Dad was a bit of a gun nut back in the 1950s, though with five of us kids to keep fed & clothed, he didn't have a lot of spare money to spend on a fancy .22 sporter. He did have a S&W 6" K-22 Masterpiece & a Winchester M61 pump .22 that he carried in his pickup trucks for as long as I can recall. He was the president of the gun club in our little western Kansas community, so had some neat gun catalogs, including 1956, 1960 & 1961 editions of the Stoeger Shooter's Bible. I spent hours drooling over the prints of the finest guns in the world in those catalogs. I'm attaching photos of the cover of the 47th edition, and of the listings for the Winchester 75 & 52C sporting rifles. You'll note that there was an option to buy your 52C with "stock of selected walnut, if available", for a whopping $16 more. I've always wondered if anyone out there has a 52C sporter with that option, and if so, how much nicer the "selected walnut" stocks were? All I know is that I'd sure like to be able to buy a couple of those rifles with the selected walnut stocks at this price, not taking inflation into account!!
Winchester 52C Sporting rifle - price & options in 1956
- Thread starter flatlander
- Start date
Using an inflation calculator the $162.40 regular grade 52C with sights would cost $1779.31 in todays money.
The upgraded with select walnut and sights at $178.40 would cost $1954.61 in todays money.
Not really that far out of line with upper end 22's today, if available I would be okay with paying todays price for one.
drover
The upgraded with select walnut and sights at $178.40 would cost $1954.61 in todays money.
Not really that far out of line with upper end 22's today, if available I would be okay with paying todays price for one.
drover
drover - if you've watched any of the online auctions for the Miroku reproduction Winchester 52B & Browning 52C sporting rifles, you know that they've gone a little crazy in price recently. It's to the point where they're not far from those adjusted-for-inflation figures you posted. I bought one of the Browning-marked 52C repro rifles a couple of months ago - listed as "as-new in box", and even though I was able to talk the owner down a couple hundred bucks, it was still well over $1k. His description was accurate however, and I couldn't find a mark or scratch on either the stock or the metal. A genuine Winchester 52C sporter in this condition would likely be worth well in excess of $5k today.
However nice the visible condition of this Browning 52C, the bore was an entirely different matter. It was so full of lead fouling that running my 20 cal cleaning rod - without a patch on the jag - through that barrel was rough. After spending a couple of hours with a bronze bore brush and ProShot Lead & Carbon remover, I got it clean enough to use the borescope on it, and was not pleased with some of the defects in that bore. I took it out and put 65rds of a good lot of SK Std+ through it, and wasn't at all impressed with groups - plus, when I got it back into the shop and put a wet patch down the bore, I found it to have a lot of lead fouling again. I finally pulled it, then ran my EPS match reamer in to re-cut the lands in the leade, which made quite an improvement in the appearance, then did some light lapping of the whole bore with 800grit AO lapping compound. All that work didn't improve the groups much, but it did nearly stop the leading. Whatever - Krieger is contouring one of their straight cylinder 22RF blanks to be .050" larger in overall diameter of the factory bbl - should have it from them in a couple of weeks. When I get the Krieger fitted, chambered, and finished, I should have a fine-shooting rifle. But you know that I'd much prefer to have a genuine 52C sporter made in the Winchester factory right here in the good old U.S. of A.
However nice the visible condition of this Browning 52C, the bore was an entirely different matter. It was so full of lead fouling that running my 20 cal cleaning rod - without a patch on the jag - through that barrel was rough. After spending a couple of hours with a bronze bore brush and ProShot Lead & Carbon remover, I got it clean enough to use the borescope on it, and was not pleased with some of the defects in that bore. I took it out and put 65rds of a good lot of SK Std+ through it, and wasn't at all impressed with groups - plus, when I got it back into the shop and put a wet patch down the bore, I found it to have a lot of lead fouling again. I finally pulled it, then ran my EPS match reamer in to re-cut the lands in the leade, which made quite an improvement in the appearance, then did some light lapping of the whole bore with 800grit AO lapping compound. All that work didn't improve the groups much, but it did nearly stop the leading. Whatever - Krieger is contouring one of their straight cylinder 22RF blanks to be .050" larger in overall diameter of the factory bbl - should have it from them in a couple of weeks. When I get the Krieger fitted, chambered, and finished, I should have a fine-shooting rifle. But you know that I'd much prefer to have a genuine 52C sporter made in the Winchester factory right here in the good old U.S. of A.
Liven The Dream
Gold $$ Contributor
And How many 52 C&B's got cut up to make Sporter's ?????????
Some of the guys on RFC have stated the opinion that the value of 52 sporting rifles has dropped off a bit over the past 9-10yrs because of the skill of people who've done exactly that - cut up B & C model 52s in an attempt to cash in on the demand for 52 sporters. Personally, I haven't got the experience or expertise to spot a well-done fake sporter, and it'd be a cold day in 'ell before I'd risk the investment of $5k+ on a sporter unless I had the rifle examined by someone like Seewin over on RFC. Values of Cooper & Kimber sporters have risen to a point that reflects quite a bit of demand for the rarer and/or more desirable versions. I recently bought a Kimber of Oregon Super America that's not only accurate, but also a very attractive rifle. And am currently waiting on the delivery of a Cooper M36 Custom Classic. The purchase of these two fine rifles is going to scratch the itch to own a few classy 22RF sporters for now.
As much as I'd love to own a genuine Winchester 52C Sporting rifle, I believe I'll set back and watch to see how things shake out. Maybe a trip to a few shows with great reputations for classic rifles would be in order to compare and learn more about the 52s?
As much as I'd love to own a genuine Winchester 52C Sporting rifle, I believe I'll set back and watch to see how things shake out. Maybe a trip to a few shows with great reputations for classic rifles would be in order to compare and learn more about the 52s?
I suspect that the demand and prices for 52 sporters may have already peaked. Sort of like the same thing that has happened to high-dollar custom wood and blued steel hunting rifles, a decade or two ago it was not unusual to see custom rifles having years long waiting lists and thousands of dollars prices now they are bringing less than half for what they sold for at time and are begging for buyers. 52 target models are selling for less now than they were 30-40 years ago and the sporter is likely to be the same.
Times have changed, for many years the 52 Winchester was one of only a few full-sized 22 rifles, now there is a much larger selection for less money and in comparison the Winchester looks dated and only has an appeal to a lot of us older folks. who wanted one but didn't have the spare funds.
drover
Times have changed, for many years the 52 Winchester was one of only a few full-sized 22 rifles, now there is a much larger selection for less money and in comparison the Winchester looks dated and only has an appeal to a lot of us older folks. who wanted one but didn't have the spare funds.
drover
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