Do the old rifles shoot as well as the new ones?
There are lots of older rifles out there and I love them dearly. They are the ones I grew up with.
That said, I have to ask. Do they really shoot as well as rifles made with new techniques and machinery?
There have been many advances made in production capabilities. Better tooling and smoother finishes(I am thinking gun barrels here). Accuracy and what produces it, has been studied as thoroughly as anything these past few decades.
I would think the newer rifle barrels would be inherently more accurate.
Do the older rifles shoot as well/accurately as the new ones or is it just familiarity/nostalgia that makes them seem so good?
Do the old rifles shoot as well as the new ones?
I’m with the other fans of the 52 and other vintage specimens. Any gun can have a lemon rate but I’ve never seen a 52 shoot poorly and I have an original PRe-a from 1934, my brother has a 50s vintage B model, and I have a 1973 Olympic custom 52d with Freeland stock. All of them well outperform the shooters capability (even when the shooter is a competitive 4-position shooter).
I’d throw any of my original 52s against anything out there today and the 52D even competes well against my Anshutz (though there is no comparing against and Anshutz).
I also have two of the 52 sporter remakes (late nineties/early 2000s) from Miroku and they are amazing shooters that I would easily place in the “high tier modern” category and they perform nicely though not as well as an old bull barrel in my opinion.
Comparing to my Wife’s “high end” Savage Mark II Thumbhole with Leupold scope to my Winchester 52 with Lyman STS scope, I’d say I can be just as accurate with either but for me it’s easier to be accurate with the heavier older gun but newer gun is lighter and friendlier on fatigue level.
I also have some old cheap mossbergs that can shoot circles around modern guns if given the chance but they were decent specimens when acquired and were than “tuned” by me to be more accurate and smoother actions.
End result, modern or vintage, a good base gun can be made to perform as well as shooter but you have to start with a decent quality gun and might have to tweak some.
Just my 2cents.
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Win 52 pre-a, win52d, Win 52 sporter remake, mossberg 146, browning 22a, mossberg 42b (old photo when this one was in process of rebuild hence zip ties and no fittings, shoots amazing now that it’s done).
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Top: Win 52d (Olympic sights and x-tube installed), middle: Anshutz 1974 model 54, bottom Winchester 52 pre-a with Lyman STS installed. Also pictured is a Unertl scope for Anshutz and Lyman STS for 52D.
Hard to argue with the beauty of the classic bull barrel rifles. Modern laminate or synthetic stocks just can’t compare.