New Winchester 52D

[Calfed]

I shoot in a weekly .22 match at a local range. It alternates 50 and 100 yards each week. Right now, I alternate using a Remington 40X and a Winchester 52D on the weeks that we shoot 100 yards. Both do pretty well at that distance.

I'm trying to entice my oldest son to join the match with me and I recently glommed another Winchester 52D for him as an incentive...

 

[jbell]

Well you certainly picked a nice rifle…

 

[sirhrmechanic]

You can’t go wrong with one of those!!!!!

The tack driver against which all future tack drivers were measured!!

Well done!

 

[Budrichard]

Very very nice!
I shoot a 52D with both a rail/Weaver T36 and Redfield Olympic and International sights.
I have one set for 50yds and another set with a 100 yd marked front so you don’t require as much elevation change if you use the same rear for 50 and 100 yds.
Finding an unmolested 52D is becoming very difficult as most are monkeyed with.
My current 52D came out of a collectors possession and was mint.
The trigger is a crisp 2# and will stay that way.

 

[JoshPutman]

Sweet! What vintage are your two 52D's?

 

[Calfed]

Very very nice!
I shoot a 52D with both a rail/Weaver T36 and Redfield Olympic and International sights.
I have one set for 50yds and another set with a 100 yd marked front so you don’t require as much elevation change if you use the same rear for 50 and 100 yds.
Finding an unmolested 52D is becoming very difficult as most are monkeyed with.
My current 52D came out of a collectors possession and was mint.
The trigger is a crisp 2# and will stay that way.

Thanks, guys!

I've got a B&L 6-24 mounted on my current 52D, on a Vianni rail. The 52D is the top rifle. I also have a 52B set up for 50 yards.

The 52D originally came with Redfield Olympic sights, front and rear

 

[Calfed]

Sweet! What vintage are your two 52D's?

The new one is a 1961 (s/n 106xxxD). The one I've had for a while is a 1963 (109xxxD)

 

[DFOOSKING]

I finally found a batch of ammo that my 52B liked a lot.

It's fun to walk over to the 300yd bay as dudes struggle with centerfires to hit the 12, 10, 8, and 6 inch plates and mine will routinely hit the 8 and 6 inch. Wish someone would finally get around to offering a scope rail thats solid and afforable.

 

[Calfed]

That is a fine looking 52, DFOOSKING. What kind of ammo does your Winchester like?

What kind of scope rail are you using? Scope?

My 52B likes the Lapua Center-X pretty well (@50y)

 

[DFOOSKING]

The ammo is some RWS I found at a gas station. No idea why they had it. I believe the odds of them ever getting more is next to zero.

If I recall correctly (it's been like 9yrs) it's the EGW cantilever mount. Not saying it doesn't "work". I would like something more rigid and stable. Hanging my massive scope off a diving board is probably not ideal.

The scope is an old early Premier Heritage that I got here about 13yrs ago. It's just resting there till I can eventually get my old 308 back together and running.

The 52B came with a Canjaar trigger in it.

 

[Calfed]

The ammo is some RWS I found at a gas station. No idea why they had it. I believe the odds of them ever getting more is next to zero.

If I recall correctly (it's been like 9yrs) it's the EGW cantilever mount. Not saying it doesn't "work". I would like something more rigid and stable. Hanging my massive scope off a diving board is probably not ideal.

The scope is an old early Premier Heritage that I got here about 13yrs ago. It's just resting there till I can eventually get my old 308 back together and running.

The 52B came with a Canjaar trigger in it.

Yours sounds very similar to my 52B.

I'm using a 6-18 Nikon Buckmaster on an EGW cantilever mount. I would also like something more solid, although, as you said, the EGW seems to "work".

My 52B also has a Canjar trigger...

 

[flatland1]

I've got a couple of CMP-sourced 52Ds - one in its original stock, the other wears a nice claro walnut prone stock by Doan Trevor. I have a Weaver T24 on a Ken Viani mount on the D in the factory stock, and a nice old Unertl 16x on the one in the custom stock. I've tried some good, lot-tested Center-X & SK Rifle Match in both these factory D barrels, and neither of them shoot these rounds nearly as well as some random lots of newer Eley black box Match. That's contrary to all the custom barreled 40XB & Vudoo repeaters & single shots, which all prefer SK or Lapua ammo, even though all the repeaters are chambered with my EPS reamer...go figure. The two Vudoo single shots have Benchmark 3-groove & Shilen ratchet bbls chambered with a Nevius reamer, and because they've shot so well with lot-tested Center-X & various grades of SK, and because Kevin Nevius mentioned that his reamer is a bit pickier when it comes to shooting anything besides Lapua, I haven't even tried any of the few lots of Eley Match I have in either of them.
ETA photos of CMP 52Ds

 

[Budrichard]

EGW makes both an Aluminum and steel cantilevered mount.
I have the EGW steel mount with a Weaver T36 on my 52D and it’s sturdy but I doubt that the Al one is less sturdy.
I would feel better with 4 mounting holes rather than the two offered.
I may at some point have my mount drilled.-
Richard

 

[68hoyt]

There is a guy that still makes viani style mounts , and a few people have taken the steel EGW mount which is a little longer than the aluminum and made a piece that bolts the the end of the rail and ties to the peep sight receiver mount

 

[Calfed]

Any further information on the guy making the Vianni style mounts?

 

[Rimfireshooter99]

EGW makes both an Aluminum and steel cantilevered mount.
I have the EGW steel mount with a Weaver T36 on my 52D and it’s sturdy but I doubt that the Al one is less sturdy.
I would feel better with 4 mounting holes rather than the two offered.
I may at some point have my mount drilled.-
Richard

Richard, that's a beautiful rifle!

 

[Calfed]

The cooling off period on my new Win52D expired and I picked it and my new Ljungman up.

I checked the bolt and it is EP'd with a matching number to the serial number. Metal and stock are in excellent condition.

Is EP'ing the bolt a US property only mark?

 

[flatland1]

The 52Ds I bought through the CMP had a somewhat crude EP of "U.S." right above the S/N on the left side of the receiver. AFAIK, the duplication of the rifle's S/N on the bottom of the bolt was done at the factory, although I'm not sure of that. If your rifle has been re-blued, that U.S. EP would be pretty easy to remove by polishing before bluing. But your rifle's stock is in pretty good condition, without any visible dents/dings/scratches or other scars consistent with being dropped into a shipping crate full of other rifles and shipped back to the CMP when they were recalled from schools & universities that had ROTC programs. For that reason alone, I would guess it was privately owned.

 

[Calfed]

The 52Ds I bought through the CMP had a somewhat crude EP of "U.S." right above the S/N on the left side of the receiver. AFAIK, the duplication of the rifle's S/N on the bottom of the bolt was done at the factory, although I'm not sure of that. If your rifle has been re-blued, that U.S. EP would be pretty easy to remove by polishing before bluing. But your rifle's stock is in pretty good condition, without any visible dents/dings/scratches or other scars consistent with being dropped into a shipping crate full of other rifles and shipped back to the CMP when they were recalled from schools & universities that had ROTC programs. For that reason alone, I would guess it was privately owned.

Thanks, flatland1

My other 52D does have the EP "US" above the serial number

 

[Redfield]

That’s very nice 👍