M52-2 update

[M19-5]

Purchased 500 rds of Remington 148gr Targetmaster WC last week to test out.

They shoot to the same point of aim as my reloads at 50 and 25 yrds.
So I must be close with my reloads.

Seemed to be a bit more accurate at 25, was not holding too well today at the 50 yd line

Problem is:
I cannot load 5 in my magazines without binding.
Come home and measured them.
They vary from 1.180"-1.172"
Most are too long for the magazine.

My reloads are all 1.170" give or take a thousands, and they loaded and fed fine.

I will relegate these to the long line only when needed.

Time to start loading a lot of my reloads for this coming season.

Question:
Should I or not reload these Remington brass that has a cannelure into the lowest groove of the bullet ?
I am concered that the cannalure will swage the tail end of the hollow base down while seating...

Any experience on this will be well accepted(I hate to see once fired brass go to waste).
Or just relegate this brass to only the 25yd line ?

Thanks;

Clarence

 

[M19-5]

I guess no one has shot factory remington ammo out of their M52 lately.

If someone has old stock of it, what is the overall length.

I am wondering if the overall length grew over time since there are no M52's out there compared to revolvers ?

Dont get me wrong, it is good ammo.
If I grab 5 that are the shortest they will load.
The mag is picky to within 10 thousands of an inch from my measurements.

Just an observation.

Maybe I am digging up old stuff but the M52 is new to me.

Clarence

 

[BE Mike]

I shot a lot of factory Remington out of my 52-1 back in the day. I can honestly say that I never had a malfunction. I also shot Winchester and Federal match ammo with the same good results. The only time I've had a malfunction is when I accidentally used too little powder in some reloads. Other than that, my reloads work very well. I never could match factory accuracy, though.

 

[hummveecop]

Purchased 500 rds of Remington 148gr Targetmaster WC last week to test out.

They shoot to the same point of aim as my reloads at 50 and 25 yrds.
So I must be close with my reloads.

Seemed to be a bit more accurate at 25, was not holding too well today at the 50 yd line

Problem is:
I cannot load 5 in my magazines without binding.
Come home and measured them.
They vary from 1.180"-1.172"
Most are too long for the magazine.

My reloads are all 1.170" give or take a thousands, and they loaded and fed fine.

I will relegate these to the long line only when needed.

Time to start loading a lot of my reloads for this coming season.

Question:
Should I or not reload these Remington brass that has a cannelure into the lowest groove of the bullet ?
I am concered that the cannalure will swage the tail end of the hollow base down while seating...

Any experience on this will be well accepted(I hate to see once fired brass go to waste).
Or just relegate this brass to only the 25yd line ?

Thanks;

Clarence

I owned a M52 many moons ago. My recollection is the gun is picky as far as ammo goes. I had to work with my reloads to get it running right. You are correct OAL affecting function. I also found fast burning powders like Bullseye worked best in my gun.

 

[M19-5]

It is not a problem of the gun not feeding and firing them

The problem with the factory Remington loads is they will not fit in the magazine.

By the way I picked up 3 extra mags in perfect condition for $150. shipped.
Good deal ?

The M52-1 should arrive this weekend.(1968)

Clarence

 

[BE Mike]

The problem with the factory Remington loads is they will not fit in the magazine.

By the way I picked up 3 extra mags in perfect condition for $150. shipped.
Good deal ?

The M52-1 should arrive this weekend.(1968)

Clarence

I never had any factory match 148 gr. wadcutter not feed in my 52-1 magazines. I shot all the major brands, so I am puzzled. Can you post pictures of one of the rounds?

Fifty bucks for S&W brand mags for the 52 is about the going rate. The best ones are with the metal followers and might sell for a bit of a premium.

I think you'll really like your 52-1.

 

[M19-5]

These were the original metal follower mags.
Now I have six of them.

Clarence

 

[M19-5]

reloads on left-factory on right

Here are some side by side pic's.

Clarence

 

[BE Mike]

Purchased 500 rds of Remington 148gr Targetmaster WC last week to test out.

They shoot to the same point of aim as my reloads at 50 and 25 yrds.
So I must be close with my reloads.

Seemed to be a bit more accurate at 25, was not holding too well today at the 50 yd line

Problem is:
I cannot load 5 in my magazines without binding.
Come home and measured them.
They vary from 1.180"-1.172"
Most are too long for the magazine.

My reloads are all 1.170" give or take a thousands, and they loaded and fed fine.

I will relegate these to the long line only when needed.

Time to start loading a lot of my reloads for this coming season.

Question:
Should I or not reload these Remington brass that has a cannelure into the lowest groove of the bullet ?
I am concered that the cannalure will swage the tail end of the hollow base down while seating...

Any experience on this will be well accepted(I hate to see once fired brass go to waste).
Or just relegate this brass to only the 25yd line ?

Thanks;

Clarence

Clarence,

I measured some R-P empty brass (brass case) that came from a .38 SPL factory match wadcutter load. It may have been reloaded more than once. It measured 1.138". I then measured an unfired round of Remington factory new .38 SPL Match Wadcutter ammo that I had on hand. It doesn't have the roll crimp nor the little bit of the bullet sticking out as in your picture. It measured 1.159". I then measured one of my loaded reloads I loaded with the same Remington Match brass. The loaded round measures 1.151" (they shorten with multiple firings). Your "factory" rounds with the protruding bullet nose are significantly longer than my factory rounds. Could it be that your rounds weren't seated deeply enough at the factory or maybe your "factory" rounds were reloaded or re-manufactured?

You could attempt to seat one round flush with the case mouth. If that works, then you should be good to go. If not, I hope you have a .38 SPL or .357 Mag. revolver that needs to be limbered up.

 

[boatbum101]

I can only tell you what worked for me in my gun . I used 1 lot of 1x fired R-P brass all trimmed to 1.145" . Fed 100 primers . Bullets were either Rem or Zero 148 HBWC . All seated flush with case mouth & taper crimped to .369 . Charges were 3.1 - 3.2 W231( depending on lot ) or 3.6 VVN340 ( personal preference @ 50yds ) . The 231 load is just a bit more accurate in my - 2 , N340 load a bit higher velocity . Take all this with a grain of salt . Aboard ship right now & notes not available , so this is all IIRC . OAL is determined by what'll feed thru your mags as you've found . I've known other 52 shooters that got more accuracy from their guns with 2.7 - 2.9 BE , 2.7 - 2.8 WST or about the same charges of VVN320 or AA#2 . Proper testing will determine best load for yours . My gun is setup with a 7lb Wolff recoil spring , BME mount ( replaces rear sight ) , 1" UD 4moa scope & one of Don Weber's barrel weights . If using factory open sights stock 8lb recoil spring . I can also tell you the Precision Delta bullets did not work for me & the old Star's leaded up my barrel . I do not shoot the 52 in serious matches as I've found the 45 gives me better results . I only shoot it in fun matches or in training . I also shoot a Marvel conversion 22 . Less stuff to mess with my head while trying to compete . If you'll search my past posts you'll find all the data & targets actually shot offhand @ 50yds . Sincerely hope this helps . Wish you the best in your endeavours .
Andy Brunt

 

[Beerjman]

I can only tell you what worked for me in my gun . I used 1 lot of 1x fired R-P brass all trimmed to 1.145" . Fed 100 primers . Bullets were either Rem or Zero 148 HBWC . All seated flush with case mouth & taper crimped to .369 . Charges were 3.1 - 3.2 W231( depending on lot ) or 3.6 VVN340 ( personal preference @ 50yds ) . The 231 load is just a bit more accurate in my - 2 , N340 load a bit higher velocity . Take all this with a grain of salt . Aboard ship right now & notes not available , so this is all IIRC . OAL is determined by what'll feed thru your mags as you've found . I've known other 52 shooters that got more accuracy from their guns with 2.7 - 2.9 BE , 2.7 - 2.8 WST or about the same charges of VVN320 or AA#2 . Proper testing will determine best load for yours . My gun is setup with a 7lb Wolff recoil spring , BME mount ( replaces rear sight ) , 1" UD 4moa scope & one of Don Weber's barrel weights . If using factory open sights stock 8lb recoil spring . I can also tell you the Precision Delta bullets did not work for me & the old Star's leaded up my barrel . I do not shoot the 52 in serious matches as I've found the 45 gives me better results . I only shoot it in fun matches or in training . I also shoot a Marvel conversion 22 . Less stuff to mess with my head while trying to compete . If you'll search my past posts you'll find all the data & targets actually shot offhand @ 50yds . Sincerely hope this helps . Wish you the best in your endeavours .
Andy Brunt

.369 ! I have trouble getting to measure that crimp . I am using a slight ROLL crimp . Could you crimp an empty case and then measure the inside diameter of the case ? That would go a long ways for me . I envy your 50 yard groups .

 

[boatbum101]

Measure it right at the case mouth OD . As stated I'm aboard ship now & not at home . I know others who roll crimp with sucess , really don't think it matters all that much . I talked with Jerry Keefer years ago & he told me 1) taper crimp , 2) Bullseye aint worth a damn in 38spcl use W231 or his favorite WST . I tend to listen when a Master shooter ( not to mention world class 'smith ) tells me somethin' . You don't need much crimp on 38 mid range ammo .

 

[Fkimble]

Ref the question of reusing the RP brass, I would think the cannelure will expand outward on firing and while still visible, would not deform the bullet on loading into the case. Easy enough to load up a few and give em a try.

 

[M19-5]

BEMike;

Theses are Remington factory ammo out of an unopened 500 rd case lot and they are seated long.
Have looked at Federal match and they are flush seated.
Go figure.

Fkimble;

Yah, I will just load some up and see how they work.

Boatbum;

Well, I am going to keep with the Bullseye powder cause it is really looking good for me at this time, besides I still have about 4 pounds of it left.

Thanks for all the insight;
Clarence

 

[Beerjman]

Measure it right at the case mouth OD . As stated I'm aboard ship now & not at home . I know others who roll crimp with sucess , really don't think it matters all that much . I talked with Jerry Keefer years ago & he told me 1) taper crimp , 2) Bullseye aint worth a damn in 38spcl use W231 or his favorite WST . I tend to listen when a Master shooter ( not to mention world class 'smith ) tells me somethin' . You don't need much crimp on 38 mid range ammo .

Thanks for the quick reply - I will heed to it

 

[M19-5]

I ran a hundred through my seating die to 1.168"
Think they will work just fine.
Will pop them off tomarrow in the 52-1 and 52-2.

Clarence