Opinions on S&W 52 or alternative?

[beeser]

I'm thinking about purchasing a S&W, Model 52 for far less than serious Bullseye events and would like to hear thoughts about it or a more suitable alternative. I currently have a S&W, Model 41 and a Pardini, SP (I think older style) for rimfire events. Both are better than I will ever be capable of shooting. I also have Springfield Armory 1911 in .45 ACP but will probably replace that with something that is more appealing to me in appearance. Thoughts on a replacement for that would be appreciated too.

[fc60]

Greetings,

The Model 52 came in no dash, -1, and -2.

The pistol was discontinued several years ago and S&W have no parts for them.

Should something bad happen to the barrel, there are no ready replacements.

Some of the parts might be adaptable from the S&W Model 39.

The pistol shoots well with carefully loaded HBWC bullets.

The sights are excellent.

I have one and shoot it one occasion. However, I prefer the 1911 conversion with a locked breech barrel.

Cheers,

Dave

[Rover]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Stick with what you have and learn to shoot them; you'll be happier.

[beeser]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Stick with what you have and learn to shoot them; you'll be happier.

I agree Rover. But part of what I enjoy about the hobby or sport is having a gun that is visually appealing to me. I'm not going to practice enough to ever be very competitive nor do I have the desire for it. So, I might as well pursue enjoyment wherever it can be found.

[C. Perkins]

Beeser;

The M52 is a very fine target pistol, have owned three of them and just kept my 1968 production M52-1 that I use for BE centerfire.
They are fun to shoot, very little recoil, accurate as heck if you do your part.
I have shot an 872 with mine.
Do you reload ?
I say go for it.
Everyone needs to try one out just to say you did.
They come up for sale quite often at reasonable prices.
A lot of people cannot get used to them cause they are very unforgiving.
But if you are doing everything right, you will be rewarded :)

Clarence

[Rover]

I, too, have owned a M52. Lovely gun, but a .45 will allow you to shoot 50% to 80% more matches.

If you just want a toy, well......

[beeser]

I, too, have owned a M52. Lovely gun, but a .45 will allow you to shoot 50% to 80% more matches.

If you just want a toy, well......

To put it in your sphere of understanding, well yes, I just want another toy.

[C. Perkins]

I, too, have owned a M52. Lovely gun, but a .45 will allow you to shoot 50% to 80% more matches.

If you just want a toy, well......

Rover;
I do not understand what you mean by ".45 will allow you to shoot 50% to 80% more matches "

To beeser;
By all means get another toy.
That is what life is all about.
Don't mind Rover, he can be... well you know... :)

Clarence

[RandomShotz]

The major difference (maybe the only difference) between the -1 and the -2 is the extractor. The "no dash" and -1 extractor is a single piece that is essentially a flat spring anchored at the rear. The later one is more conventional. I understand that the earlier extractor can be broken without difficulty, especially if you make a habit of dropping the slide on a loaded chamber instead of stripping the round from the magazine which allows the rim to slide into place under the extractor instead of flexing it. I read somewhere that the Model 39 extractor can be modified to fit, so I have one on hand and hope I'll never find out.

Getting replacement parts ain't easy. I haven't found much about interchangeability between the 52 and other guns, but I'm sure there must be some within the family. Numrich has a few bits and bobs, although nothing you are likely to need. There used to be some on Gunbroker, but most of that seems to have dried up.

It appears that 2.7 gr Bullseye* is the most common charge, making it cheap to reload and very mild to shoot. I've also read that Red Dot and IMR 4756 work well, but have no experience with them. The barrel leads up like a sumbitch with some bullets but not so badly with others. I've been using Missouri Bullets hard cast 148 gr DEWC; they're pretty good and they're cheap, but there may be better out there.

With that said, like you, I am in it for the fun and not for competition and the 52 is a classy looker and fun to shoot. Not forgiving, as Clarence pointed out, but very satisfying when I'm "on".

As for the aesthetics of the Springfield 1911, I don't know that any other 1911 looks much different. I recently bought a Springfield in stainless, put an arched mainspring housing on it and it suits me well. If you don't like the whole 1911 thing, there is the S&W 945, but it has no aftermarket parts and modding it is not easy. The Pardini GT45's look badass ( http://tinyurl.com/lrjrrz7 ) but I know nothing about them. If I was in the market for a high-dollar play-pretty, I'd give them a serious look.

Roger

* Bullseye has availability issues, but Lohman Arms has assured be that they are getting it in regularly and have been filling orders for it in 10-12 weeks. I ordered some last month and hope what I have left will last long enough.

[Peter B]

Bought my 2nd 52 for International matches, sold my 1st one years ago and reminbered why when I bought the 2nd. If you have a meaty (large) hand your little finger hanges off the bottom and it is hard to get a good placement on the trigger. You can't beat the 1911, and if you play around with it, it will shoot a 155 gr head with 3.5 of Bullseye and keep them in a good group at 25 yards. 155 - 148 what are you gaining, 7 grains of lead.

[Rover]

Clarence, using a .45 allows you to shoot .22, CF, and .45. That's 50% more than .22 and CF. Add Hardball and that ups the percentage.

[C. Perkins]

Clarence, using a .45 allows you to shoot .22, CF, and .45. That's 50% more than .22 and CF. Add Hardball and that ups the percentage.

Rover;
That's what I kind of thought you meant but Beeser, the OP states"less then serious bullseye events", so I take it that he is just looking to do his own thing and not get too serious with the whole bullseye 2700 thing.

Since I am not so serious about the whole bullseye 2700 thing since I worked to make my goal of master, I actually now enjoy shooting the .22 and .38 and .45 instead of only the .22 and .45

Clarence

[beeser]

I decided to get a S&W, Model 52 and placed a bid on one on one of the online auction sites. What's a fair price? In other words, how high should I go for one in about 98% condition? I don't care about original boxes, etc.

[Misny]

I decided to get a S&W, Model 52 and placed a bid on one on one of the online auction sites. What's a fair price? In other words, how high should I go for one in about 98% condition? I don't care about original boxes, etc.

The nice ones seem to bring around $1,100 these days. I have had a model 52-1 for many years. They are a nice out-of-the-box competition pistol. That being said, they aren't easy to shoot well. They are less forgiving for lack of follow-through than a 1911. While they shoot factory match ammo accurately at 50 yards, it isn't easy to match that with reloads. When I was serious about making outdoor master, I put it aside and shot my 1911 in both matches (centerfire and .45). I think that was a factor in my achieving outdoor master in conventional pistol.

[beeser]

I decided to get a S&W, Model 52 and placed a bid on one on one of the online auction sites. What's a fair price? In other words, how high should I go for one in about 98% condition? I don't care about original boxes, etc.

The nice ones seem to bring around $1,100 these days. I have had a model 52-1 for many years. They are a nice out-of-the-box competition pistol. That being said, they aren't easy to shoot well. They are less forgiving for lack of follow-through than a 1911. While they shoot factory match ammo accurately at 50 yards, it isn't easy to match that with reloads. When I was serious about making outdoor master, I put it aside and shot my 1911 in both matches (centerfire and .45). I think that was a factor in my achieving outdoor master in conventional pistol.

Thanks Misny! There seems to be a lot of 52s available so I'll try to hold the line at $1200. It's interesting that you also mentioned the 1911. Coincidentally, I was thinking of replacing my Springfield Armory 1911 with a Colt that I saw earlier this week. It's a 1968 manufacture "National Match" in .45 ACP. I thought it was priced high but I'm not so sure now after doing a little research on it. Any opinions on the Colt and pricing?

[Rover]

If you're buying a bullseye .45, you really don't want an "off the shelf" gun. They just don't have what it takes. Look around for a good used "wad gun" that has been thoroughly tweaked, or have your current gun rebuilt by a good smith.

[SafetyMike]

I recently acquired a Springfield Armory Range Officer in 9mm. I have previously shot a Range Officer in .45 and a SA XDM in 9mm. This pistol shoots great is not nearly as finicky as the XDM for accuracy with a variety of loads. 9mm in the right gun can be a good alternative for a CF gun if you don't want to shoot a .45. It is a 1911, so if you don't like that model, you won't like the 9mm Range Officer.