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Model 52B Question UPDATE

1K views 27 replies 11 participants last post by  Stubee 
#1 ·
This is available within a reasonable drive for a pretty low price. Supposed to be a 52B that functions OK with a shiny bore but bluing and stock finish both could use attention and has no magazine. Supposed to be a bull barrel but I have no idea. Thinking of taking a look at it. I’ve never owned a 52 and nor seen more then one or two so does anybody see anything glaringly bad in these admittedly not great two photos? Thanks.

 
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#2 ·
Vaver sights are worth a little on their own. See if he has the front sight inserts.

The stock can easily be brought up to speed if you are even a little bit handy. Is the blueing pitted or just thin?

What is the "pretty low price" if you dont mind.

Be sure to take a cleaning rod and patches with you so as to feel for rings in the bore and to get the dust and mites out so you can see it more clearly.
 
#3 ·
This is available within a reasonable drive for a pretty low price. Supposed to be a 52B that functions OK with a shiny bore but bluing and stock finish both could use attention and has no magazine. Supposed to be a bull barrel but I have no idea. Thinking of taking a look at it. I’ve never owned a 52 and nor seen more then one or two so does anybody see anything glaringly bad in these admittedly not great two photos? Thanks.
A true Bull (Extra Heavy) barrel is 1-1/8 inch diameter at the receiver - roughly the same as the chamfer on the front of the receiver. The Heavy barrel is 1-inch and is noticeably smaller than the receiver (~1.23 inches)..........Stickies are your friend Win 52 Rare Guns & Special Barrels Sticky
 
#6 ·
Well, I talked to the owner, it’s a Heavy barrel, the bore is very nice, the bluing isn’t pitted anywhere but has patina/wear, the stock is in good shape with no cracks & just a few scratches though the buttplate is “ugly”. He shot it and it shoots & ejects well. There are scope blocks but no more inserts for the front sight and the rear peep is missing the insert. He is a rimfire shooter with old Mossberg and other target rifles and seemed honest. I’ll pick it up this weekend for $450, a new project and my first Winchester 52.
 
#10 ·
Sounds like you got a great deal on this rifle. Considering some of the 52As and 52Bs I've seen that have been used hard, this one looks like it has had a good life- used a bit but not abused. Refinishing these is a pretty straight forward affair so that part shouldn't be too tough to tackle . You realize pics of your first groups, and other descriptions will be required , right?
 
#11 ·
Of course! I’m going down to pick it up tomorrow and may do limited shooting to check function, trigger “feel” etc but not much. The Vaver sights are apparently not in great shape. I’ll likely put an EGW cantilever mount on it to use one of my scopes because my last try with open sights was pretty abysmal. I mainly want to take it apart to get a look at things, clean the trigger etc and see what I really think it needs to be usable. The owner suggested a reblue & refinish because it’s “so ugly” but I’ll try to use what’s there vs redoing things if it works. I don’t mind wear on an old rifle.

It will sure be a learning experience. My last Winchester other than some in passing was the Model 190 I bought when my Dad finally let me get a .22. I shot it like crazy but it wasn’t the kind of gun that really pulls at your heartstrings; that was the role my Remington 788 filled a few years later, and I became a Remington guy. But I’ve been intrigued by the Model 52 for many years, just never been around them. I know it’s an old rifle and it may not shoot “lights out” and will surely have some “issues” but that’s OK. I’m really looking forward to learning with and using what to me is kind of a legendary rifle. Thanks to all for the help!
 
#19 · (Edited)
Well, it’s mine now. It was somewhat worse & somewhat better than I hoped but the trigger really closed the deal. It appears to be a 1942 B in a Marksman stock as many knew, and it’s 0.87” at the muzzle and I’m not sure about the measurement at the action because it’s still in the stock but it’s at least 1”. If it’s a heavy barrel it’s not a very heavy gun because I was actually surprised at what seems like a pretty nice weight overall. The bolt pulled & inserted easily and the bore is clean though rifling didn’t look really deep, but my eye was quite far from the bore with the stock in place. It has extensive freckling on the barrel & discoloration on the trigger guard, possibly a little pitting on the receiver. The stock is actually pretty nice “as is” except it looks like water stain near the rusty butt plate. The Vaver sight is incomplete but maybe can be rehabbed, but I’ll likely scope it.

I was very impressed with the trigger. I inserted a spent cartridge case to fire twice. It left a very firm strike but better yet was what seemed to me a nice light trigger pull with good feel. I shoot sporter .22 rifles with 2.5 and 3.5 lb triggers and the 52B trigged surprised me with its lightness and I’d guess it’s more like 2#? This was me just using my fingertip while the rifle lay on a table. The safety doesn’t want to move from Fire but I didn’t try too hard.

Pics aren’t loading right on here for me right now so later on those. It’s no beauty queen but I’m looking forward to cleaning it up and trying it out, and I’ll surely have more questions. Thanks to all for the help.





N
 
#27 ·
A few pics just so you get the general idea. A quick few minutes with an oiled 45 Pad showed me the freckling, which is indiscernible to a finger, is gonna stay because that didn’t touch the unwanted stuff but seemed to thin the bluing. Maybe somebody tried something previously, who knows. I’ll just keep those surfaces oiled.
 
#28 ·
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The magazine I got from Numrich works very well, so I used a new to me B&L 6-24AO mounted with an also new EGW base & shot it today. Only did 25 yards because I’d never used the the rig before and it’s windy. It shot quite well with CCI-SV & Tac-22 but really liked RWS Rifle Match and probably SK Pistol Match Special. I know this many groups at 25 yards is no guarantee of a consistently accurate target rifle but it’s a good start and seems more accurate than any of my other .22 rifles. I’m more than happy with this old rifle.
 
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