Please tell me about the Remington 552 Speedmaster

[10-Ring]

I just picked up a Speedmaster -- I don't know how old it is, I did not get a chance to shoot it first but it's just a natural pointer I couldn't refuse...plus, it was a great deal, I couldn't say no
So, please, school me on my new rifle
TIA

 

[rangerruck]

I consider the speedmaster, to be the best ever semi auto made; I know, big words. but they are still hugely popular, and even used ones command a price of 150 or more, even if rode hard. why? Reliability. they fire everything , and do it well. Even the massive 60 grainer Aguila sss rounds, do not keyhole, fire and extract reliably, and give great accuracy. mine is an absolute 1 hole punch with this round. It can reliably fire short, long, and long rifle rounds , INTERCHANGEABLY, becuase of it's unique chamber design.
Now then, they are a bit of a Beeeoch to take down and put back together, but most people never do. Again, why? because even after many years, and completely full of crap, they just keep on working.
they are a very good looking rifle, the ones with quality wood are beautiful, they are very ergonomic, and nothing really sticks out on it anywhere, to get hung up on anything. they are comfortable in your hands, easy and fast to shoulder, totally balanced. It lacks nothing , and has no shortcomings.
I have one, I picked up used a couple of years ago, and I am pretty much a rimfire freak, for anything rifle or pistol, and have several models of various brands. And they all have my favorite things about them; i also have 17 mach 2's, which I love more than the 22 round. however, i have often debated to myself, if bugging out, and could only take one rifle with me, which would it be? It comes down to 2 and I haven't made my final choice yet, because I don't have to; a ruger 77/17m2, that is so accurate it is scary, or the speedmaster.

 

[10-Ring]

WOW -- just went to Remington to see what the date code means -- left side found a W N = Aug 1922. Sweet, she's in really good shape for a 77 year old 22

 

[Jim Watson]

Good trick, considering that the model came out in the 1950s along with the other streamlined Remingtons like the 740 centerfire auto rifle.

 

[jhco]

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=433556

 

[10-Ring]

did i read the coding wrong? w=august and the n= 1922???
The Remington Society of America
An organization dedicated to the collection and study of Remington firearms, ammunition and history
Sunday, 24 May 2009
Enter your search terms Submit search form
Web www.remingtonsociety.com


Home
What is the RSA
How to Join
RSA Events
RSA Exhibits
RSA Classifieds
RSA Forums
RSA Journals
Remington Books
Photo Gallery
Ask A Question
Manufacture Dates
RSA Merchandise
Other Links
Service/Parts
RSA Members
Research Team
Current Research
Board Members

Remington Dates of Manufacture

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following serial number information is for
Remingtion firearms manufactured after 1921

Remingtons manufactured after 1921 have a code located on the left side of the barrel near the frame that identifies the year and month of manufacture. The following letters correspond to the months of the year, for example B=January, L= February and so on:

B - L - A - C - K - P - O - W - D - E - R - X

Barrel Code Location Diagram



Serial Numbers by date (factory record book)
1903 and 1903A3 Production and Serial No table.


B - Jan L - Feb A - Mar C - Apr K - May P - Jun
O - Jul W - Aug D - Sep E - Oct R - Nov X - Dec




M - 1921 N - 1922 P - 1923 R - 1924 S - 1925
T - 1926 U - 1927 W - 1928 X - 1929 Y - 1930
Z - 1931 A - 1932 B - 1933 C - 1934 D - 1935
E - 1936 F - 1937 G - 1938 H - 1939 J - 1940
K - 1941 L - 1942 MM - 1943 NN - 1944 PP - 1945
RR - 1946 SS - 1947 TT - 1948 UU - 1949 WW - 1950
XX - 1951 YY - 1952 ZZ - 1953 A - 1954 B - 1955
C - 1956 D - 1957 E - 1958 F - 1959 G - 1960
H - 1961 J - 1962 K - 1963 L - 1964 M - 1965
N - 1966 P - 1967 R - 1968 S - 1969 T - 1970
U - 1971 W - 1972 X - 1973 Y - 1974 Z - 1975
I - 1976 O - 1977 Q - 1978 V - 1979 A - 1980
B - 1981 C - 1982 D - 1983 E - 1984 F - 1985
G - 1986 H - 1987 I - 1988 J - 1989 K - 1990
L - 1991 M - 1992 N - 1993 O - 1994 P - 1995
Q - 1996 R - 1997 S - 1998 T - 1999 (*) U - 2000 (*)
V - 2001 (*) W - 2002 X - 2003 Y - 2004 Z - 2005
A - 2006 B - 2007 C - 2008 D - 2009 E - 2010
F - 2011 G - 2012



Using barrel codes (such as those listed above) to date the manufacture are reliable on Remington rifles, as the company rarely changed barrels on a customer's rifle.

Using these barrel codes to date a shotgun is somewhat unreliable, as shotgun barrels are often interchanged at random. One needs to be sure that the barrel is original to the gun before trusting the Barrel Code listing, above.

(*) On 8/9/99, stopped stamping the barrels with the date code. They continued to mark the date code on the end flap of the shipping box. They resumed stamping the date code on the barrel on 10/1/01.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's NEVER TOO LATE to join
The Remington Society of America...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[benzy2]

Notice there is an N for the years 1966 and 1993 as well as 1922.

In 2003 A friend bought a new one. At first it seemed fine. The wood was amazing, really slick looking rifle. Fed ammo well and didn't have much of an issue with jamming to note. It was a lemon though. It wouldn't shoot anything straight. Something was out of spec as before too long the barrel would wobble when you pushed/pulled on it. It wasn't a huge wobble but enough to miss a squirrel in the woods. It didn't have that problem on day one and shot well in the beginning but it just wasn't in spec. He traded that in on a different rifle and hasn't looked back since. I'm sure it was more of a fluke than anything but I have become a little tainted based on that experience.

 

[10-Ring]

I just noticed the multiple years -- but how then do you determine which year best applies?

Jim -- what do you think...'66?

 

[Jim Watson]

What do the sights look like? If a conventional bead sight dovetailed into the barrel or a ramp, 1966, if a "shark fin" sight like the Nylon 66, 1993. At a GUESS.

 

[10-Ring]

thanx

 

[azurevirus]

Im looking at one now at the local pawn..a few nicks in the wood..and coooould use a rebluing..price is 200..havent made up my mind yet

 

[Oic0]

Mine jams all the time :banghead:
It usually eats Federal .22 bulk.
Maybe there is something wrong with it?

 

[azurevirus]

Well I went and bought it..it has the shark fin front site ..soo its prob a 93 or newer?

 

[bear375]

Mine jams all the time :banghead:
It usually eats Federal .22 bulk.
Maybe there is something wrong with it?

clean it thoroughly. My granddad had one that was unreliable. i took it apart to see how it worked and cleaned it and it hasn't missed a beat yet.

 

[Jubjub]

A 552 was my second rifle, after a 514 single shot. Nice gun, but they do have some quirks.

Watch where you put your left hand. That bolt handle will smack your thumb hard. I wasn't yet full height when I got mine, and when out in the woods, I'd be shooting up at a squirrel, and ouch.

Don't take it apart if you don't have to. The barrel assembly is a slip fit into the receiver, and the more it gets disassembled, the looser the fit becomes. If it develops any play, a scope becomes useless.

 

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors // I think I have a few pics from the grand opening of my pawnshop rescue 552.


Full of dust and in need of a good cleaning. Shoots all flavors nice and tight with zero jams.
As stated watch out for the bolt it is not like a Marlin 60 and also as stated they clean up pretty good with out dissasembly.

Don't over tighten any of the screws.
Enjoy the range

 

[Mathlete1123]

clean it thoroughly. My granddad had one that was unreliable. i took it apart to see how it worked and cleaned it and it hasn't missed a beat yet.

+1 after a good cleaning mine rarely malfunctions now.

I found this video helpful (he begins disassembly at about 0:50)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB_T...A8B4D2A10&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=1

 

[rangerruck]

... and so this is the key; do not take apart and clean, until it starts acting like a jerk, about fireing or ejecting diff rounds.

 

[Kentucky_Rifleman]

I was glad to find this thread, even if it was last updated in May. I bought one at the gunshow today for 275.00. The markings date it to October 1977, but it looks new. I doubt if it's had a box of shells shot through it. I did pay a premium for it, but the wood is gorgeous, and "like-new" is an understatement. I'll post a range report after I shoot it.

I already have 2 scoped .22 rifles, should I scope this one as well? Or leave on the factory irons, sharkfin and all?

KR

 

[rscalzo]

There are several on the racks of a large local shop. They are all in the $250 and up depending on the grade and condition.

I'm always tempted to take one home. But I'm really holding out for a Model 66 in good condition.

 

[NC Cruffler]

I bought one new in 1970. Still have it and shoot it upon occasion. Waxed lead bullets gum things up fairly quickly so I use the copper plated ones. I take it down and thoroughly clean it about once a year.

 

[rangerruck]

I would consider a scope for these, to do you quite well, but I will suggest a twist, get a fixed power, 4 is plenty, scope, air rifle rated. keep objective bell at 32 mm or smaller. Ideally, the thing to do , would be to find an old 3/4 inch all steel weaver, off of Ebay or such place, and really put together a piece that is totally small and ergonomic with the rifle, and will not overbalance or overpower it in any way. that is what I would do; old school, all steel Weaver , 3/4 inch scope. Like this;
http://cgi.ebay.com/J-G-Higgins-4X-...158?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5e4c27fe

make sure it says, El paso, usa, on it. it could just say usa, but they may have some plastic on it.

 

[Jubjub]

Mine was a lovely Christmas gift in the early 70's. Ammo wasn't plentiful, and I didn't get a Weaver 3-6X rimfire scope for it until a few years later. It took a few severely painful episodes to keep my left thumb away from the operating handle.

Overall, not a good gun. Every time you took it apart for cleaning, you screwed up the zero on the scope. Trigger pull not good. Like so many older guns, nice looking gun with glaring design flaws.

 

[ISO1600]

Kinda reviving the dead here, but...

i got a 552 for a good price about a week ago, only been able to shoot it a little. It's a Jan '61 going by the date code. First thing when i got it home from the shop was strip it down and clean it. Now i didn't know the barrel pulled off (at that point) so i wasn't able to get the chamber and bolt too great, but i got most everything else spotless.
Today i got a 4x32 bushnell rimfire scope on it, looks great and was $30. Went to the range, tried the following ammo:
Rem Golden bullet
Rem Yellow Jacket
Rem Sub Sonic
CCI CB Short
CCI Mini Mag
CCI Stinger

frustratingly enough, i have had a large number of duds/fail to fire. I'd say my longest string of successful shots was maybe 5 before another dud/FTF. This was with the GOLDEN BULLETS too! haha Wal-Mart bulk.

I'll go back and try to properly clean the chamber and bolt again, but i am at a loss as to what to do if that doesn't fix it.

 

[GD]

After about 500-600 rounds, mine will start misfiring or having extraction problems. I break it down and thoroughly clean it and it is good to go for another 500 rounds. I shoot the cheapest 22 ammo I can find and this rifle is very accurate.