Winchester Model 52c

[Just Tripp]

I shot one of these today at the range. I’m not much of a rifle shooter. I’m on the handgun range 99% of the time, but today while I was packing up I noticed an older gentleman shooting a rifle with a lonnnnnng scope and a barrel that looked like a truck axle. So I stopped to say hello.

The fellow couldn’t have been nicer. Probably 80 or so years old, and took the time to tell me the history of the gun and offered to let me try. I shot a 5 rd group at 100 yards you could cover with a quarter from a rest. It surely wasn’t me. I haven’t shot a rifle in two years.

But what a beautiful rifle! He explained the 52 was the target .22 to shoot for many years. Walther and Anschutz would eventually take that market. He had an 18x Unertl scope that was just as fascinating. And the trigger? He warned me before I shot that it was very light. Good lord! Best trigger I’ve ever experienced. 5 oz and zero creep. Unreal. What a piece of history. I wish I’d taken pictures, but I was just so enamored with the rifle and how well it shot.

 

[Brandon1]

I had a 52 at some point, great beautiful rifle but good for one thing and one thing only….putting little holes in paper.

 

[rufrdr]

I used a 52D in high school prone matches. Wonderfully accurate.

 

[JohnFreeman]

I have a heavy barrel 52 and it's a wonderful rifle. Truck axle is an apt description. Thing weighs a ton. They're from an era that doesn't exist any more. That 18X Unertl and rings is probably worth as much if not more than the Winchester is. Sounds like a really fun rig to get to shoot and a fun exchange with a fellow gun guy.

Now "Winchester" makes plastic 22 rifles.... what a sad ending.

 

[rufrdr]

I have a heavy barrel 52 and it's a wonderful rifle. Truck axle is an apt description. Thing weighs a ton. They're from an era that doesn't exist any more. That 18X Unertl and rings is probably worth as much if not more than the Winchester is. Sounds like a really fun rig to get to shoot and a fun exchange with a fellow gun guy.

Now "Winchester" makes plastic 22 rifles.... what a sad ending.

Not much interest these days in HB match .22 rifles and what there is, is satisfied by overseas makers. Very few would probably want to pay what it would cost Winchester to make a 52D or C these days.

 

[sgtgeorge]

I have a 52A with a no drill scope mount and the gun is wonderfully accurate. It's so accurate, it gets boring to keep shooting paper. At that point, I turn my attention to objects on the berm downrange and shoot at them.

 

[Les White]

I had I 52 in hs. Dead nuts accurate. Sold it when I moved to CA. Regret it to this day.

 

[Junkyard dog]

I have a soft spot for a 52c, this one is a 1960 model. the craftsmanship is what amazes me for something that is 60 plus years old. It's awesome he took the time to let you shoot it some.

 

[Bunsen]

The Winchester 52's are indeed amazing rifles. I am blessed to own two Win 52's, a 1950 Model B Heavy Target and a 1962 Model D that came out of the CMP program. Easily they are the most accurate rimfires I own and that's comparing them to multiple CZ's, a Tikka, two Anschutz, and a Rim-X. The custom Rim-X is VERY close to the Win 52's though. This is my Win 52B after I refinished the stock with Tung oil:

 

[Snoopz]

Shot a many 52 back in the day, shooting at the Flair Armory in Frederick, MD. to get my badges
nice shooting rifle, let many "slip" through my hands and regret everyone, bid on 2 of them a week
or so ago, "floor bidder" outbid me big time, one $1,100 the other $1,250, same guy. got my eyes on
a few now. missed a Rem 40X still beat myself over that one, went at a great price. "A day late, dollar
short" as the saying goes. Oh well.

-Snoopz

 

[WILDB!LL]

1936 model 52. Belonged to a man who used to shoot it in matches in Greensboro in the late 40’s and early 50’s.