Anyone convert a Winchester 52 C into a Trainer?

[csdilligaf]

I am mulling over my options for a .22lr trainer. Maybe the CZ 455 Tacticool or something along that line. Then I saw the thread on the Remmy 40x conversions and that got me hooked on them. So a friend shows up with one of his older Winchester 52's and I have a better chance of finding one of them at a good price than I do a Remmy 40X. Its allready magizine fed and I can rebarrel or shorten the barrel myself, inlet a stock and have something nice.
Has anyone gone down this road yet? The 52C has a nice trigger and they are accurate. Lots of them out there.

any input?

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Winchester 52's make great trainers. That's what I have, along with a nice biathlon rifle (and used Biathlon rifles can often be acquired cheap!). But you don't need to change a stock, shorten a barrel or anything else. And 52's are not accurate. They are unbelieveably accurate. Winchesters, especially vintage ones, will shoot better than you can. And that is not a dig at your shooting skill, but praise for the Winchesters. I can't outshoot my 52... I doubt anyone can. And 50 years later, they are just as good as new as long as they weren't shot out or abused.

Also, there is NO reason to change the configuration to match up ergonomics or visual cues to make it look like a modern rifle. The skills all translate directly over from Winchester to whatever you shoot. My duty rifle is a TRG... about as far from a Wincester as you get. If you want a Bipod, you can put one right on as there is already either a swivel or a rail that will take a swivel.

Here's mine. That's a 24X Leitschert spot-scope on it. State of the art c. 1957. And still the absolute t*ts today!

Pardon the bad photograph... the light was terrible.

Oh, and if you buy the Winchester and take care of it... it will just go up in value every year. Cut it up and you might as well just... cut it up. Take care of it and someday you will sell it for a lot more than you paid for it. And have the coolest rifle on most smallbore ranges!

If you want to do tacticool, suggest something like an accurized 10-22 or its equivalent in a bolt gun, (the 77-22 I think) which takes some (not all) of the same accessories as the semi. When properly built, those little Ruger 10-22's are unreal accurate. Unlike vintage Winchesters, they are also cheap and disposable and are like Lego sets -- you can do anything with one and never look back. As I mentioned, you can also find used biathlon rifles cheap. The Russians made some damn fine ones that go for very short $$.

Just my $0.02. And I'll let someone else say mean things about you for suggesting chopping up a Winchester to "have something nice." Sheesh, some people...

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[csdilligaf]

Yeh, I know the taboo of cutting up a collectable but I have my eye on one that has seen better days. After a good soaking in WD-40 and steel wool to get the rust off I would still have to reblue it and rebarrel it and try to save the stock. But I know they were great guns. I just want more of a tactical trainer and loved what that Remmy 40x ended up being. But 1 yr waiting list and it was rumoured to cost 3 times what an Anschutz MPR costs. And the Annie MPR is on my radar as well.

 

[High Binder]

So here's my Model 52 cut down (the horror!) and crowned in an slightly modified (easier access to mags mags) Anschutz stock and topped with a 16x Leupy, so yeah, there's a lot of cash in this thing. It's set up for bench rest and and shoots sub-MOA amazing groups at 125yrds no problem with brick ammo. It's a monster on the P-Dog range.

 

[csdilligaf]

OK, that was the deal maker. That is just what I was looking for. Now I just have to work a deal on the old beater 52. I will probably have to ceracote the action to hide some flaws.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

A pink Winchester 52 was the deal maker? *sigh*. You do know that High Binder is so far out on the Stribeck-Hersey curve that you are definitely on a slippery slope to ruination now. Arcane puns intended. ;-)

That said, there are no doubt 52's out there that are beyond hope. So keep us in the loop and post some good pictures of your project. I just chopped up a perfectly unfired Tikka, so am not innocent.

Cheers, Sirhr

PS Highbinder... bet that is a tack driver. What did you finish it with? It looks like it's simply polished?

 

[High Binder]

OK, that was the deal maker. That is just what I was looking for. Now I just have to work a deal on the old beater 52. I will probably have to ceracote the action to hide some flaws.

Finding a cheap model 52 is going to be hard, I've never seen one for less than $1200 (I've seen them go for $4,000+) but once it's said and done, you'll have a sweet shooting rifle.

 

[High Binder]

PS Highbinder... bet that is a tack driver. What did you finish it with? It looks like it's simply polished?

Well in 1932-33 they actually made 30-ish Stainless Steel 52s but this isn't one of those, its simply polished. The Anschutz stock is the metallic ruby color Ford uses. 'and yes, it's a serious tack driver and without all the weight. The stock is way lighter and having the barrel chopped... we'll you know how heavy these bull barrels are.

 

[bunsen27]

Yeh, I know the taboo of cutting up a collectable but I have my eye on one that has seen better days. After a good soaking in WD-40 and steel wool to get the rust off I would still have to reblue it and rebarrel it and try to save the stock. But I know they were great guns. I just want more of a tactical trainer and loved what that Remmy 40x ended up being. But 1 yr waiting list and it was rumoured to cost 3 times what an Anschutz MPR costs. And the Annie MPR is on my radar as well.

Couple things to consider here:

1. The main differences between the 52 B,C,& D's essentially boiled down to the Micro-motion trigger ( C & D with the D model being able to go below 3lbs) and being magazine fed ( B & C).
2. Accuracy potential and barrel wise there were no significant differences between the three variants.

It sounds like you REALLY want a tacticool style trainer like the BlackOps Precision Ravage, but want to try and save some $$$ by turning this Win52 into "something". I'm all for projects and if there is minimal to no collector value of the rifle then have at it. However, if the barrel is in poor shape along with the rest of the rifle you are probably looking at the same cost if not more than than the Ravage. Dependent what you can get the Win 52 for and the condition of it you may be able offset some cost by selling the unused parts. Original buttplate, rear swivels, front swivel and rail pieces are a bit hard to find.

 

[RTH1800]

I have a stainless '52 made in the 20's time frame. I think it was the prototype. 4 digit sn. By far the earliest one I have heard of. So, they are out there.

 

[High Binder]

I have a stainless '52 made in the 20's time frame. I think it was the prototype. 4 digit sn. By far the earliest one I have heard of. So, they are out there.

Would you take a picture of it an either post it or email it to me (I've never seen one) but I've been looking for years. Are you interested in selling it, I'm a buyer if you are.

Email: [email protected]

 

[csdilligaf]

There are a few 52's on Gunbroker now and then with no reserve starting at $750-$850 and get no bids. I will get the basket case for less than that. A benchmark barrel is $300, I can do all the machinework. I even Machine Chassis style stocks so I can come out of this with minimal cost and I just love to machine stuff. Actually thats what I do, I have a shop that does prototype work for medical and military development. I will post as the project comes together.
And Yes, the black ops is just what I would love to have. I have been waiting since the post back in 2010 was started. Glad to see the new progress. Would cutting up a 40X be less offensive to people?

 

[High Binder]

Would cutting up a 40X be less offensive to people?

Who cares, if it hurts peoples sensibilities. It's your gun, and model 52 or not, chop it up or melt it down and make a toaster out of it either way, just end up with a gun that YOU want. There are plenty of collector grade model 52s out there (the stainless one mentioned in this thread is one for example) but there are far more that are just run of the mill. So grab up a 52, chop it down and make something out of it that YOU want. You'll get a lot of cash out of the parts you take off on ebay and the ability to machine the stuff yourself is just gravy. You'd never know that my 52 (pictured above) is actually 62yrs old!

 

[lash]

Definitely keep us up to date on your project. I love this kind of project and think that High Binder's bench rest gun is beautiful!

When I'm low on funds for personal projects I thrive on gun project voyeurism. Let me peek in your window...heh, heh, heh.

 

[Quarter Horse]

Another consideration would be a 52B or 52C reissue. These were made by Miroku and are very well built. They are copies of the sporters and are very accurate. The difference between the B and C is only the stock. The metal is the same so you get C trigger with both. You can get repro mags, by Wisner at Brownell's for about $10.00. An as new reissue will run $800.00 to $900.00 but you'll find ones with use for +/- $600.00. If you can find one in the six range don't hesitate as they don't last long.

The reissues have the bridges pre-drilled for bases. Burris makes bases and rings. The signature rings are available with inserts that will function like a 20MOA rail. If you start with an original C you will either have to drill the bridges or use a cantilever mount as seen on High Binders bench gun.

By the way HB, very very nice.

 

[High Binder]

that High Binder's bench rest gun is beautiful!

By the way HB, very very nice.

Thanks guys!

 

[RTH1800]

I would suggest really checking out the barrel prior to removing it. Very few barrels today can match a 52 barrel for accuracy. Even if rusted near the muzzle, it might still be fine when cut down. Just a suggestion.