M52-2 coming for Bullseye

[M19-5]

As the title says I have a new 52-2 on layaway and will be getting it very soon.

I have been a Bullseye shooter for about 4 years now.

Long story short, had a M41 and then installed a Clark barrel.
Had a Rock River .45

Won a Springfield milspec .45 and had it built.
Won another Springfield milspec and had it turned into a Marvel conversion.

These are now my .22 and .45 pistols.

Going with the 52-2 for center fire cause I have always wanted one since I saw one when I started Bullseye.

For you 52 bullseye shooters, questions...

I want to install a BME 52BWR frame mount with a 1" Ultradot.
Any opinions on this mount compared to the one that replaces the rear sight ?
I shoot a 1" Ultradot on the Marvel and a slide mounted Aimpoint micro H-1 on the .45

As far as ammo, have Remington 148gr HBWC's, a lot of .38 brass and Bullseye powder.
I am thinking my load will be 2.8gr BE and loading the bullet just above the case mouth and roll crimp(but I do not have the magazines yet to measure OAL)
Question...flush, below or above(only talking of thousands of an inch here) for reliability.
I know the pistol will like what it likes but looking for a baseline from you experts.

Thanks for any input.
Will most likely have more questions.

Oh, the reason for going with the 52-2 instead of using the .45 as I do now for CF & .45 is that I just got to know how good these pistols are that I have wanted for a while and to shoot 3 different pistols gives variety.

Still working on my "Master Card".

Clarence Perkins

 

[civil1977]

I'll bet you will love the 52. Trim your brass to the minimum length, seat the wadcutters flush and finish with a roll crimp. 2.8 gr of BE is one of the standard loads. I've got an old article on handloading for the 52 which I'll have to dig up.

 

[44wheelman]

Mine stick above about .030" before crimping. No feed problems.

 

[tk378]

Model 52-2

I bought my model 52-2 brand new back in 1990. Hard to believe that was 22 years ago! I love mine however I have to admit that I like shooting it in the indoor 25 yard bullseye matches better than the outdoor 2700 matches. My 45 is more forgiving. You have to be good with follow-through on a 52-2 and I don't think they stablize as good on a regular basis as my 45's. I think your load is about as good as it gets. 3.1 of W231 works good too! Its hard to beat for a factory trigger and accuracy out to 25 yards. I shoot Valiant 148 gr. DEWC and they do just fine from 25 yards. I use a slide mounted two piece weaver mount with a 30 mm red dot. When you get it you are not going to want to let it go that is for sure. I bought mine brand new for $637 including taxes. Good luck, tk378

 

[M19-5]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I am pretty sure I am going to enjoy the 52-2

Have read that you really need to pay attention to follow through with it.
Follow through is something that comes pretty easy for me when I pay attention cause I do also shoot free pistol and air pistol.

Shooting air pistol really helps in bullseye shooting cause you really pay attention to the sights, trigger control and follow through.

Do not have the pistol yet but am going to make a run of loads for it this weekend.

Clarence

 

[M19-5]

Getting the dies and press set up for the 52-2 loads, loaded 10 rds.

Case prep, will do most likely only once for the life of the brass.

R-P brass (no cannelures)and once fired.
Full length resize cases.
Trim cases to 1.130"(removes most of the factory crimp)
Inside primer pocket chamfer and uniforms flash hole.
Inside mouth chamfer.
Clean primer pocket and install WSP
Load 2.8 gr Bullseye powder
Seat Remington 148 gr HBWC to 1.170" COAL
Dedicated roll crimp die to .370"

I do not have any wadcutters to compare, but this is what I came up with from research.

Clarence

 

[M19-5]

This is a pic from the seller.
Unfired in the box.

Clarence

What is the Birthday of # A436219

 

[civil1977]

It should be 1977-1978. Your reloads look pretty good to me but the gun will have the final say. I wish I had a better shot of these factory loads for your reference. I try to check my reloads against these.

 

[dotdsd334]

I would go with the BME rear sight replacement for the sight base. Ive had mine for 2 years now, looks great and functions great and makes minimal modifications to the gun. Just my 2 cents. I even bough a spare to boot, you never know when the guy at BME will no longer produce....

 

[M19-5]

Civil, you were on the money.
S&W emailed me today stating 1977

I am very partial to the ultradots cause I have used them for 4 years.

Only other good mount would be to drill holes in the slide(the best way, but not going to ruin the value) at this time anyway.

The slide on frame mount is what I am going to do for now.

I do have an alternative and that is to get the mount for the Aimpoint micro that I use on the .45 and then install the ultradot on the .45.

We will see how the frame mount works first.

I am an accuracy nut, so experimenting is in order.

Clarence

 

[civil1977]

Excellent. Good luck with the testing.

 

[Maj Tom]

I have a 52-1 and a 52-2. I’ve used the BME mount with great success. I’ve used several different bullets, but prefer and use my cast H&G 251’s. I’m setting those over 2.6gr of Clays. I switched to Clays years ago. I use it in my wad guns and my Smith 14-2. N310 is an excellent powder as well , but a bit more expensive (I use it in my .32).

 

[Maj Tom]

My pair of 52's

 

[M19-5]

Maj Tom;
How is the repeatability of that mount ?

If it is a BME did you supply John with the groove dimension of your pistol so he could machine the tolerance in the mount ?

Clarence

 

[Maj Tom]

Maj Tom;
How is the repeatability of that mount ?

If it is a BME did you supply John with the groove dimension of your pistol so he could machine the tolerance in the mount ?

Clarence

Yes it is a BME and I gave John the groove dimensions for the 52-1. As luck would have it the 52-2 is a bit thicker. I does work on both, pretty tight on the 52-2. One has to remove the mount to remove the slide. Therefore, it has to be re-zeroed, once zeroed it holds it.

 

[M19-5]

Well, I just got her today.
Took her apart and cleaned and lubed.
Installed grip and scope/ mount.
My new Bullseye centerfire pistol for this coming season.
Got to make some loads and test her out Sunday if at all possible.

Clarence

 

[M19-5]

This is going to be my favorite pistol, I'm sure.

Well I loaded up a hundred rounds yesterday.

Took her out this morning and sighted in at 25yds and took it out to 50yds.

This was my best target at 50yds, one handed Bullseye style of coarse.

I could not be happier.
This is a solid, well built pistol, should have gotten one a long time ago.

 

[ChuckS1]

98-4X... I'd be real happy with that!

 

[civil1977]

Nice work!

 

[Titegroups]

Nice 50yd target!!