Do Winchester model 52 reproductions shoot very well?

[Matt in Virginia]

fwiw,
As an aside I learned trigger control, some thirty years ago, behind one of the two mint 52Cs that my maternal Uncle owns. I always shot the the one with the Unertl and could not tell you much about the peep sighted version other than that SCOPES ARE BETTER!... Odd I went on to sell Schmidt Bender PMIIs... At any rate I would love to own that rifle, and would pay the fair value, however, it will never come my way. He has two sons, neither of which are shooters, and several grandsons which don't shoot either... What will become of the cocking indicator 41 Smiths and that beautiful pair of 52s comes to mind regularly. The odd part is that I would keep his memory alive, and the rifles in their positions of American Dominance, however, too much water under the bridge...

I have a dozen high end Anschutz Rifles.. All 1700 sporters, 1900 bench guns, and just picked up a $4200 1727F AV from the ANA Custom Shop built on the Biathlon Sporter for Peter Fortner this morning. I want another in .17 HMR and one last(I promise)down the road as a bench gun... I'm fairly picky as I'm having a 1913 Meistergrade SuperMatch BR-50 rebarreled with a Shilen Ratchet by Mark Penrod. I cannot abide something that looks like that and does not shoot in a hole... Sorry for the off topic.

Would trade ANY of those Anschutz for that 52-C...

Regards, Matt.

 

[patriot]

Matt,
I'd been an Anschutz and Remington guy for many years, but I lucked into a unmolested 52C target that was complete other than the box. I've only shot it off the bench at 50 with irons; one little bitty hole. The local Winchester fanatic tried to take it off my hands, but when I retire next year we'll spend some quality time on the 100 yard prone range.

Mark

 

[nfhjr62]

Have a 52D i purchased from my gun club about 30 yrs. ago and will take to my grave.

 

[Matt in Virginia]

Mark,
They ARE wonderful examples of what American Factory Custom Rifles could once be are they not? That same uncle was also big into 37 Remingtons and I tried to buy one of those when he was selling out of at $450 per in the mid to late 80's but no matter that I drove a tractor ON ALL OF MY FREE TIME I drew no wage... Does it suck and blow to want a rifle THAT BAD and not have the money to even make a down payment. Most other children wanted plastic crap that beeped and I wanted American Steel that popped...(laughing) I still hope to come by a 52C in that condition... I've owned two Bleikers and a Grunig & Elmiger Racer, however, none of it quite makes up for that Winchester 52C with the Micro Motion Trigger... Still time.

Best Regards, Matt...

 

[patriot]

You are exactly right Matt. My new 54.30 is a tool. The old rifles are works of art built by real craftsman that have to be shot to be appreciated; especially the old Ballards, Winchesters, and Stevens. I came across a great deal on one special 37 in like new condition not long ago. A gunsmith had sent a new 37 to Al Freeland to build a state of the art rifle. Everything but the action was replaced with Freeland products, an Eric Johnson barrel, and a first generation Lyman Targetspot. Thinking about spending my retirement at the range sounds pretty good after a long hard week at work.

Mark