by GI L H E BARD

KENT BELLAH

Zeprinted from

GUN DIGES T

nnual

tEdition, 196 3tl

The factory claims10-ring accuracy of50 yards pistol ex-pert Gil Hebard put4000 wadcuttersthrough a doublebrace of these newtarget pistols, andhere's his compre -hensive, fact-finding

account.

HOW GOOD is Smith & Wesson'snew Model 52 38 Special autoloader?This is a logical question on nearlyevery competitive shooter's lips at thisearly stage of the 52's career . Time

and the heat of stiff competition willdictate the final answer, but I'll ven-ture the following prediction : If thefour production guns I tested are typ-ical of total production . and if S&Wcontinues to hold quality control atits present level, this gun will be aivin.nerl

Three requisites of any target gunworth its salt in hot competition arefunctional reliability, fine accuracyand good trigger action . Of lesser im-portance are precision adjustablesights and good balance or handlingquality. The 52 seems to possess allof these desirable features, even whenviewed through the most critical tar -get shooter's eye .

Accuracy

S&W claims "ten ring accuracy"when properly machine rest tested -that is, the gun will hold ten consecu-

tive shots within a 3 .39-inch circle at50 yards with good ammunition . Todetermine if this claim is fact or fic-tion, I machine-tested four productionguns at 50 yards, 300 shots each, withthree different brands of factory wad-cutter ammunition. The results areshown in .the accompanying chart andto me they were impressively good .The average 10-shot dispersion

(group), all guns, all ammo, was 2-60inches . Average dispersion for Rem -

ington ammo was a startling 2 .31inches more than an inch betterthan S&W's allowable maximum! Anyfurther doubts about these four par-ticular guns were dispelled when Itelephoned the S&W factory and ob-tained the original test target data(each gun is machine tested beforeleaving the factory) and found theirresults had practically coincided withmine .

S&W asserts that all of their 52's

are averaging 2 to 23/4 inches at 50yards . To a rifleman who can holdin one inch at 100 yards without theaid of a machine rest this sounds like

The Smith and Wesson 3

hotiv good is this new

in addition to tiring thousands of rounds through the Potter

machine rest (right foreground), Gil Hebard shot the M52

offhand to check hand fit, sight use, etc .

child's play, but to the pistolman itapproaches the fantastic . He knows

that an ill-designed blunt nosed bullet,moving out of a 5-inch barrel thatmust be locked into position for eachshot, is going to be headed toward themoon unless every preparatory condi-tion approaches perfection .

Remington tells me that the best38 Special wadcutters have inherentaccuracy of from 1 to 11/2 inches at50 yards . In developing an autoloader

that will shoot as close as 2 inches,S&W has arrived at a pinnacle ofachievement heretofore reached onlyby custom gunsmith James Clark,

with his 38 Conversion and Model 6138 Special ; by Fort Benning and theirAMU 38 Special, and possibly a cou-ple other custom gunsmiths at most .

Factory Ammunitio n

The four guns tested shot best withRemington, next best with Westernand Federal, in that order . The factthat one brand of ammo will shootbetter than another in a given gun ispretty well established . The reasons

in this gun and worry naught . Buthandloads? - this could be a differ-ent story !

Handloading the Model 52

2000 various handloads (that's right,2000) machine-rested through the 52left me with the impression that the

handloader is going to have to use allof the wiles and tricks of his trade towhomp up a match winning load . The

52 seems to be more temperamentalthan most 38's as to which handloadsit will shoot well . One contributingfactor, doubtless, is that the bulletshave to be seated flush because of theshort magazine. This presents a newproblem to the handloading fraternitywhich, over the years, has developedand perfected wadcutter loads withthe bullet seated beyond the casemouth.-

I was never able to equal factoryammo accuracy-wise but did comeclose with three loads : 1) Lyman'sNo. 35863, a 148-grain wadcutter,seated flush, taper crimped to .370"with 2 .8 grains Bullseye ; 2) North-

charge in the 2- or 3-grain area, forthe large powder- dispensing hole thatis required if the measure is going tothrow, say, the 50-grain rifle loadsthey were originally designed for .Variation of a few tenths of a grainin the powder charge in a 3-grainload can spell the difference betweenaccuracy and inaccuracy with a par-ticular group of components and agiven barrel . I cannot emphasize toostrongly that a pistol powder measure(one with a small drum that throwsfrom 1 to 20 grains) should always beused by a pistol reloader . Owners ofStar, Phelps, or Potter tools have noworry as these have very well-de-signed measures integral with the tool.

H&G's resurrected No. 244 bulletdad not do as well as touted . Speer'sswaged bullet was a disappointment.Hand swaged bullets were absolutelyhopeless (as is usually the case at

midrange velocities) . H&G's No . 50loaded backwards is not the answereither . Had I not been plagued by apublisher's deadline, perhaps I wouldhave found a "final" load . But eve n

Master-

for a gun's partiality to a certain loadare theoretical and open to argumenteven among pre-eminent authorities .The fact remains, though, that of the900 or so Model 52's produced as ofthis writing, most have demonstrateda definite preference for Remington .This is not a testimonial for Reming-ton . Perhaps Western's next lot ofwadcutters will be the favored fodderfor the 52 - dies wear, toleranceswiden, primer mixtures vary, powderis difficult to stabilize from lot to lot,manufacturers are continually striv-ing for improvement - things changeand shooters should realize this . Agood example here is Federal, whoseammunition did not fare as well asthe others in our tests, but they're tobe commended on a tremendous im-provement in their load from the firstlots marketed in mid-1961 . It appearsthat they now have an excellent loadand are in the running .

Shoot any of the factory wadcutters

ridge's hollow base pressure-swaged148-grain bullet, flush seated . .370"taper crimp, 3 .8 grains Thu Pont 5066 ;3) Hensley and Gibbs No . 50, 148-grain wadcutter seated below the casemouth with a substantial crimp and3 7 grains of 5066 . All three of theseloads averaged slightly over 3 inches .

Trends that became evident in thetests indicated that .3555" was bestbullet size; 5066 powder held a slightedge over Bullseye (and is certainlymuch cleaner) ; heavier charges suchas 2.7 or 2 .8 grains Bullseye or 3 .7,3 .8, or 3 .9 grains of 5066 printed bet-ter targets than the lighter loads ;light taper crimping ( .370"- .372") issuperior to roll or heavy ( .367") taper-crimp .

Uniform bullet weight and powdercharges seemed more critical thanusual . It was extremely difficult toget uniform groups when using astandard powder measure . These justwon't throw a consistently uniform

so, it would have been for my gun(or guns) and not yours. The varia-bles are just too many and complexto flatly declare that a given load isit, and expect it to be the ultimatefor all guns . I am well aware thathandloads can be as accurate as fac-tory and feel confident that it is onlya matter of time before excellentloads will be developed for these guns .

Bullet Tipping

There has been considerable criti-cism of the 52 in that it tips bulletsexcessively . Of the 3200 shots we firedat 50 yards about 40% showed a tip-ping print or "scuff" mark on thetarget . S&.W has tried barrel twistsof 12, 14, 16, and 183!4 inches, variousbarrel lengths, riflings, chambers andreaming to overcome this but withoutsuccess . This tipping, however, is notconfined to the Model 52. Close ex-amination of most any 50-yard targetfired from most any gun or barrel

A - 38 Special full wadcutter loads tip slightly, sometimes, from

most any handgun, when going through the target at 50 yards .Note "scuff" marks .

8 - M52 barrel breech, showing loading ramp and rim stop .

C - Swelled section of M52 barrel muzzle has near-point contactin bushing for uniform positioning .

D - Notched ring on M52 bushing adjusts by means of spannershown ; spring - loaded pin (arrow) locks bushing .

0

(including Mann test barrels) willshow some degree of tipping with :38

Special full wadcutter, midrange (600to 900 fps muzzle velocity) ammuni-tion, either factory or handloads .Remington tells me that tipping issynonymous with the midrange load .This action, perhaps, could he betterdefined as "yaw." as the base of thebullet is gyrating around its ownpoint (watch a 30-caliber bulletthrough a scope as it goes down rangeand you will know what I mean) .Trajectory range tests, where thebullet is fired through a series ofscreens at 5-yard intervals, furtherproves the point: the "scuff"' markrotates on the successive targets indirect relationship to the barrel twist .Even when fired from a 10" MannBarrel (closed chamber testing bar-rel) tipping of wadcutter bullets isstill evident regardless of brand ofammunition .

Tipping is something shooters willhave to put up with for the timebeing at least but, if' their gun is

0

grouping as tight as 2 or 3 inches,who cares? One unfortunate aspect ofthis tipping, though, is this : when ashooter throws or jerks a "flier" outin the six-ring and the target holeshows a tipper, he invariably blameshis gun rather than himself . In theextensive testing we've just completed,there was no evidence whatsoever that"tippers" were spreading the group .

Tipping should not be confused withlobbing or keyholing, which can becaused by an inaccurate or damagedbarrel and/or by poor handloads .Many reloaders do such a poor job

that their bullets are actually lobbedout of the barrel, thus may printbroadside-on at either 25 or 50 yards?If your bullets are doing this, youcan bet your bottom dollar that yourloads won't group better than perhaps15" at 50 yards, even out of the finestgun . In just about every instance, thisis the fault of the load, not the gun .

Leading No Proble m

The 52 does not seem to sufferfrom leading - we did not clean thetest guns at any time and, althoughleading developed in the front end of

Left - Micrometer click rear sight of M52 . Sturdy, rugged, sight isquickly, accurately adjustable by means of coin-slotted screws .

n

Right - Regarding this 1 .03" group, Hebard wrote, " . . . the tightest10-shot group I have ever gotten at 50 yards with any gun or ammuni-tion ." Fired with S&W 52 No . 50817, Remington Targetmaster wad-cutters, from the Potter machine rest in April, 1962 .

the chamber, accuracy was as good atthe end of the test as it had been atthe beginning. The chamber leadingwas easily removed and apparently

presents no problem unless, of course,one allows it to build up to the pointwhere malfunctions occur.

Functional Reliability

The four guns function very wellwith factory loads and a wide varietyof handloads, including those made

using 38 Colt cases and trimmed 38Special cases, which allowed the bul-let to be seated projecting from thecase in the usual manner .

(Here is, possibly, a good avenue ofdevelopment . More extensive shooting

with 38 Long Colt or shortened 38Special cases, handloaded, might berewarding work. Jim Horton, notunknown to these pages, may report

on such short-case loads later. )The gun is closely fitted and there

was a noticeable slowing down of thenormal fast action at the end of thetest . A thorough cleaning and oilingagain restored the snappy action, afine tribute to S&W's close fitting andtolerances. To coin a phrase thatwould be applicable to this or anyother finely fitted target arm, "Hewho shooteth a dirty gun deservethhis alibi ."

Life Expectanc y

S&W subjected one Model 52through a "wear and break down"test in which the gun was put througha cyclic operation 100,000 times . 50-yard group accuracy of this particulargun was 2 .14" at the start of the test .After 10,000 cycles the gun tested2 .1

at 25,000, 1 .93

at 50,000, 1 .83"

and at 100,000 it was back up to

2 .14" . Considering that a barrel will

normally go hundreds of thousands ofrounds without showing any appre-ciable wear (using lead bullets only),it would appear that the 52 wouldsatisfy accuracy requirements formany years, even for an active shooter,barring accidental damage or abuse .

Trigger Actio n

Some shooters may not like the 52trigger action ; it is a two-stage affair

with about t/a" take up before actualsear engagement commences. Of the15 or so Model 52's that have gonethrough my hands to date, all seem tohave the same general characteristic- a "soft" type of pull . That is, nota clean, crisp break but rather aslight perceptible amount of smoothmovement immediately before th e

These targets represent, approximately, the 100-shot average madewith three brands of 38 wadcutter ammo . A - 1 .93" for Remington .B - 2 .20" for W-W. C - 2 .53" for Federal as against 1 .830", 2 .149"

and 2.741" respectively . The M52 will shoot)

Groups illustrated are shown in 62% scale .

The Smith & Wesson M52, disassembled for cleaning and oiling . Take-down is simple, easy, and so is reassembly .

trigger breaks away from the sear .This movement is so small that mostshooters may not notice it . Nor is itsomething to be criticized, for it's anexcellent example of the . soft pull,long recognized by gunsmiths and toptarget shooters as a very desirabletype - if the shooter happens to likeit . So, this may be an advantage' or adisadvantage, depending on your pointof view. I personaly don't like a softtrigger, but I must admit that this isone of the finest of its type I've everseen .

Sights

The rear adjustable sight, new andof excellent design, generally followsthe dictates of what our top shootersdesire, i .e . : a 1/8` deep notch withlarge flat sighting surface, uniformityof adjustment with minimum backlash or error and fineness of setting(see specification chart) . The sightadjusting screws can be operated witha coin and are marked for directionof movement . The front sight is a 1/8"post and it is fortunate that this sizeand type is of proven popularity, asit would require the services of aprofessional gunsmith to change it .

Design and Balanc e

The Model 52 is basically a targetversion of the Model 39, the 9mmautomatic which S&W introduced in1954 and which has proven to bemore than an excellent weapon . Tome the balance seems a little muzzlelight, but it does have a feeling ofconsolidation, which is in line withthe present trend toward shorter,more compact guns, among our bettershooters .

The angle of the grip to the bore,just slightly more than that of the 45Colt auto, -allows the trigger finger tooperate in a line parallel to the armextension . Contrary to some so-called"authoritative" opinion, I feel thatthis abrupt stock-to-barrel angle isconducive to better shooting .

I believe the arched mainspringhousing, which constitutes the back-strap of the grip, will come up for

some criticism, especially from shoot-ers with small hands, as it tends toslip off of the hand and away fromthe palm when properly gripped .Good custom grips, perhaps, will cor-rect some of this for those shooterswho experience this problem ; however,there is really not much a custom gripmaker can do when the frame is toolarge (for a given hand) to start with .

Conclusio n

The S&W Model 52 appears to rileto be the first factory produced 38

Special target autoloader worthy ofthe name . Its early acceptance bysome of our best shooters would in-dicate that its star will be rising inthe target shooting world . Whetherthis star will be one of first magni-tude or not only time will tell . I'llwager a dollar to a doughnut that itsfuture will be brilliant .

-v%

5&W MODEL 52 38 MASTERCALIBER : 38 S&W Special midrange wad-

cutter with flush seated bulletMAGAZINE CAPACITY : 5 roundsMECHANISM TYPE : Semi-automatic, locke d

breech, recoiling barrel, detachable mag-azine

WEIGHT : 41 ounces, emptyOVER-ALL LENGTH : 85/e"OVER-ALL HEIGHT : 53/4 "SIGHTS : Front, t/e" Patridge . Rear, new

S&W micrometer-click . Coin slot adjust .ment screws .' Each click 3/4" elevation,1/2" windage at 50 yard s

SIGHT RADIUS: 6-15/16 "BARREL : 511e .

5 groove, right twist, oneturn in 18 .75 "

CONSTRUCTION : All stee lTRIGGER REACH : Trigger to backstrop 23/8"STOCKS : Checkered walnut with S&W mon-

ogramTRIGGER : 3/9" wide, serrated surfaceACCESSORIES : Bushing spanner wrench,

Allen wrenches, cleaning rod with brushand bo b

PRICE : $150 with two magazine s

For an exploded view and disassem-bly instruction see our 32 - page port-folio of exploded drawings in this issue .

50-yard Machine Rest Test of Four S&W Model 52' s

Ammunition

50-yard

10-Shot

Machine RestGroups,

Measuredin Inches .

West.

Fed .2 .85

2 .202 .50

3 .252 .33

4 .023 .22

2 .702 .25

2 .892 .35

2 .403 .11

3.112 .27

2 .732 .43

3.042 .67

2 .472 .598

2 .88 1

Rem .2 .82

2 .002 .652 .10

1 .03

1 .701 .42

3 .00

2 .502 .812 .203

Gun No . 5081 7Gun No . 50292Rem .

West.

Fed .2 .47

2 .42

3 .893 .30

3 .18

3.572 .37

2 .59

2.953 .17

2 .64

3 .063 .72

3 .49

4.453 .50

2 .92

2 .933 .21

4.02

2 .902 .48

2 .64

3 .772 .47

1 .89

2 .412 .87

3 .32

3 .18

Gun No . 50575Rem .

West .

Fed .2 .12

2 .31

2 .532 .00

2 .20

3 .081 .95

2 .95

2 .322 .35

1 .40

3 .101 .30

1 .62

4 .001 .45

2 .50

3 :341 .55

2.56

1 .701 .55

1 .95

2 .422 .10

2 .25

2 .401 .93

1 .75

2 .521 .830

2 .149

2 .741

Gun No. 50851Rem.

West.

Fed .2 .16

2 .50

2 .801 .91

2 .36

3 .922 .70

2 .74

3 .652.16

2 .38

2 .002.14

2 .28

3 .252 .01

2 .25

2 .702 .95

2 .65

4 .012 .00

2 .60

2 .471 .67

2 .55

2 .862 .90

2 .19

2 .982 .260

2 .450

3 .06 410-Group Av .

2 .950

2 .921

3 .30 1

All gun average, 3 brands ammunition, 300 shots each gun, total 1200 shots . . .

2 .612All gun average, Remington ammunition, 100 shots each gun, total 400 shots

2 .310All gun average, Western ammunition, 100 shots each gun, total 400 shots

2 .529All gun average, Federal ammunition, 100 shots each gun, total 400 shots

2 .997

by KENT BELLAH

SMITH & Wesson's Model 52, in-troduced in December, 1961, is asuperb 38 Special Mid-Range targetpistol . Many revolver fans will switchto it for better scores . A chamberedbarrel has a more uniform velocityspread, and an accuracy advantageover the revolver . The advantage intimed and rapid fire is obvious . Youconcentrate on si ghting, with nochange in hold. The new 38 Mastersare factory tuned for 10-ring or bet -ter accuracy at 50 yards with factoryammo .

Factory midrange ammo is held tosuch a high degree of accuracy thatreloads can't compete unless they'reassembled correctly and very care-fully . Average reloads open groups50% or more. If one or two shotsprint out of a group the cause isoften non-uniform bullets . Commonfaults are air pockets or internal de -fects, and a non-uniform alloy . A con-siderable hardness variation may stillexist in bullets that pass a visual andweight inspection .

Sorting to plus or minus 0 .2-grainis best. The heaviest weights are best,if the alloy is kept well fluxed, stirredand homogenous, and uniform pres-sure kept on the mould handles .Lighter sortings may vary in alloycontent or have internal defects . Athermostat-controlled furnace main-tains uniform temperature best . Castbullets are best if they come fromthe mould at exact sizing diameter tono more than .0005" larger . A goodmould is a treasure, and deservesgood care.

A good commercial mix is best, andIllinois Bullet Alloy No . 7 is excel-lent . It's difficult to mix a ternaryalloy, and harder to duplicate it . Agood one, however, is 7-88-5 (anti-mony, lead and tin), mixed in thatorder. I don't recommend scrapmetals .

SAECO has a fine Lubri-Sizer, inperfect alignment . Dies give the bear-ing surface a chrome-plated look .Loose jointed sizers and rough diesdo not "true up" oversize castings .

tage over their No. 50Base) in auto pistols, if c:

and loaded. Specify you r

diameter and the alloy y`

when you order one . .356" is aboutright for the Master 38 with FBA No .7. Some Masters may shoot betterwith slightly larger or smaller pills,if you make 'em with some otheralloys .

Bullets sizing .358" are oversize ; ifthey must be used, the bore is abetter sizing die than reducing themtoo much in any lubri-sizer . Lyman's358432-5 mould is good in the correctsize, but be sure you order the sizeyou need .

Case length isn't critical if it's uni-form. My Forster trimmer is set for1 .142'" . After trimming, inspect anddiscard anv that are not uniform .Chamfer mouths rather heavily in-side . 1_Jse one make and lot of cases,those without a cannelure above theseating depth of the bullet .

Cases should be sized enough tohold bullets friction tight, with nobulge in the case at the bullet base .Dies for _358" loads may be sloppyfor .356" Masters . Bell case mouthsto prevent lead shaving . Start pills ina straight line, then back off, turncases half a turn and seat fully, flushwith the case mouth. Adjust theseater to barely remove the mouthbell without crimping. Still better isthe Taper Crimper, sold by Gil Heb -ard Guns in standard or Star-Phelpsthread .

Cheap loading dies are often faultyor out of alignment. 813.50 is nottoo much to pay for good dies.

The best charge with the above bul -lets for 25 and 50 yards is 2 .7 grainsBullseye, or 2 .5 for 25 vards With

the 2.7 load I get 10-ring groups at

50 yards, and so can you if you'llreally load carefully . An ElectricDripper will "drip" the entire chargeon a scale pan. Tilt- it for a faster

flow . A 5% variation in powder willopen groups . Careful, uniform opera-tion of the SAECO measure with the

old style drum (still available) willhold charges within 0 .1 grain in ourtest . You'll have to spend a littletime to master a uniform techniquein throwing sticky Bullseye from thisfine measure, but it's time well spent .

George Murphy, maker of Accu-racy "Perfecast" bullets, gets ma-chine-rest groups of 11/2 to 2 inchesat 50 yards with his No . W-146 pill,which is the H&G No . 50 . These ex-cellent bullets are sold by manydealers, including Gil Hebard . Specify.356" .

The factories prime cases betterthan do most reloaders . Seat Reming-ton primers .002" below the casehead, and W-W caps .008" low. CCINo. 500 are designed for reloads . Thecompound doesn't crumble easily, andexcessive compression isn't necessaryto increase sensitivity . This makesthem desirable for "seating by feel,"as well as for use in presses with anadjustable primer stop such as theC-H Magnum. About .003" low isright, but ignition is uniform from

flush to .008" low. We have found all

lots run uniform in dimensions . Allprimers, however, vary in cup length

and over-all length, some over .012" .Primer pockets vary, too, even in thesame lot . I prefer to seat by feel, evenin presses with a primer stop, on thetheory that compression is more uni-form. The variation in primers andpockets, though, may cancel out anyadvantage .

Some makes and lots of factoryammo shoot better than others . MyMaster 38 has a .3546" groove di-ameter . Western Super-Match lot29SD02 had .3553" bullets, and Rem-ington Targetmaster lot W18E went.3551" . They shot equally well, theR-P having a very slight edge at 50yards . SAAMI lists .358" as maxi-mum. The diameter isn't nearly soimportant with conical base pills aswith flat base . For example, Norma's.358" "Hollow Tail" shoots well in-deed, but it's swaged, not cast .

Federal now has Monark Mid-Range 38's . One lot shot well, butwe'll test various lots before it getsa blanket A-OK .

The Master will lose matches thatbetter ammo could have won. If youwon't load precision fodder, shootfactory ammo. Stock up if you finda make and lot that gains points . Itkeeps for years .

My ?Master has fired much factor yand various reloads with variousers, without single malfunc-

H&G No,50 and 3.0 grainss accurate to over 75 yards .

Keep bullet bases free of l uThere are no bette r

the Hensley & Gibbs . Their 1wadcutter is the most popular .lieve i t has a slight accuracy

ndy load for running jack

Backed by over 100 years o Craftsmanship