S&W 52 38 Special. OAL Question

[rintinglen]

Although I have previously shot one, I have never owned one and consequently never loaded for one. I recall reading in years gone by that these are finicky when it comes to OAL. Since I was recently able to scratch an itch and buy one (pick-up date is the 27th) can anyone give me pointers on loading for this fine gun. (The trigger is so good it scares me)

[Outpost75]

Flush seated max. OAL 1.160", max charge 3.1 Bullseye.

[eck0313]

Follow Outpost 75’s advice. I never found mine to be finicky about reloads. Flush seat, very light crimp. 3.1 grains Win 231 shot better in mine than the “standard” 2.7 or 2.8 grain Bullseye loads.

[oso]

It's the magazines that can be finicky, binding if col is longer than it likes. Pay attention to the noses of your wadcutters and the angle of the followers. Agree with very light crimp as in at least remove any belling. Who else has that many extra mags for their S&W 52? Can't say I've had a problem with long .38 Special brass but guess it could happen.

[9.3X62AL]

Kinda related.......I loaded wadcutters for a Walther GSP-C in 32 S&W Long for a time. Flush-seated, light crimp, and 725 FPS to the Hornady HBWC ran very well.

[rintinglen]

Thanks guys, fortunately I have a 358-63 4 cavity somewhere in the man cave that I shall dig up and put to work. Most of my WC molds are button nosed, and probably won't work well.

[Outpost75]

Thanks guys, fortunately I have a 358-63 4 cavity somewhere in the man cave that I shall dig up and put to work. Most of my WC molds are button nosed, and probably won't work well.

Button nosed will "probably work," but you will need to test feeding to ensure the button doesn't drag on the front of the magazine body. In guns having a gradual forcing cone angle similar to the .38 AMU, the H&G #50 works even with a bit of the wadcutter shoulder outside the case, but later guns are short-throated with SAAMI chamber for factory wadcutters, which is why I stated the 1.16" OAL.

[9.3X62AL]

I haven't shot wadcutters in years. Still, a S&W Model 52 or a Walther GSP variant remain "Dream Guns" for me. I have shot examples of both extensively enough to lust in my heart for either machine.

[arlon]

Shot a lot of button nosed WC in a 52. I turned them around....

[rintinglen]

Shot a lot of button nosed WC in a 52. I turned them around....

How well did that work for you? I have a bunch 0f H&G 50's that I'd like to use, if that can work out.

[tazman]

I shot a test batch like that through my revolver and they worked fine if that helps any.

[GBertolet]

Button bullets work fine in the 52. Just seat the button even with the case mouth. Although I never tried it, it had been suggested, to shorten the cases enough to have the button and front bullet shoulder exposed, staying within max OAL. Both loads of 2.8 gr of Bullseye and 3.1 gr of 231 work fine in my 52-1. My 52 bore slugs at .355. I tried several bullet diameters, but .358 shoots the best.

[MT Gianni]

IIRC the 35863 is a double end wc. It was designed for the 52.

[KCSO]

If you pm me with an address I can send you a copy of Gil Hebards test and loads form way back when. He did a lot of work with these. 1963 Gun Digest The 38 Master", loads and test results. 2.31 inch groups at 50 yards! The most accurate gun I ever shot. Even better than my K38.

[Drm50]

I have no trouble with Double ended WCs in 52. What is giving me fits is a FN Hi Power 9mm
Competition model. Gun shoots like a dream with FMJ, but I can't get it to shoot any cast
boolit, let alone a WC. I've never had a 38super target gun but had a 1911 70series that shot
cast fine.

[GBertolet]

I have that Gil Hebard book also. Great info on the S&W 52. Good info on the Hi-Standard .22 auto's also.

Drm50, Brownings tend to have oversized barrels. At least mine do. Both my barrels run just under .358. Jacketed bullets were ok. .356 cast shot awful with leading, until I tried .358 bullets, then it all cane together. Slug your barrel, and see what you got. I don't think the 9mm Browning Hi-powers were designed to shoot WC bullets. It would be a miracle if you could get them to feed with the WC bullets.

[oldsalt444]

HBWC swaged lead 148 gr. will give you the best accuracy. Must be seated flush with the case mouth and crimped. 2.7 gr. WST is considered "the load" by most bullseye shooters, including myself. I've also had good results with 2.5 gr. Titegroup.

[Bmi48219]

I haven't had any feed issues at 1.160" COL in my 52-2. Loading 148 gr plated HBWC's (bought several thousand for 3 cents each at a tag sale) over 2.9 Tite Group.
That gun can make anyone look good.

226307

[rintinglen]

Picked mine up yesterday. 1.160 works fine in the mag, hope to get to shoot it this weekend. I will post a pic this evening . Thanks for the help and encouragement. Now I just need to find and fill-dump-repeat a few hundred times my 4 cavity 358-63!

[Bmi48219]

Not to redirect the thread but on the subject of S & W 52's, I was talking to another owner; apparently Clark made a run (300) of replacement barrels with a 1:10 twist (as opposed to the factory 1:16 twist). They sold out overnight at $300.00 each, barrel bushing not included. Wish someone would make a run of model 52 magazines.

[rintinglen]

226374 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?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[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.