52 D winchester

[jerry t mcfall]

I have question about 52 winchesters, recently found some rifles in a pawn shop dont know where they came from but was surprised to find in a pawn shop. My question,do D's have serial no's on the bolts as these did not? I have some others that do have serial no on the bolts, rifles are 90 % bores looked as new. yes they are C M P rifles, but not beat all to crap like most.

 

[Charles E]

I have question about 52 winchesters, recently found some rifles in a pawn shop dont know where they came from but was surprised to find in a pawn shop. My question,do D's have serial no's on the bolts as these did not? I have some others that do have serial no on the bolts, rifles are 90 % bores looked as new. yes they are C M P rifles, but not beat all to crap like most.

My 52D, bought in 1962, does NOT have the serial number on the bolt. My old, old pre-A 52 does, but it is hand-done, & I believe it was put on by the barrelmaker (Titherington) when he fitted the new barrel.

 

[seewin]

You will find D's with and w/o serial numbers on the bolts. All 52 bolts that were numbered, were done by hand with an electric etching pen. The CMP has sold off well over a thousand 52D's over the past 10 years. It has been my experience that the bulk of these rifles(usually hand marked "U.S. Property" on front receiver ring above s/n), have bolts that are not serial numbered to rifle or are numbered, but do not match rifle serial number. This is usually not a problem, but still a good idea to have headspace checked. You will find that Winchester held some pretty tight tolerances on these components and they will usually interchange with no problem.

 

[Charles E]

According to Bill Calfee, the problem with 52s was the receivers were machined before heat treating, and the receivers could warp.

Regardless, my 52D was dead straight; we checked before fitting a new Shilen BR barrel. Both the receiver threads & front of the ring were true to the bolt raceway.

Having said that, in my 4-position days, it was never as accurate as my older 52 with the Titherington barrel. I always figured that was due to the factory barrel, and so it proved. With the new Shilen ratchet barrel, the first 400 rounds fired in matches with the D were all 10s, using the somewhat forgiving IBS 50-yard benchrest target. Shot indoors. There were X's of course, I just didn't keep count. Then it threw an 8, which I blamed on the ammo.

Good enough action. Though contrary to prevailing opinion, I don't think the action is all that important in a BR rifle, if it doesn't have a particular defect. Aside from ammo, I think it is the barrel that matters most. I realized this is heresy, but there you are.

 

[jerry t mcfall]

52 D Winchester

Thanks a lot for the informatiom, I have D's with and without no's on bolt and was just interested in finding out which was correct, seems as it can be both ways. The ones with serial no's have been put on with a vibrating pen.

 

[burtona]

Though contrary to prevailing opinion, I don't think the action is all that important in a BR rifle, if it doesn't have a particular defect. Aside from ammo, I think it is the barrel that matters most. I realized this is heresy, but there you are.

Exactly! The three most important things in RF BR shooting are the barrel, the barrel, and the barrel. Next comes the barrel and then the barrel!
All this of course is assumes the shooter is up to the task of shooting!
Dave

 

[blades]

Ya done forgot one barrel and then the operator or as some would have it, "The less than adequate trigger twitcher"! I always seem to yank when I should have twiched or maybe the other way around. Perhaps I need more masseuse lessons.