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Just stopped at the local dealers and they had the nicest Win 52C I can remember seeing, bright original blue, no scratches anywhere, perfect looking bore and Redfield Olympic sights. The only blemish is the stock was shortened about 1/2". I could not leave it for $600, so put it on layaway. Am hoping to ransom it soon to see how it shoots.

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That's a real steal. I have an earlier model that is a real dream. I always have an eye out for a C with adjustable trigger though.

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In high school I competed in smallbore competition, first with a pre-A 52, then with a heavy barrel B. They were a joy to shoot, looking forward to seeing how this does with the Micro-Motion trigger.

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Got it home, have not shot it yet. Looked in my 52 book and it claims the C variant was discontinued in 1961 at about serial number 104400, but there are no definitive factory records. This one is number 1049**, so well after the suspected discontinuance, but still within the numbers listed for 1961 manufacture, so it is one of the last of it's breed. Looking it over, put an empty case in the chamber to check function and the lock time seemed really slow. Pulled the bolt and it has dried cosmoline still in it. This thing shows almost no sign of having been fired, so cannot have many rounds through it at all. I am enamored so far.

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Wolf Match Extra (the old stuff loaded by Lapua) with good results. I have actually shot flies that were on targets at 50-yards. Our club did have matches at 100 yards as well and this rifle did better at that range with RWS but could still shoot minute of squirrel head out there. This is one rifle I will not sell.

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Sincerely,

Hobie

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Took a couple shots with it this evening and it hit the steel targets at 25 yards with no problems. It was too late in the day to try for much accuracy though as my home range faces due west and the sun was just above the treeline to the west, could barely see the sights, let alone the targets. The firing pin makes a satisfying impression on the case rims, even though it is caked with cosmoline and moves slow. The cases came out looking like new, no bulges near the base and no blow back around the case mouth, so the chamber is tight and in beautiful condition.

Never tried flies at 50 yards, but have shot them at 25 yards using a Win 69A with PMC standard velocity ammo. That rifle can be rather finicky, buy it will shoot those PMC's into one ragged hole, slightly over caliber diameter, at 25 yards, all day long, so long as I do my part.

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I could never shoot that well with "iron" sights.

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Sincerely,

Hobie

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The 69A has a 1 3/4X Redfield on it, so the flies at 25 yards are tough to see, but doable with patience. The best optics I have available for the 52C is 15X, that should make flies visible out to 50 yards. Now have to put some rounds through it to see what ammunition will make it sing the best tune.

A couple years ago, spent a fun afternoon in the winter trying to hit a red squirrel at 140 yards with a pre-A 52. Had never shot it that far previously, so only had hits in the snow to go by and used Kentucky windage to adjust. There was three or four squirrels working over a deer carcass, and after 50 rounds and no hits I gave up. Really need to try different loads at that distance on paper to see what works best before giving it another go. Have a strong suspicion the 36 gr hollowpoint, bulk pack, Federal high-velocity ammo I was using that day probably did not fly all that well at that distance.

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everything I need to shoot position but my body just isn't good for kneeling or sitting so I am not doing that.

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Sincerely,

Hobie

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I do not belong to a club, so mine will mostly be used just for informal fun. Of course, I am nuts enough to carry a 14 lb rifle (with scope) to chase small game and varmints. Setting up challenging targets just to plink at with a precision rifle is also good fun.

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clubs are open to the public. Look at IR50/50 and this is an excellent article. which has a number of links at the end of the article.

We have our own rules. We don't use weight classes but instead have 3 classes: sporter/"squirrel"/semi-auto, limited and unlimited. The limited and unlimited classes are mostly different in that guns can't have barrel tuners and two-piece rests must be used in the limited class. ANY .22LR gun can be used in the unlimited but it might not be competitive. Our competitors have improved to the point that most shoots are won by scores in the 490-500 (500 is best possible) and winners chosen by number of Xs. Those shooters are often shooting the best possible ammo and out of $2-3K rifle/scope off $500-600 rests. HOWEVER, shooters with lower level ammo and less expensive guns shooting off very basic rests have won. I am usually the only person competing in the semi-auto class, with a borrowed rifle and we might change the rules to bring in more shooters.

Our matches are becoming more popular. We usually have 1 each month, April through September. The club started with attendance by 7-12 shooters and we now generally have 25-27 shooters, some shooting in multiple classes. We have a lunch available and pay out 50% of the entry fees ($10 each class) as prizes. We also open at 10:00 for practice until the beginning of the match at 1:00 which seems to be part of the draw.

There are a couple of local shooters who have matches at their homes/farms but some of those seem to be, according to some attendees, to be centered around the food! I think there is probably something for everyone from the national organization such as the IR50/50 which allows for national recognition (we have one national champion at our club) to the equivalent of a pick-up game which is mostly about fellowship.

Try it, you might like it.

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Sincerely,

Hobie

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Some very interesting information, thank you for sharing it. I am in northern Michigan and unfortunately the IR50/50 site does not list any ranges here that participate. Checking out rimfire benchrest online though did show several clubs holding competitions, will have to do some further checking to see if any of the nearby clubs are planning matches and if those are open to the public. Used to belong to a couple different clubs in the past, but became pretty disillusioned after a few years due to internal politics and squabbling among members.

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Congratulations!!! That is a real find.

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Thank you, I am thrilled so far.

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vintage sighting variations such as the Wittek-Vaver, Lyman Targetspots, Feckers, etc.

Nick Strobel's book on old sights is very good, as is Herbert House's book on the 52. A bit pricey, but worth it.

https://www.abebooks.com/9780896891630/Winchester-Model-52-Perfection-Design-0896891631...

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I picked up one of the Houze books a few years ago on a 30% off clearance for $24, and himmed and hawwed about spending that much because money is always tight for me. Had no idea whatsoever that they were getting so valuable, that is a total surprise.

Yes, the sights are indeed a fascinating part of the target rifles. My Grandfather had a collection of misc target grade smallbore rifles and sights. Walthers (an Olympic and a couple others I forgot the model names of) and Winchesters (models 52 pre-A and B, 57, and 75) for rifles. Then he had a Lyman Super Targetspot, Redfield Olympic and International sights, a Parker Hale aperture set, along with some others.

As a teenager I loved competing with those old rifles and was only one target away from Distinguished Expert when the range I shot at got closed down. Just the thought of those old rifles brings back some wonderful memories.

I enjoyed them enough to have even carried a heavy barrel B model with a 15x Super Targetspot (14 lbs on the club scale) to hunt woodchucks, squirrels and rabbits. Just being able to make some of the shots that combination enabled was worth hauling the weight around, always put a huge grin on my face.

Got a real lesson one year at a local turkey shoot. They had a small explosive charge tied to a string, hanging from an overhead pole at 50 yards and the first person to hit it won. Trying to catch up to that thing swinging in the wind with the 15x scope mounted on the heavy barrel target rifle was beyond my ability that day. The winner was a guy with an open sighted Ruger Super Blackhawk.

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