Neat little .22 LR bolt gun; Winchester Model 52.

[Trey Veston]

I inherited this rifle from my late father, and I know nothing about where he got it, the history, or what he used it for. He had it for sale on consignment at a buddy's shop when he died, and I finally got it back today.

I did some research on it and it appears that it is a reproduction of the original Model 52 rifle from the 20's through the 70's, which was a premium .22 target rifle. It was then re-introduced by Winchester in the 90's as a sporter model and made in Japan by Miroku. They sold for $1500 new from `93 to 2002.

This one shows some use, as all of my father's firearms do. He hated safe queens, and no matter how beautiful or valuable a firearm was, he would take it into the woods and use it.

These rifles are supposed to be tack drivers, so I will be taking it to the range Saturday and seeing what it will do. The quality of it is excellent and it shows very little wear.

 

[LoonWulf]

Win52s are nice guns, i know very little about them tho having never had the chance at one....i believe @Litetrigger has a few.

 

[horsemen61]

Wow nice .22

 

[MrBorland]

These rifles are supposed to be tack drivers, so I will be taking it to the range Saturday and seeing what it will do

Nice rifle. Congrats.

Rimfires are funny in that every rifle has ammo it likes and ammo it doesn’t. Competitive target shooters even test different lots of the same match ammo. It’s likely yours is capable of some good accuracy, but it’d be best to test a variety of ammo, then. If you’re trying to assess its potential, I’d avoid the bulk-pack stuff. Many find that something like CCI SV, Norma Tac-22, or Eley Club or Target are good places to start.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

An outstanding rimfire hunting/ plinking rifle you have there. Also, being a Miroku gun, its not so valuable that you need to be afraid of taking it afield.

Mine is a Pre-A heavy barrel and, while being a bench rest target gun par excellence, is far too heavy to actually carry through the woods, lol. The vintage lightweight Sporters are the rarest and most valuable of the entire breed.


The early guns had a bit of a military flavor to them with grasping grooves, an '03 style ladder sight, a cocking knob, and barrel bands. Winchester tried to pimp them to the Army as trainers, but they already had the M1922 and the M52 was more expensive. The early M52s also had a delicate safety lever that was easily bent and could actually crack the receiver if the bolt was forced against it. Yours, being a later model eliminated these faults, and had better triggers to boot.

Very nice.

 

[BRatigan]

I have exactly that model. Its also a Miroku. They are fantastic shooters. I won more matches than I can count with that rifle. They are pretty rare because of limited runs so hold onto that rifle. Mine is in superb s condition as it only goes to the range so just a few safe touches. Nothing to be concerned with. You also have the Browning scope mounts like I have on mine. You hit the jackpot in my opinion. Here is a typical target with Federal Ammo. You will find that it might be ammo specific as it may shoot one brand significantly better than another.

 

[red rick]

Nice .22 rifle . A Winchester 52 is the most accurate .22 rifle that I have ever shot and that was with the open peep sights .

 

[wanderinwalker]

@Trey Veston , that is a beautiful rifle your father had. It looks like it even has a "proper" fixed-power Leupold scope on top. You'll enjoy shooting it.

I can second @MrBorland 's list of recommended ammunition. I'll also add SK Standard and Standard Plus are good, as is Wolf Match Target (now produced by Eley I believe) and RWS Target Rifle. My experience says not to bother with CCI Green Tag, I've never had a rifle shoot it better than CCI Standard Velocity.

No pictures, but I once spent a couple of winters shooting a 50-foot 4-position league with a borrowed pre-A Winchester 52 with Redfield Olympic sights. If I remember right I was hanging around NRA Expert class scores with it. After that experience, a nice 52 Sporter might make me do something financially irresponsible. The Winchester 52 is a wonderful rimfire rifle.

 

[entropy]

I have a pre speed lock 52 that looks exactly like Night lord 40K's. Your Sporter is a fine rifle, that Leupold looks great on it!
MrBorland is right on about each rifle liking particularly brands, and even lot numbers within brand, of ammo. Buy a box of each, shoot them, and be prepared to buy all you can of the brand and lot number that shoots best in it.
The Army actually did use Win 52's, in all the variations. As an ROTC cadet, I shot them in the basement shooting range in the Armory at the U of Minn. They were the same type as mine, with Redfield Olympic irons on them. I'd love to have a set of those for it, but the 25x Target Spot is the reason I bought the gun.
We had a 52D up on the wall in the shop, and a guy came in and wanted the gun, but not the scope. I have always wanted a long scope, preferably a Unertl, but high power Unertls are big bucks. My boss owed me some back wages, so a deal was struck, and I took the scope home. I had originally intended to put it on my Western Field (Mossberg 42) .22, but I was able to sock away enough to buy the 52.

 

[Litetrigger]

Model-52 Sporter compared with M-52 heavy barrel target rifle.

 

[silicosys4]

Those are nice guns, I passed on one last year, and regret it a little. I had to pass on another one this year like nightlord40k's, because of exactly the issue he mentions, the cracked receiver at the safety lever. The shop wasn't happy when I pointed that out, its really easy to miss.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Those reproduction 52 sporters are nice. I saw two for sale at a recent gun show. One was NIB. I was tempted to make an offer on it.

 

[doubleh]

for your Japanese Model 52. When I was a kid I drooled over every 52 sporter ad picture I saw but was smart enough to understand ir was a hopeless dream.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Those are nice guns, I passed on one last year, and regret it a little. I had to pass on another one this year like nightlord40k's, because of exactly the issue he mentions, the cracked receiver at the safety lever. The shop wasn't happy when I pointed that out, its really easy to miss.

They still function safely with just the one intact locking lug, but the safety IS annoying. You can't set the rifle on its left side with the safety OFF without risking bending the shaft and you have to be extremely careful to flip it OFF before grabbing the bolt handle.

 

[bannockburn]

I found these pamphlets some years ago while we were cleaning out my Grandparent's home. My Dad had them when he was a kid. Unfortunately he grew up during the Great Depression so money for a nice Winchester .22 rifle just wasn't in the cards. After he got home from fighting in France and Germany during WW II, he kind of lost interest in having any kind of gun around.

 

[chicharrones]

I found these pamphlets some years ago while we were cleaning out my Grandparent's home. My Dad had them when he was a kid. Unfortunately he grew up during the Great Depression so money for a nice Winchester .22 rifle just wasn't in the cards. After he got home from fighting in France and Germany during WW II, he kind of lost interest in having any kind of gun around.

Gotta love Rim Fire vs. Rimfire. But, I have to ask what's up with "Staynless"?

 

[entropy]

That was Winchester's trade name for the type of primers they used at the time. I have several shell boxes and a crate for Win. Shells that say "Staynless" on them.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Gotta love Rim Fire vs. Rimfire. But, I have to ask what's up with "Staynless"?

Rolls off the tongue better than "Non-Corrosive," lol.

I liked the 1903 Colts that said ".32 Rimless, Smokeless Cartridge" on the slide.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I inherited this rifle from my late father, and I know nothing about where he got it, the history, or what he used it for. He had it for sale on consignment at a buddy's shop when he died, and I finally got it back today.

I did some research on it and it appears that it is a reproduction of the original Model 52 rifle from the 20's through the 70's, which was a premium .22 target rifle. It was then re-introduced by Winchester in the 90's as a sporter model and made in Japan by Miroku. They sold for $1500 new from `93 to 2002.

This one shows some use, as all of my father's firearms do. He hated safe queens, and no matter how beautiful or valuable a firearm was, he would take it into the woods and use it.

These rifles are supposed to be tack drivers, so I will be taking it to the range Saturday and seeing what it will do. The quality of it is excellent and it shows very little wear.
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One thing I noticed, Trey- from the photo, your Pull weight screw looks like its ready to fall out. Dont know if that one's captive or not, but might want to double check it. Could just be a funny angle.

 

[PapaG]

Beautiful! I have an original 52 from the 20s, barrel band, no speed lock and, ugh, a restock trying to look like an original. I got it for a song, found a way to mount a rail without screwing up the top metal, and have a great shooter. Probably not near as good as in 1927, but keeps up with my 455 and 10-22 with Shaw, Kidd, and other stuff.
I had a Rem 37 way back when and shot many "possibles" prone with it. Lyman 20X super targetspot.

 

[Trey Veston]

Went to the range and shot a few different types of ammo through it. I was surprised at what got the tightest group.



Federal "match grade" bulk ammo with 1/2" at 55yds...



I did a video of the range session as well...

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I've had some good lots of Federal Match, it just seems they are inconsistent from box to box.

My 52 gets fed CCI SV mostly, it also likes Eley Club and Wolf Gold. It shoots Tenex well, but not any better than the cheaper stuff, so thats usually reserved for my BSA.
Mine won't chamber WWB at all...

One thing you may notice (though I dunno if the Sporters or Miroku guns do this) is that it can be difficult to extract an unfired case, such as a dud, and they should be inspected carefully before chambering another round. Thats because, the target guns at least, have a short lede match chamber wherein the bullet is actually pressed into the rifling a bit when the bolt is closed. As a result, if you have a dud and cycle the action too fast, it's possible for the bullet to stay lodged in the barrel.

 

[Bazoo]

Great rifle. I didn't know Winchester had brought out the 52 again. Interesting that it likes that Federal ammo.

 

[Picher]

I inherited this rifle from my late father, and I know nothing about where he got it, the history, or what he used it for. He had it for sale on consignment at a buddy's shop when he died, and I finally got it back today.

I did some research on it and it appears that it is a reproduction of the original Model 52 rifle from the 20's through the 70's, which was a premium .22 target rifle. It was then re-introduced by Winchester in the 90's as a sporter model and made in Japan by Miroku. They sold for $1500 new from `93 to 2002.

This one shows some use, as all of my father's firearms do. He hated safe queens, and no matter how beautiful or valuable a firearm was, he would take it into the woods and use it.

These rifles are supposed to be tack drivers, so I will be taking it to the range Saturday and seeing what it will do. The quality of it is excellent and it shows very little wear.
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She's a real beauty!!

 

[eastbank]

i had a few older winchester 52,s, including the japan made sporter, when offered more money by 2x then i paid for them by a colletor i sold them. i still have quite a few win-rem .22 rifles but only one heavy barreled 40x rem .22. i have been shooting a left handed cz 452 that shoots 5 shot groups less than a inch at 50 yards with just about any ammo i use, and ss ruger 22/77 boat paddle that shoots just about as good. . . good .22 rifles are such a joy to shoot with out noise- recoil-cost with no long ranges to use them.