to make it shoot great. No bbl replacement, no trigger job, no sight replacement, nada. Zip, ziltch, squat, bupkiss. There are only a small handful of guns one could say that about, IMO.

I will also contend that a 52 makes one a better shooter. Knowing how accurate a 52 is, it forces one to buckle down & focus when they shoot them. That can carry over to shooting their other, run-of-the-mill guns. Win-win, IMO.

And it is pretty.

I had one for years in the 80's and got tired of diddling with wadcutters so I cut a load of .38 special cases down to where I could fit some home cast 125-135 grain round nose bullets in the case and still fit the mag. I liked it a lot more.

I was trying to shoot bullseye pretty seriously back then and a friend illustrated the scoring advantage of the .45 and I reluctantly traded it for a 1911 in .45.

WAIT! Isn't it rude of us not to post pictures, enticing him to buy it?

52-2.jpg

52.jpg

I am to old to see that far! At least with a pistol......

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I have a 52-1, fun gun to shoot. If you don't reload ammunition is a bit challenging to find unless you mail order it. They are usually super accurate but serious bullseye shooters usually use a 1911 in 45 acp. If I did not have one I would buy one if possible.

You would do well to use the search engine to read previous threads.
Here’s one:

So, What's Up With Clark's Replacement Barrel for the Model 52-2?

I replied with a citation from Gil Hebard’s research.
Basically, understand that the M52 is generally expected to shoot 3” @ 50 yds with whatever specific match ammo it happens to like. And, that is using a Ransom Rest machine rest. Handloads can be a challenge. The M52 is very finicky about components.
Beyond 50 yards, the accuracy drastically drops off to the point where keyholing becomes a problem.
I shoot primarily outdoors and primarily from 50-100 yards with pistol. For 38 Special, I much prefer a nice K-38 Masterpiece. It will shoot much more accurately with my handloads using cast 158 grain semiwadcutters or round nose bullets.

You never mention, WHY do you want a M52?
This is, of course, a personal matter. But, understand that the M52 is a narrow purpose-built target pistol. It has very little crossover utility.
I’ll bet that most of the responses here are from people that
1) do not, or no longer, shoot competitively
2) take their M52 to the range, maybe, once a year or thereabouts.

I knew one guy who regularly shot his in 2700 matches. His .22 and .45 scores were in the low 800s out of 900. His CF scores (using his M52) were always between 50-100 points lower. I observed this for years!
But, I understood why he liked it despite this issue. The M52 has a nice balance and comfortable grip angle. I also like the arched backstrap. But, the trigger action and seemingly “slow-motion” slide function meant that your follow-through had to be perfect to avoid flyers.

I compete in 2700s and get higher Center Fire scores using with my 45ACP 1911 wadgun or 1911 Service Pistol. The M52 stays in the collection for occasional Winter indoor matches at 25 yards and International Center Fire events.

It's also common to have lower 2700 scores if you use three pistols instead of two. The only shooters I have seen do well with three pistols are the US Army team and they are Master or High Master classification.

I'm actually planning to shoot my M52 at 25 and 50 yards tomorrow since the sear spring was replaced. The trigger dropped weight and wasn't legal for competition. Now it is up to 2.7 pounds and feels better. I also use a brass shoe on the trigger since the factory trigger position is very short.

Sorry, I have no 50 yard target photos and I don’t own a Ransom Rest. I have shot plenty of steel with my 52’s, but those are 12-25 yard shots typically.

I can offer these pictures:


^^12-1/2 yards and shot by my daughter, she was proud of this group and I was also.



^^15 shots at 25 yards. This was two-hand standing and with the Hornady swaged HBWC, 2.7gr Bullseye.



^^25 yards, using old stock Star swaged HBWC.



^^also the Star swaged HBWC, same trip but different day, 33 yards distance. (it’s possible those two pictures and distances are swapped, was a few years ago)



^^10 shots, 25 yards, two-hand standing. That group measures under 2-1/4” inches and interesting (at least to me) is that I shot the two 5-round groups about an hour apart and shot other handguns (at other targets) in between the two 5-round groups on that paper plate.

It seemed like I actually know what I’m doing. 😂

15 yards

A great pistol making an "old shaking guy" look good!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Practice today in mist. Since I haven't shot my M52 in a while my zero has changed. Pictures are the shooting bench and 25 yard target, M52 after adjusting zero and shot Slow Fire, a 1911 wadcutter group with one magazine of five shots shot Slow Fire, and 1911 45 wadcutter same target.

A general guideline is not to practice at 50 yards until you can hold the 10 ring at 25 yards. Since both pistols needed new zeros I stayed at 25 yards.

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Had a "Make Me Humble" shot with this one. or at least that is what a friend calls them!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Rowlf wrote:

“Not seen in Bullseye/Precision Pistol Competition. 38 Special is hard to group with the M52 at 50 yards with modern manufactured ammo and reloads.”

OK, just as a comparison.
50 YARDS: 1911 converted to 38 Spl wadcutter by John Giles in 1959.
Five shots in less than 1.25”. Best four shots in less than 3/4”.
That’s with a cast bullet handload. (Hensley & Gibbs #50 wadcutter sized .357” with 2.7 grs of Bullseye powder)

I’ve also attached a page from Giles’ brochure detailing some of the specifics of his conversions.
“We guarantee all Heavy Slide .38’s capable of grouping five shots in less than 1 & 1/4” at 50 yards.”

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I have shot M52 in the past. Mostly my friends and others. They are without a doubt the finest shooters! Definitely buy one. I believe that someone on this forum listed a M52 magazine recently.

I decided to buy one and I went on a long trip down that road to finally find the perfect Model 52 no dash. Sadly its in such great shape I cannot/ will not shoot it. It resides in my safe alongside other Queens under heavy guard by my vicious Chiweenies. I'm currently using a friends which he is going to sell to me in the near future as he is turning to Plastic. The gun is in great working order but clearly a shooter only.

The safe queen didn't have a box. I'm not sure I even care to have a box that doesn't match anyways so I've decided if one shows up great if not no biggie.

I shot one model 52 and liked it so much I went looking. Did not like the wadcutter idea so found the sister pistol in 9MM, model 39-2. I now have three of them!!

Wow! Even considering inflation, that price sheet got my attention. If something like his craftsmanship was available today, I'd jump on a couple of pistols - even at inflated prices. Unfortunately, those days are history.

Nope, I never tested the 50 yard accuracy of my S&W 52-1. I did shoot a decent timed fire match with mine, once.

The S&W model 52's are fine handguns for what they are made for. The drawbacks these days are that magazines are super expensive. If you can find decent originals, you might spend $150.00 each! The other drawback is that factory ammo is expensive. If you reload, you have to seat the 148 gr. bullet flush or a little below flush and finding a load that will equal top quality factory match ammo is very elusive.

don't get too bogged down in everybodys elses opinions/etc etc
buy it- buy the xtra mag thats in the classifieds and buy 10 boxes of wadcutter ammo.
start enjoying the most enjoyable pistol S&W ever made.
if you dont care for it sell it when youre done.
there is a 52 no dash in the classifieds for $1000 at present
midway has magtech wadcutter ammo.
This is a top notch handgun made for punching paper.it will make you a better shooter by concentrating on trigger squeeze and sights and not jerking. If you a shooter that does 'mag dumps' when you go shooting this gun is not for you.
Larry

I loaded Lyman Button Nose WCs for K38s and they shoot decent for me. I’m way past being a contender, just shoot for fun. Some time ago I had HBWCs loaded with Red Dot and was shooting them in Python & Diamond back. A filthy load but very accurate.
I’ve since gotten Hornady HBWCs and loaded with Bullseye which seems to be the sweet load for 52s.
Also picked up some 100pks of CCI Blazer, aluminum case HBWCs. Have just shot 20 of them at plink targets and they seem to shoot well. Only thing is that I don’t think they are still on market.
I had Lyman mold, single cavity for HBWCs but traded it off. Using that to keep up would be like trying to survive on black walnuts.
After a while you would succumb to fatigue. I’ll stick to Hornady.

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Have a 39 already and it’s a fine gun. I do though enjoy finding these hard to find models. Makes my day.

I have a negative view of them, having owned two.

Yes, they are beautifully made. Wonderful triggers. Great sights. So if you just want a neat pistol to shoot casually, then sure. Get one.

I don’t like them because they were meant to be serious guns for use in Center-fire Bullseye competition. In my opinion, they fail at that. So I don’t much care for them

First, at least in my experience, it was very difficult to get decent 50 yard accuracy with hand loaded ammo. I can’t afford to only shoot brand new factory wadcutters at 50 yards. This failing was noted way back when Gil Herbard reviewed them. I confirmed his experience with extensive Ransom test testing. 2 different pistols.

And no, this does not mean I can’t hand load accurate .38 Special ammo. It is easy to reload great ammo for a S&W K-38. But not a 52. I don’t know why this is true, but am convinced it is true. They are just incredibly finicky for some reason.

Now in fairness, they shoot pretty well at 25 yards.

Second, both of mine had a high rate of alibis. You aren’t going to gain much points at 25 yards if the pistol keeps puking.

I have never met a serious Bullseye shooter who really likes the 52, or uses one in competition. I’ve seen some serious shooters with old .38 conversions of a 1911, and they did ok.

If anything, I’d say the modern trend is that if someone just insists on shooting something other than .45 in the centerfire stage, they shoot a .32 auto. And I’ve personally seen a .32 shoot great (Doc Young with an Erma .32 down in Houston—I recall it was a high 880 score)

In my opinion, if you want a really accurate .38, get a good K-38. Or Model 15. Or a comparable Colt.

The 52 can break you heart. Beautiful. Seems like a lot of potential. But doesn’t really deliver.

The US military Bullseye teams preferred 38 Special 1911s. TD Smith set an International record with a 38 Special 1911 while the M52 was available for use.

Did anyone shooting a M52 ever set a record or win a high level match?

Edit: Forgot to point out that Doc Young competed in Olympic shooting events on the US team. The targets used in International competition have tighter scoring rings than US Bullseye targets. Very humbling to shoot on.

An M52 set up for Bullseye competition by pistolsmith Jerry Keefer. 1-10 twist barrel and other upgrades for competition use. Keefer also had a background in PPC and making accurate 38 Special loads for 50 yard performance.

Picked up my first one today! Not sure I will shoot this one, at least not yet, since it is unfired (except factory shots). Has box, tools, 3 mags, etc. REALLY like it and it is all in very nice condition.

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If it is truly an unfired piece and in 100% factory new put it away or sell it to a collector. Find a shooter and have fun.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Thinking the same. I took a very close look at it, and had a long time dealer friend of mine look at it and he said it’s unfired and the only thing I’m missing is the paperwork. Need to find a original copy

I had the good fortune to know Jerry Keefer for many years before he passed. One of the nicest guys I ever knew. Although I was never a competition pistol shooter he would check out and tune up any Smith revolver I picked up.

I learned a lot from him.

Gil Hebard tested a few S&W model 52's at 50 yards back in the day. He shot 3,200 rounds from a machine rest. He concluded that the pistols would reliably average between 2-3" ten shot groups at 50 yards. This is from his book "The Pistol Shooter's Treasury".

Hebard also got to use good factory ammo in his testing that is hard to match in recent times. I can't get Center Fire scores with my M52 using Zero ammunition or swaged HBWC reloads to come close to what I can get using a 45 wadgun. Plus I can use the 45 wadgun in CF and 45 matches of a 2700, so only one trigger to master. The 45 wadgun tests inside Hebard's M52 results and slightly outside 22LR results.

Are there any examples of military or Olympic teams using a M52 in competition? (Center Fire used to be an Olympic event.)

I wasn't suggesting to the OP that he use a model 52 in outdoor 2700 pistol matches. I was only trying to show how accurate the pistol is at 50 yards with the right ammo. I quit using my 52-1 in 2700's on the advice of those who had reached a high level. I credit, in part, my making of NRA Outdoor Master by replacing my 52-1 with my Kidd accurized 1911 in the centerfire match. I am an old has been and long retired from competition. I doubt that the S&W model 52 is used in International Centerfire events anymore. I would guess that .32 long has replaced the .38 SPL as a caliber choice for International Centerfire matches and that imported pistols like the Pardini HP would be popular.

I read some of the posts here and have to shake my head in amazement. Lots of people like to bad-mouth the Model 52 and the results that it had when it was used in competition. The reality of the situation is that many of these people compare a bone stock Model 52 to custom fabbed .45 ACP's done up by any number of good to excellent pistol-smiths including military armorers. How about we take a bone stock off the shelf Colt 1911 .45 Gold Cup and put it up against a similar M52 in like new condition? Doing so will be a tough call today as finding a like new M52 will be no easy task. This test really should have been done back when M-52's were still being made and an example pulled off the shelf or display case at the local gun store along with a new 1911 Colt Gold Cup.

Let's also be realistic here and understand few shooters are capable of shooting ANY pistol accurately at 50 yards, least of all me at 73 years old. 25 yards is a much more realistic goal, but completely stock pistols MUST be compared against each other, not a stock M52 against a Kiefer or Clark prepped 1911. Almost all serious bullseye shooters back in the day had some type of work done on their 1911's if they were chasing good scores. How many shooters did much of anything to their M52's? Few if any. As an aside, I find my .38 wadcutter hand loads with Hornady 148 grain HBWC's to be far more accurate in my M52 than almost any of the new 148 grain wadcutter offerings and my cost per bullet is far less. My bullet speeds seem to hover around 800 to 825 FPS compared to factory loads around 700 to 750 FPS.

I have long surmised that just because military marksmanship units didn't change to a pistol like the M52 doesn't mean a whole lot. I think the military shooters and armorers were very comfortable with the 1911 and the development of it on their end and they saw no reason to change to a completely different pistol and caliber. A fat bullet gives you a better chance for a higher score. A sharp edge .38 wadcutter told the truth immediately and held no benefit. If you made a mistake with a M52 it told you so right now. Rarely did one have to gauge a .38 HBWC wadcutter to tell if it was in or out.

Of course none of this matters much today, but I enjoyed competing with my M52's so long ago, but everything I did was limited to 25 yards. 50 yard pistol ranges were not in abundance in my area and we were always fighting for control of one for a bullseye match. I think in a lot of instances the M52 gets a bad rap and most comparisons with other pistols of the time are unfair at best, as the other pistols are almost never in stock OEM form, only the M52.

Rick H.

Very good points, Rick! Precision Pistol / Bullseye is a niche discipline these days. Split between two clubs, There are about 20 of us shooting six matches a month. Truth be told, we're rank amateurs and none us are limited by box stock Gold Cups or M52s. We're not equipment limited, unless you refer to the equipment between our ears. We joke that slow fire, aka "slow flyer" should be scored like metallic silhouette. Hit the paper, get a point. Miss the paper, get a zero.

Precision pistol is a definite challenge and we have a great time working on our skills. I shoot my M52 in centerfire, because I can. It's a nod to days past. I actually shoot it better than a 1911. I also shoot my K-32 in centerfire, again because I can. I suck badly with a revolver in rapid fire, but them's the breaks. Shooting a K-32 or an M52 in Precision Pistol is a thrill.

Hear hear! Very well said!

Rick H.,

I have never "Bad Mouthed" a S&W 52. In fact it is one of my most favorite pistols to shoot. However, I do have a bone stock original Colt Series 70 National Match Gold Cup that shoots as well as my 52-1. Maybe it is just the way I shoot them or I got lucky with the Colt. Which one is my favorite? Not sure as it seems like a toss up to me.

AJ

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.