Winchester 52C with Lyman Scope

[bigl1911]

I am mainly a pistol Smith and Colt guy. I have a couple of rifles mainly US military. Recently picked up a Winchester US Property marked 52C with a Lyman 525/77(H) combination. Decided I should locate a scope and make this one an outdoor distance target firearm. I researched and eventually located a Lyman STS 20X scope in the case. Just put the gun together. I have no Winchester friends to share this with so here it is!!

 

[Texas Star]

Read the gun again. I bet that's a Mdl. 52, not a 53. There is a Model 53, but it was a lever action!

LATER-

Thanks for making that correction. I suspect it was just a typo, anyway?

 

[bigl1911]

Read the gun again. I bet that's a Mdl. 52, not a 53. There is a Model 53, but it was a lever action!

LATER-

Thanks for making that correction. I suspect it was just a typo, anyway?

Thank you! Homer over here!!

 

[AManWearingAHat]

That's a really good looking set up for an older target rifle. You'll have to publish a range report for us!

 

[growr]

Winchester 52's are very accurate rifles and far less finicky than my 1813 Anschutz......I have a 52 D in an Anschutz prone stock with a Freeland International Adjustable butt hook assembly that I had built for Prone matches.

At 100 yards/meters with high quality ammo it will usually out perform my 1813 Anschutz....not by much mind you, they will both carve out the X ring all day long.

Usually they both really like Eley Tenex/ Black Box, RWS R100/50.....the stuff that is always found in the winners circle.

Randy

PS. Yours will most likely shoot one hole groups without much effort. Great find!!

 

[1-1917]

You'll have fun shooting that one! I have an old 52 with a 16x Redfield on it. It's just fun to shoot..

 

[bigl1911]

Thanks for the information - Very helpful!! L
P.S. What a nice gun the 1813 Anschutz! Seriously undiscovered country for me. The hard part on my end is figuring out how to zero the scope! There is very little info on the net referring to the 52C and this model scope. I could have put a modern scope on the gun, but it just didn't feel right.

Winchester 52's are very accurate rifles and far less finicky than my 1813 Anschutz......I have a 52 D in an Anschutz prone stock with a Freeland International Adjustable butt hook assembly that I had built for Prone matches.

At 100 yards/meters with high quality ammo it will usually out perform my 1813 Anschutz....not by much mind you, they will both carve out the X ring all day long.

Usually they both really like Eley Tenex/ Black Box, RWS R100/50.....the stuff that is always found in the winners circle.

Randy

PS. Yours will most likely shoot one hole groups without much effort. Great find!!

 

[Bakebfr480]

Very nice setup!

 

[italiansport]

I have a recently acquired model 52 C as well that's lacking a scope. If anyone has a suitable example they'd be willing to sell please contact me.
Jim

 

[growr]

Your Lyman is pretty much the same as any other scope, the front objective lens is adjustable, so set it for the distance you wish to shoot at.
The Lyman Super Target Spot,Unertl, Litschert and others are all externally adjusted. The reason was that when you changed position and needed to change the eye relief from prone to sitting to kneeling to offhand you could slide it forward or back and not lose your zero.
The adjustments are usually 1/4 minute clicks, but I have seen some that were 1/8th minute as well. Is yours a straight crosshair or a dot reticule?

Most of us that shot 50 yard/50 meter, 100 yard/100 meter matches would put a label ( shipping type) on the stock with the settings needed for whatever distance with the ammo we were using.

As far as not much information on a 52 Winchester, stop over at Rimfire Central.com there is a wealth of knowledge there.

Be sure to feed it standard velocity ammo and prepare to be amazed at the accuracy!! Try some Eley or RWS...even CCI 0032 standard velocity will give a good accounting of itself in this fine fine rifle!

Randy

 

[bigl1911]

GM Jim,

I hunted this one down eventually finding the scope on ebay. To the best of my knowledge this is the the best source. There are others like GBroker of course. Some sellers out there specialize in scopes only, but again I have no experience working with these sources. Be very careful since some of the scopes up for sale are in beat up condition and the asking prices are all over the place. I was also looking for a Unertl, but again not experienced enough to know the right one among the vast options. Luck was with me on this one. In addition, when buying I asked the right questions, "The important thing is having the reticle is intact,no fungus or haze; more specifically a working clean scope. I am not so concerned about exterior condition scratches and such other than rust." I worked under the assumption given feedback from my more knowledgeable experts 700 was the right number for this scope plus minus depending. In addition, my other alternative was buying another gun with a scope on it. I think the combo has a tendency to price out at a better buy. Hope this helps.

I have a recently acquired model 52 C as well that's lacking a scope. If anyone has a suitable example they'd be willing to sell please contact me.
Jim

 

[bigl1911]

Thanks for your post Randy!

Interesting information on adjustments. I will take a look at the scope adjustment increments. This one has straight crosshairs..

Your Lyman is pretty much the same as any other scope, the front objective lens is adjustable, so set it for the distance you wish to shoot at.
The Lyman Super Target Spot,Unertl, Litschert and others are all externally adjusted. The reason was that when you changed position and needed to change the eye relief from prone to sitting to kneeling to offhand you could slide it forward or back and not lose your zero.
The adjustments are usually 1/4 minute clicks, but I have seen some that were 1/8th minute as well. Is yours a straight crosshair or a dot reticule?

Most of us that shot 50 yard/50 meter, 100 yard/100 meter matches would put a label ( shipping type) on the stock with the settings needed for whatever distance with the ammo we were using.

As far as not much information on a 52 Winchester, stop over at Rimfire Central.com there is a wealth of knowledge there.

Be sure to feed it standard velocity ammo and prepare to be amazed at the accuracy!! Try some Eley or RWS...even CCI 0032 standard velocity will give a good accounting of itself in this fine fine rifle!

Randy

 

[H Richard]

Great set up. I had an 1407 Anschutz with a 20X Unertle mounted. The 100 yard match was so much fun. I only shot prone, but when you didn't hit the X ring it was the wind or your fault. I have since sent the rifle to my son for the Grandson to shoot, but still had a few targets lying around. I believe these were shot with Fiocchi 320 SM standard velocity 40 gr.

 

[bigl1911]

Thanks for the inf rBill! Beautiful rifles thanks for sharing...

OP
Very nice package to have.

Not a Winchester, but pics of what your gun competed against. I have owned the 52's, 54 Anschutz, and these Rems. Sold off all but the REMINGTON's.
1. Rem. Model 37/40 with Unertl.
2. Rem. Model 40-X USMC with sporting scope. Lizard killer.
Bill@Yuma

 

[Redcoat3340]

For some reason I couldn't see the pics....but I know the gun.

I had a 52D that I shot all through high school and college back in the 60's in indoor 50 ft. 4 position matches. I shot as well as my buddy's Anschutz and way better than another teammate's BSA (or maybe I was just a bit better than he was.)

We shot iron sights and I had that gun loaded with lead. We replaced the stock with a thumbhole int'l one but somehow never got around to finishing; wrapped 3 or 4 pounds of lead solder around the barrel (then covered it with glossy electrical tape); hollowed out the butt some and poured liquid lead down that, then used a couple of lead plates sandwiched between the stock and the butt plate. Musta weights 12 or 14 pounds, which was great for prone, but a bit of a lift for offhand.

I miss that gun....but I'm not sure where I'd shoot it now, or if I could even get down into sitting and then get back up again. I do hate gravity.

 

[bigl1911]

Thanks everyone for the information and comments. Since me experience so far has been handgun without a scope this entire exercise has been a learning curve and challenge. I finally has a change to look through the scope as part of the rifle, specifically visualizing a 200 foot distance fixed target. The only thing I can say is, "WOW". If the 22 hits the cross this thing has to be accurate!