Vintage .22 Rimfire.....1936

[Rembrandt]

Vintage .22 Rimfire.....1936 (oops..1935)

Stumbled upon this rare find at the last gun show. A nearly new in box "Lyman Super Target Spot" scope (20X). A perfect match for an equally vintage (1936) Winchester 52B Bull barrel target rifle. In it's day this was the ultimate .22 rimfire combination. Rare finds often come at a premium price....paid more for the scope than I did for the rifle, but it was worth it.









The final piece of the kit will be this Vintage thumbhole ISU Olympic stock complete with "Al Freeland" hardware and accesssories. The complete rifle, both stocks, and scope are to rimfire rifles what a Mercedes Gull Wing is to sports cars.

 

[Moparmike]

Wow. Nice find! That scope ought to provide you the ability to shoot the reproductive organs off of any insect that lands on your target.



Question: Wont the front sight hood interfere with the sight picture?

 

[Scottmkiv]

Thats a mighty pretty rifle.

 

[P95Carry]

Rembrandt - cost aside - I think you lucked out there ..... I look back fondly and with regret to the passing on of my BSA MkII Martini action .22 target rifle ... why on this earth I trded it in against another gun I will never know.

Add on then the exquisite scope you have found and ... oh my - what a combination. That has to be, as a package - worth well more than the total outlay. I think you did good. I'd pay you good bucks for that whole set up.

 

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Oh my.

I thought my Walther Sportmodell V (like this one) was nice....but yours is the Cat's Jewels. Mine looks like the homely kid sister next to yours.

I'm so jealous now....


Regards,
Rabbit.

 

[foghornl]

WOW ! !

When you get it all put together, how about a pic or 3, and a range report.

That is one huge, honkin' scope....

 

[Mike Hull]

Very nice combo!!

 

[Okiecruffler]

Sometimes price is not a factor

(unless the wife is watching.) And just finding those peices was a bargin at any price. Very high drool factor.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Very, very nice!

 

[Rembrandt]

Thanks for the kind words...hope to post some new pics when the thumbhole stock gets refinished. Also planning to house the entire unit in a custom aluminum carry case.

Moparmike....the front sight would be removed for shooting, forgot to for the photos.

P95Carry....appreciate the offer but I think I'll be hanging onto this one for quite a while. Currently have about $1700 in the entire package.

 

[Wildalaska]

Oh yeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

Pant pant pant droool

WildgimmegimmeAlaska

 

[P95Carry]

$1700 eh ... that is serious bucks!! However - the whole combination is actually almost priceless in some respects. I will join Wild .....

P95droolandthendroolsomemoreCarry!!

You are one lucky dude .. but then ya know that!!

 

[Rembrandt]

An International Match version, of which only 300 were made with thumbhole and hardware is worth about $2800-$3000....mine won't be worth that, but it's a hoot to shoot and dead nuts accurate. We enjoy shooting flies at 100 yards....you know it's a hit when there is bug blood around the bullet hole.

 

[tc300mag1]

very nice tight setup

 

[Khornet]

Model 52

simply the finest 22 target rifle ever made.

I have a 52B that was abussed and neglected before I gave it a good home. Pitted metal, cracked stock, and a ring on the bore about a foot from the muzzle.

All I did was glass bed the stock and fix the crack. With a fixed 4X scope for squirrel hunting it shoots honest quarter-inch 5-shot 50-yd groups from a bench using Winchester Powerpoints. Just the cosmic squirrel rifle.

And squirrel season is open now.

Yours does NOT look like a 52B however: old-style (1919-1929) sights, and I don't see the rocker-type safety selector on the right. Your safety is the bolt shroud type. And with no cocking piece, I'll bet it has the 1929 Speed Lock. Overall I'd bet that your rifle was made 1919-1936 or so, with SN around 130xx to 240xx. I would be called simply a Model 52, although some erroneously call them 52As. Winchester didn't add a letter until the 52B.

Myself, I think you have a rifle BETTER than the 52B. Lot's of shooters didn't like the 52B trigger, and during the 52B period Remington's target rifle made big inroads into the 52's dominance. But then came the 52C with the 'Micro-Motion' trigger, and all was well.

 

[Rembrandt]

Serial number indicates it was built 1936, the safety is on the left side....I've always been under the assumption it was a "B". I'll have to check Houze's book on the 52's again see for sure. Thanks.

 

[Khornet]

Houze's book

is where I got all the info I posted. Looking at the pic again, it really doesn't look like a 52B. Except the barrel band arrangement; before the B it was a stock band, enclosing stock and barrel, but changed to what you have with the B.

Are there trigger adjustment screws on the bottom? Does the serial number include a B? Does that safety swing around the axis of the bore, or tilt fore and aft as the 52B did?

That rear sight is a very early feature.

Puzzling.

 

[Khornet]

That ain't no 'stock' stock either

The stocks were all plain and straight, with no cheekpiece, although I don't know whether a stock like yours was a special-order option.

The new stock looks like what you'd see on a 52D or International Rifle.

Now I'll have to go home and check my 52B and my copy of Houze.

Whatever its parentage, you have a superb rifle: "Perfection In Design".

 

[Khornet]

More points

The 52's receiver just behind the breech, where the magazine enters from below, is cut away down to the level of the wood on both sides. Beginning with the 52B, the left receiver wall was higher than the right, because of cracking at that point in earlier rifles. Your receiver wall appears to be old style.

52B production began in 1937, so you probably have a 52 'Type A' Speed Lock rifle, among the last made before changing to 52B. It was restocked somewhere along the line.

I have one from 1929, and it's fabulous.

Also, Winchester did not offer a Bull Gun until 1939. There were certainly heavy-barrel models offered before that, but not designated as Bull Gun. Yours was either rebarreled, or it is a G5231R or G5234R heavy barrel model. Your SN should be between 39500 and 44238 if it was made in '36.

 

[Soap]

That is beautiful!

 

[knzn]

Look up your ser# here
http://armscollectors.com/sn/windates.htm

I was thinking mine is a "pre A speedlock" from about 1936. They are a joy to shoot.

 

[Rembrandt]

Knzn....your link shows this as a 1936

Khornet....I'm certainly appreciative for your wealth of information. Upon closer inspection and using Houze's book, the serial number shows this as being built prior to 1936...(ser# 374XX). Looks like it was built September 1935.

After checking again in Houze's book, looks like this is a 52A Speedlock.

The stock is original Winchester, appears to be a custom order. The barrel is 7/8"...does this mean it's a "Heavy barrel" and not the "Bull Barrel"? No holes in the trigger guard for adjustment. Thanks again for the great information.

 

[Khornet]

Yep.

That is a Model 52 Type A Speed Lock rifle, heavy barrel option. And in gorgeous shape. PM me and I'll send photos of mine. My photo files are too big for this forum.

Congrats on a superb rifle.

 

[Khornet]

Actually,

the dates on that site conflict with Houze's data by about a year if that matters to anyone.

 

[ob1quixote]

Lots of good info to be had in this thread! Thought I might share this gem I came across in my father's estate!