Famaldehide Face
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The S&W model 52 was chambered in the .38 special revolver cartridge. Manufactured from around 1961 - ?
S&W model 52: .38 Special Automatic!
- Thread starter Famaldehide Face
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
52 - introduced in 1961 - SA/DA Model 39 frame parts with the DA locked out with a set-screw.
52-1 1963 = Changed to SA only.
52-2 - 1971 = Change to new extractor system.
Discontinued = 1993.
rcmodel
52-1 1963 = Changed to SA only.
52-2 - 1971 = Change to new extractor system.
Discontinued = 1993.
rcmodel
yhtomit
Member
Neat! What do these go for nowadays? I love seeing autopistols in "revolver" calibers and vice versa, though a S&W 625's the only such gun that I own right now. 38's a nice cartridge, though -- how astronomical are these? 
timothy
timothy
The Model 52 was a great, possibly the greatest, of the centerfire target autos. It was the victim of dropping interest in formal target shooting and the changeover by police to the 9mm. The 952, essentially the same gun but in 9mm, is (AFAIK) still being made.
Previously owned Model 52s bring a nice price today, around $1000 in top condition.
For those wanting a .38 Special auto, though, please note that the Model 52 was designed for and works only with flush seated wadcutters; suggested loads are in the range of 2.5-2.7 grains of Bullseye. Loads with standard bullets won't even fit in the magazine.
Jim
Previously owned Model 52s bring a nice price today, around $1000 in top condition.
For those wanting a .38 Special auto, though, please note that the Model 52 was designed for and works only with flush seated wadcutters; suggested loads are in the range of 2.5-2.7 grains of Bullseye. Loads with standard bullets won't even fit in the magazine.
Jim
Revolver cartridges, well yes but wad cutters only. You couldn't shoot just any old .38 special round in them. They were also very very finicky about case length and the magazines had to be perfect. They were a specialized target gun.
Jim Watson
Member
Maj. George C. Nonte wrote about the M52 and defensive loads. Say you lived in a repressive jurisdiction and could only get a real deal target pistol licensed. The easy way was the old full charge wadcutter at 850 fps, same as the 158 gr roundnose and surely more effective with a soft flat front end. The fancy way was to shorten .38 Special brass so that whatever hollowpoint you liked would fit the magazine, something around .38 Long Colt or .38 Super case length. Kind of like shooting +P in an airweight, but if it was the only gun in the house...
Usually George Nonte's ideas were good, but on that one he must have been smoking something. Loading the old hollow base lead wadcutter backward might have worked OK if the victim was not wearing an overcoat, but any velocity that would expand a modern JHP would be very nasty to that gun. Like I and others have said, it was a specialized gun made for one purpose - to punch paper.
Jim
Jim
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
You are also limited to 5-round magazines because of the rimmed case.
We had a bunch of Model 52's at 5th Army. They are a pure joy to shoot.
Not so much joy when they got tempermental and didn't want to work though.
I've spent hours on one that worked yesterday, and stopped working today, for some non-apparent reason!
They also break barrel-bushings.
And S&W is long past making any replacement parts for them.
rcmodel
We had a bunch of Model 52's at 5th Army. They are a pure joy to shoot.
Not so much joy when they got tempermental and didn't want to work though.
I've spent hours on one that worked yesterday, and stopped working today, for some non-apparent reason!
They also break barrel-bushings.
And S&W is long past making any replacement parts for them.
rcmodel
Jim Watson
Member
Alteration of the magazine to hold 6 is a simple job and the guns are popular amongst PPC shooters who work entirely in 6-shot strings of fire.
pdxrandy
Member
Bullseye shooting
IIRC do they or did they shoot three guns. a .22, a center fire (usually .38 Spl), and the .45 for NRA style target shooting? The scores from all three rounds were added up for a total score. Most of the shooters shot K-38 or a Colt match target revolver then Smith and Wesson came out with the M52 for the "center fire" stage of the match.
pdxRandy
IIRC do they or did they shoot three guns. a .22, a center fire (usually .38 Spl), and the .45 for NRA style target shooting? The scores from all three rounds were added up for a total score. Most of the shooters shot K-38 or a Colt match target revolver then Smith and Wesson came out with the M52 for the "center fire" stage of the match.
pdxRandy
That is correct. Both Colt and S&W made auto pistols for the center-fire match which, in recent years has meant .38 Special. However, some foreign companies, including Walther and Unique, made target pistols in .32 S&W Long, which were also used by some American competitors, and S&W made the K-32 Masterpiece for those who wanted an even lighter recoiling revolver.
NRA rules specify that the CF gun has to be at least .32 caliber, a rule hastily made to outlaw Col. Askins' famous Woodsman using a modified .22 Velodog cartridge.
Jim
NRA rules specify that the CF gun has to be at least .32 caliber, a rule hastily made to outlaw Col. Askins' famous Woodsman using a modified .22 Velodog cartridge.
Jim
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