S&W 52 38 Special. OAL Question

[rintinglen]

This gun has been bubba'ed up a mite. Note the interesting version of the safety and the missing rear sight.. However, about 60 dollars and some work should have her back to normal. I got this cheap enough I can afford to spend a bit and still have a pretty good deal.

[Texas by God]

I've never shot one, I've always wanted one. I like yours I would go ahead and shoot it like it is now and then restore it and enjoy it that way. Was the 38 wadcutter Colt Gold Cup as accurate as the Smith & Wesson Model 52?

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[2shot]

Was the 38 wadcutter Colt Gold Cup as accurate as the Smith & Wesson Model 52?


Not in it's stock form but there are several gunsmiths that still do 1911's in 38 Special. The grip on the 1911 is more forgiving and people tend to shoot more accurately with the 1911 based 38 Special than they do with the very unforgiving S&W M-52.
Talking 50 yards. Almost any handgun will shoot 2" groups at 31 feet. Now if your talking 2" groups at 50 yards then you got a shooter !!

2shot

[Bmi48219]

A 2 inch group at fifty yards? Maybe clamped in a Ranson rest. I'd like to watch someone shoot a two inch group at 50 yards offhand, over iron sights,with a 38 special wad cutter auto loader.

[9.3X62AL]

My sister did it routinely from barricade position, which is standard practice on the traditional PPC course. She has a slab-barrel Model 10 for this work. The trick to it--shoot at 7 yard line first, and cut out the X-ring to enable light to shine through. Move the front sight to its 50-yard setting, hold a good sight picture using the illumination coming through. 50 yards is fired single-action. 50 yards is where the wheat gets separated from the chaff. Most PPC wheelguns can shoot sub-2" at 50 yards, and the W-W Super Match wadcutters my shop used could do so as well.

[2shot]

Tightest group Gil Hebard got at 50 yards with the M-52 and a machine rest was 1.03 inches. I have personally seen Master and High Master shooters shoot 2" groups at 50 yards for 10 shots with iron sights, clean target and 10-X. Maybe not on a a regular basis but it has been done. Check out the NRA 2600 Club along with the 2650 and 2670 Club. Lots of shooters made these clubs way before optics were allowed in Bullseye competition.

2shot

[Bmi48219]

If 2 inch groups are a regular occurrence in PPC shooting, I stand corrected. I confess to being unfamiliar with PPC. Did a quick google on 'PPC Barricade shooting'. It does sound like the barricade provides some degree of "steady-ness" to the shooting hand. Still, two inches is real impressive for a five round group @ 50 yards
9.3X62AL,
I'm not sure I understand the "trick". Is the shooter moving the 7 yard target with the cut out X ring to 50 yards? If the X ring is shot out how an you tell if 50 yard shot went through the X ring? Using the light makes a lot of sense, I have trouble finding a black front sight on a black target.

[rintinglen]

Well I won't say they are a regular occurrence, but I saw it done several times back in the day. John Pride did it once in a match I was at. Had it not been for a solitary wart 9 he'd have shot a possible that day. It was guys like him who kept guys like me back in the pack and out of the winners circle.

[rintinglen]

Last night i managed to get to the range where I encountered a few problems. One of my two magazines fails to lock back the slide, and there can be NO lead protruding past the end of the case for ammo to function well. I am going to have to purchase another seater for my RCBS seater die. That said, despite my unfamiliarity with the Red Dot sight on it, I was more than pleased with the accuracy. It was only 60 feet but My second offhand group was 5 shots touching. (Two handed Off hand --my salad days have wilted.)

[saleen322]

We had a Colt 1911 "38 Mid Range" and a 52 Smith. We still have the 52 Smith. The 52 is accurate but never got it down to 2" @ 50. The best groups were in the 2.5" range. The 52 is a great practice pistol as it seems very unforgiving with a bad shot. If you get a sloppy shot with a good 1911, you may still get an 8 or so. Do the same mistake with a 52 and you are lucky to still have a 6.

[30calflash]

Lee had a wc boolit that had a small button, almost as an after thought, on the front end. It was one that would feed from a 52. My friend cast and shot his a lot in the 80's and 90's with the Lee WC..

Yes they are unforgiving if you get lax in your follow thru.