Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Any of you have a Japanese made Winchester model 52 sporter?

I have wanted one of the Japanese Model 52's for a long time but the timing and circumstances have not come together yet. Looks like you found a great looking rifle and a very good price. I am looking forward to your range report.

Nice rifle BSA..... I woulda bought it .

Got 2, 1 left as original and second rebarreled with a heavy barrel and McMillian stock, there both shooters

That’s a pretty 52 BSA. I have looked at a few of them and man, that one you got looks quite nice.

I currently have 2 of them and agree with Cisco, they are kind of "klunky", but they are good to look at.

I prefer comparable models/styles from Anschutz, Krico, and the Winchester 320 to the Winchester 52s, so mine are hanger queens that haven't left the gun room in years. I have a Tradewinds 311A, an imported Krico, that is my favorite warm up rifle when I go to the range. Accurate, man-size, and not quite as "klunky" as the Japanese 52Bs. The last time that I looked, Simpson LTD in Galsburg, IL, had some Kricos priced under $400 that would be worth a peek if a person was in the market for a bolt action .22 sporter with better than average accuracy potential.

The Japanese 52B that I have out in racks has a Leupold Alaskan 4x on it in Browning turn-in style rings. I bought an extra bolt handle for it that I modified to a lower lift height, as the factory specs bolt handle has quite a high lift and may require medium or even high rings, depending on the size/diameter of the scope's ocular and objective bells.

Thanks guys. I'll let you know how she does. Heading to the range in about an hour.. Will be shooting for a few...

That is a pretty devil. Hope it shoots as well as it looks. I have several V16 Weavers and they are just about perfect on the rimfires for target work and hunting. Is yours a Fine Crosshair or the Target Dot?

I'll be curious to see what ammo you feed through your new prize and how it does.

I like them too. This one just has a duplex type reticle. Works great though. I bought one a few weeks ago on ebay, but it had some issues, so I had to return it!! This rifle did better than expected. That is the funny thing about rimfires, you never know what they are going to do, or what ammo they are going to like. I tested 7 different kinds of ammo:


Didn't get around to testing any of the bulk ammo, that I usually test, but it seemed to like the cheaper American Eagle, and Federal game shok hollow points. It shoots decent enough for a hunting rifle.

Here's the first 10 shot group I shot for score today:


I'll try to keep the targets limited to the ones I shot for score. I also wrote the group size on the targets. Second one shot for score:


3rd group shot for score:


4th group shot for score:


5th shot for score:


6th:


7th is just a 10 shot group. Wasn't too crazy about how my Federal Gold Medal Match did. It shoots excellent in my Kidd barreled 10/22:


Then I had to verify the ammo, and rifle and make sure it was still dialed in with the Wolf Match Extra:


Still fairly zeroed with that ammo, that I started with. Group was bigger, but at that point, I had about 140 rounds on the barrel.


Rifle functioned great! Not nearly as smooth as my old model 52, but this one is in like new condition. I'm thinking it will wear in nicely. It's still smooth, but not like the old one, if that makes any sense. The trigger is great, but I may have to adjust it to around 2.5 pounds.

Thanks for the range report which just makes me want one even more

I'm just glad it seems to shoot about as good as my Savage MKII, but it's a lot prettier!!! ha ha.. A lot more comfortable to get behind too, and the trigger shoe is wide and comfortable, just like I like. I shoot left handed, and thought it would probably be even more comfortable to a right handed shooter. I damn near tried it right handed, but had to do some testing with my stainless 10/22 and didn't get a chance.

awesome my internet friend that's exactly what I figured you would find did you find a particular ammo yet that it seemed to like.? I like the one I had. but at the time I didn't have enough cash to keep it and keep progressing up the food chain in my opinion which I'm not sure was always correct LOL..

Today was the first day to shoot the 52. It seems to like the Wolf Match Extra ammo that STRSWilson sent me. Many thanks to him for doing that, seems like the perfect timing and this rifle likes it!! The other ammo that it seemed to like was the old Eley Club Xtra ammo:



More shooting and other ammo will tell me more. Off to a good start though, but it seems like it has a very noticeable preference towards the match ammo. Some of my other rifles are not as picky, but those have heavier barrels.

Have enjoyed this forum as I always wanted an original M52 but got behind the $$ power curve.
This fall I finally found a NIB Brn M52 for $950 and bought it. Then at another NIB one showed a month later for $900. I removed the lawyer pin in the triggers and have only shot a few pesky squirrel but am looking forward to wringing them out with good ammo and comparing them to my Martini International and Rem 40x sporters this spring when it warms up.

Someday I'll have to have one of these. There's a Winchester 52 reproduction listed on RFC now that looks very nice and is advertised as unfired NIB. The asking price is a bit higher than some of you have paid. I'd probably pull my shoulder out of socket getting to my wallet if I found a nice one like BSA did for $700.00.

wolf match extra and match Target it's pretty good ammo it used to be very good for the price point back when you could buy it for $20 a brick but those days are long gone. I haven't shot any wolf for quite some time I kind of forgot about the stuff..

Good Morning and Happy New Year BSA,

Very nice "wring -out" of the 52.

Best,

Chuck

I sure enjoy my original (late 11920s) Model 52. Doesn't quite keep up with my *CZ455 but is fun to shoot and always gets looks and questions at the range.

I had one. It shot very small groups with a variety of ammo, but Lapua Midas would put 5-10 into 0.2xx” groups at 50yds. The drop on the stock ruined the rifle for me personally, wish it would have had a straight comb. I was using a Leupold VX3 2.5-8 in exlow leupold rings, and it still didn’t fit me well. The scope handle would hit it the scope but could work it fine, so I just put a small piece of black electrical tape on the scope where it would hit. Ended up selling mine to someone on here I think, and bought a Kimber K22 Classic.

Luckily I found it at a hole in the wall gunshop that I frequent about once a month. A lot of times I walk out of there with a new/used rifle. Part of it is the economy as well. Even at that, I feel very lucky to find this one. I have been looking for a while, but did not want to pay the $1,000.00+ for a reproduction. I'm not complaining, but was hoping to find an original, one of these day. I looked on some online sites lastnight, and those dang originals are upwards of $5,000.00!!!! Yeah, pass the repro please. Ha ha..

I'm glad you guys are enjoying this thread. It's been fun sharing my new rifle with you. If any of you guys have any that you care to post pictures of, please do that, and let us know how they shoot too. I'd appreciate it!!!

Have a safe and happy new year guys!!!

I'll bet. I'd be drooling!!..

I always love it when guys bring old rifles to the range. I know some rifles always incite some kind of a conversation.