Dave from Pa
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I came across a model 952 barrel.Could I convert one of my model 52`s to a 952? Other than a barrel and extractor what else would be needed?Any input would be appreciated.
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Model 52 to 952 conversion
- Thread starter Dave from Pa
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Hoping for a positive answer
Your question is interesting, to say the least. I'm looking forward to this conversion being a possibility, am hopeful but not confident it is doable. Thanks for asking!
Your question is interesting, to say the least. I'm looking forward to this conversion being a possibility, am hopeful but not confident it is doable. Thanks for asking!
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Have you compared the barrels already? Will the 952 barrel fit into one of your 52 slides? Does the 952 use a bushing? If so, do you have one and is it compatible with your slide?
If your 52 uses the long, external extractor I wouldn't mess with it--they're almost impossible to find/replace. I don't know about the internal (pinned) extractor--my gun is a 52 no dash.
You'll need a magazine for sure, and different recoil springs--the .38 uses an 8 pound spring iirc.
Let us know what you find out! Thanks.
If your 52 uses the long, external extractor I wouldn't mess with it--they're almost impossible to find/replace. I don't know about the internal (pinned) extractor--my gun is a 52 no dash.
You'll need a magazine for sure, and different recoil springs--the .38 uses an 8 pound spring iirc.
Let us know what you find out! Thanks.
This is a neat idea but my knee jerk reaction is that it won't work. A 952/3906 magazine will fit and lock in to a Model 52 frame, but it is a very sloppy fit. If you got creative with the magazine and glued or soldered some thin strips of metal to it, you could almost certainly find your way to a more solid fit, so that is possible but definitely not a "drop in and work" deal.
Would the barrel mate up? Again, my reaction is "fat chance." We know that the 952 uses the Briley titanium spherical ring bushing and the 52 uses it's proprietary bushing. -IF- the 952 barrel is oversize at the muzzle and you could fit it to whatever 52 bushing you had, I think that could work. And the extractor would probably be an easy swap for any 5906 extractor of which there are a zillion available.
So...
I field stripped one of each of the ones that I have. And sad to say, it's a no-go unless you are an elite level craftsman. The short version is that while they are extremely similar at the breech end, there are two key places where these barrels differ. And the biggest problem is that the 952 barrel is missing metal in places where it is most needed. On the bottom of the lug, the lowest portion of the unit, the 952 barrel is too short. And on top where the locking lug is cut, too much metal has been milled away to lock properly in a 52 slide.
The barrel hood is too wide and could be cut down but even that might be dicey because the 952 barrel has a "loaded chamber indicator" witness hole that eats key metal away where you would need it.
Pictures would tell the story better, but any machinist that could make a 952 barrel work might have less work ahead of him by trying to source a 52 barrel and start with that.
And only because I'm a terminology guy, if you somehow got all of this to work, you would have a 9mm-chambered Model 52, but you most definitely would not be holding a 952.
But it was fun to check.
Would the barrel mate up? Again, my reaction is "fat chance." We know that the 952 uses the Briley titanium spherical ring bushing and the 52 uses it's proprietary bushing. -IF- the 952 barrel is oversize at the muzzle and you could fit it to whatever 52 bushing you had, I think that could work. And the extractor would probably be an easy swap for any 5906 extractor of which there are a zillion available.
So...
I field stripped one of each of the ones that I have. And sad to say, it's a no-go unless you are an elite level craftsman. The short version is that while they are extremely similar at the breech end, there are two key places where these barrels differ. And the biggest problem is that the 952 barrel is missing metal in places where it is most needed. On the bottom of the lug, the lowest portion of the unit, the 952 barrel is too short. And on top where the locking lug is cut, too much metal has been milled away to lock properly in a 52 slide.
The barrel hood is too wide and could be cut down but even that might be dicey because the 952 barrel has a "loaded chamber indicator" witness hole that eats key metal away where you would need it.
Pictures would tell the story better, but any machinist that could make a 952 barrel work might have less work ahead of him by trying to source a 52 barrel and start with that.
And only because I'm a terminology guy, if you somehow got all of this to work, you would have a 9mm-chambered Model 52, but you most definitely would not be holding a 952.
But it was fun to check.
I have a 52-2 with a second slide for 9MM and 38 super. It has Barstow barrels in 9MM and 38 Super. The 38 super has a recoil spring and a bushing. Funny thing is, the 52 magazine works fine for all three. I doubt the 952 barrel will fit, but You might find a Barstow 9MM barrel. If You did I would try the 52 mag without hesitation.
OP
Dave from Pa
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I'm going to dig the barrel out and the model 52 I was planning on putting it in. The model 52 I want to use was recovered stolen property and then sold by the PD after the case was disposed. I've tried the barrel and it seems to fit well I just assumed it was a 952 barrel it may be some thing else such as a Barstow but there are no markings I can recall That would state it's aftermarket. When I get a chance I'll snap some pictures and post them. Thanks for all your input.
All 952 barrels have a marking on the hood. The original ones say "9mm P Performance" in small black lettering and have a small square notch for a loaded chamber indicator. Later guns have a much simpler "9mm" in larger font stamped in to the hood with no color to the lettering, and the chamber indicator is a round hole.
Briley has recently made a new run of these barrels and they very clearly have the Briley logo on the hood.
Briley has recently made a new run of these barrels and they very clearly have the Briley logo on the hood.
AJ
US Veteran
I posted this on another thread:
This is sort of a Model 52/39 post. About a year ago a friend of mine was about two steps ahead of me at the local gun show. He stumbled into an extremely good deal. A gentleman was selling a Model 52 S&W with several magazines and a spare set of grips for $1100.00. My friend bought it. Then the gentleman said I will sell this spare upper in 9 MM with a couple of magazines that fit that frame for $200.00 more. That was a no brainer. Along with the whole set up came some paperwork. It seems the Model 52 was used by the Illinois State Police Pistol Team. Their armorer bought M39 uppers directly from S&W and fitted them to the Model 52 frames. The 39's do not shoot as well as the 52's, but still do pretty good. Wish I had been in the lead that day.
I will ask him to borrow the gun with both slide and barrels if folks want me to get any pictures.
AJ
This is sort of a Model 52/39 post. About a year ago a friend of mine was about two steps ahead of me at the local gun show. He stumbled into an extremely good deal. A gentleman was selling a Model 52 S&W with several magazines and a spare set of grips for $1100.00. My friend bought it. Then the gentleman said I will sell this spare upper in 9 MM with a couple of magazines that fit that frame for $200.00 more. That was a no brainer. Along with the whole set up came some paperwork. It seems the Model 52 was used by the Illinois State Police Pistol Team. Their armorer bought M39 uppers directly from S&W and fitted them to the Model 52 frames. The 39's do not shoot as well as the 52's, but still do pretty good. Wish I had been in the lead that day.
I will ask him to borrow the gun with both slide and barrels if folks want me to get any pictures.
AJ
OP
Dave from Pa
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Here are some pictures of my Model 52-2.The 9MM barrel is on the top it does not have the loaded ground indicators slot is marked with a P on the barrel lug. What prompted my question in the first place when I replaced the 38 barrel with the 9mm everything fits and feels like it was made that way. I can load five rounds in the magazine chamber and extract the five rounds with ease. Obviously I haven't shot it but but it handles and feels like it was made that way with a 9 MM in place. I'm half tempted to put a heavier spring in it ,tie it to a tire and test fire it from a safe distance to see what happens. I acquired the barrel from a police supply shop that I worked at part time for 35 years. We were direct with S&W and were always getting all kinds of interesting things in and somewhere along the line I picked up this barrel.I'm thinking as I sit here this barrel may have came from a performance center 659 or 5906 I think they made a 5 in model.
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Dave from Pa
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
OP
Dave from Pa
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
If any other pictures are needed let me know.The 9mm Barrel is on the top in the pictures and also pictured Assembled in the model 52.I haven't shot it due to safety concerns but it hand cycles and ejects 9 MM ball without any effort.I remember years back a police department we dealt with used model 52s for their pistol team and one of the guys shot 38 ACP and 38 supers out of his model 52 on a fairly regular basis. Because of the pressures of the super that would concern me quite a bit and wouldn't be something I would recommend. I was just curious if there's anyway to make this work.I posted the same picture twice but my 52-2 has the long extractor like the early Model 39's. If I can make it work so much the better if not the barrel goes back in the box and I'm thinking about sending the model 52 to Fords or somewhere else for a refinish maybe even nickel. Thanks for any further input.
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As can be seen from the barrel photos, they will not directly interface to the opposite slide
The extractor will need to be different and the breech face probably won't interchange either
A complete top end would be the easy way to make this work
This is kind of like shooting 40 S&W from a 356TSW chambered autoloader
The extractor will need to be different and the breech face probably won't interchange either
A complete top end would be the easy way to make this work
This is kind of like shooting 40 S&W from a 356TSW chambered autoloader
Well, I am definitely out of my depth here, I truly don't know if this would work. Some of the pictures you posted would make me extremely wary of this — particularly the #4 picture in your post #12.
I wouldn't worry about it being dangerous so much, but I would worry about battering the slide with a barrel that can go in to place but not lock in to place precisely.
But I don't know how the mechanics interact under fire enough to know if this is do-able without trashing one or both parts.
I would say based on the barrel hood and the font they used for "9mm" that your barrel definitely pre-dates the Performance Center era by a number of years.
I wouldn't worry about it being dangerous so much, but I would worry about battering the slide with a barrel that can go in to place but not lock in to place precisely.
But I don't know how the mechanics interact under fire enough to know if this is do-able without trashing one or both parts.
I would say based on the barrel hood and the font they used for "9mm" that your barrel definitely pre-dates the Performance Center era by a number of years.
