RIA Winchester Model 52 C|Winchester .22 Rim Fire|Forum|Winchester Collector

Hard to imagine a nicer example.

 

Mike

Rick C said

Anthony said

Interesting, High condition, in the box, model 52 C Sporting Rifle, mfg. in 1956,

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4094/3559/winchester-model-52c-sporting-bolt-action-rifle-with-box.

I find it interesting the “Roll Die” of, “Winchester Proof Steel”, and the letters, “R”, at the end of Winchester, and “S” and the second, “E”, in “Steel”, all seem to be shortened.

 

Anthony

  

Roll die wear end of production? 

  

Yep, chipped die

Zebulon said

TXGunNut said

Hard to imagine a nicer example.

 

Mike

  

Yes, it is.  Disturbingly so.  It is extremely difficult to preserve ordinary cardboard box material in that condition for 69 years because it contains the chemical compounds that virtually assure discoloration and delamination from exposure to either too little or too much atmospheric water. I don’t say “impossible” but I think to do it requires a lot of effort over a lot of years. Also,  I would have expected the reds in the printed letters to be a little faded and I don’t see that. In my experience,  the red dyes of that era fade even in darkness. Of course, digital photography enables color saturation to be enhanced, so perhaps the true colors are more realistic. 

Pristine cardboard always makes me nervous, especially when it is well past its diamond anniversary. 

Why cardboard matters: Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus. 

  

Bill, you leaning towards not original? If I saw that at a gun show, I would be all over it.

Mike I couldn’t imagine a nicer example on the planet so i’m very interested to read what the experts think of it.

Anthony said
Interesting, High condition, in the box, model 52 C Sporting Rifle, mfg. in 1956,

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4094/3559/winchester-model-52c-sporting-bolt-action-rifle-with-box.

RIA, claims 99%, as from pics posted, I wouldn’t argue. Even at a few percentage points below the 99%, with a few handling marks as they posted in their condition category, it’s a fine specimen.Original hang tag, and sling.
That’s a pretty hefty amount, ($9,400.00), but I’m not sure, who ever found it, would need to look for another one like it, as one that high of condition, in the box, is pretty special, and extremely hard to find. IMO!
I find it interesting the “Roll Die” of, “Winchester Proof Steel”, and the letters, “R”, at the end of Winchester, and “S” and the second, “E”, in “Steel”, all seem to be shortened.
 
Anthony
  

I guess we can add this hang tag to the reproduction list. 

Winchester 52 Sporter serial number 96828C was sold at the Rock Island Armory Auction on May 3, 2025. How much I do not know.     RRM

If what we saw is real, 96828C once again shows us the value of rarity of condition. The C version of the Model 52 Sporting is not the best made of the model but very few were made at all. Houze pegs total production from 1954 through 1960 at only 1342 guns. In the last couple of years, it was almost down to onesies and twosies. 

Most probably survive because they were so expensive and I doubt many have become outright  junkers. So, as a baseline, i will volunteer my own Model 52C Sporting, 99076C, an end-of-the-line specimen made in 1960, the finish condition of which was very good but marred by several owner modifications and missing original parts, to wit: a thin solid brown Pachmayr recoil pad was substituted for the checkered plastic buttplate; the blue steel grip cap and washer were missing and a flared plastic cap substituted; all original sights and sight hood had been removed; an aftermarket hood was in place, a Lyman gold bead front sight was installed, and the base of a Redfield 70 receiver sight coded for a Model 70 had been filed to not quite fit. In better news, the Super Grade swivels were still attached and a Weaver J3 was installed in a Redfield Jr. Base and rings.  

I bought it — the invoice is not in front of me — in either 2002 or 2012, for about a thousand bucks and tax.  To that, add $100 for a 3278 sight hood, $50 for a grip cap and washer, $500 for a Lyman 48F, $175 for a Redfield Full Gold Bead, and $80 to the gunsmith who removed the scope base mounting screw shaft I twisted off by being impatient.

All up, say $2100 USD plus a handful of 5 and 10 round used magazines at $35 each.  Ballpark all of it at $2300.  

96828C —- $9400 plus commission

99076C —– $2300 

The value (or cost) of relative condition, a cool seven grand. 

Mine has only two, significant for me, advantages.  I could afford to buy it and I can and do shoot it. Frequently. The other one can never be used. 

While mine is an extreme example, good but not untouchable specimens of the brand are a sweet spot for “shooting collectors.” 

Parson, I take your point but do you really think whoever paid $9400 for that 1956 rifle is going to take advantage of its Micro Motion trigger?  

The total number of 52C Sporting Rifles sold, according to Houze, was 1314 (not 1342 – I misquoted from memory.) Of those, 742 were of the 5272 “sightless” style, which is a majority. Only 572 of the 5252 “sighted” style were sold.

However, the 5272 style still came with a #3279/H sight hood and a very short Lyman blank piece in the ramp dovetail. An unmessed-with specimen with scope would have those accouterments, although I have never seen either installed on a B or C– they are surely made of unobtainium. 

There is no way to know how #99076C was configured in New Haven or how many owners had their hands on it. I’m inclined to believe there were at least two and one of them was fond of the Weatherby look — discarding the factory grip cap and key and substituting a flared plastic cap. The marks of the original key tines were still in the face of the grip cap and the tines of my replacement key dropped neatly into the dents. (The factory blue steel cap, screw, and key for the 52C were also the parts used in New Haven to build Model 21 shotguns.)

My guess is the same owner got rid of the original hard plastic buttplate and had the Pachmayr pad installed. While I would have grieved the loss of a Winchester checkered steel plate with “window’s peak”,  the downmarket plastic number (see Models 88 and 100) is no loss, particularly in use.

Somebody else made a cheap attempt to put metallic sights on the gun, with an aftermarket hood, a .375 Lyman bead, and a Redfield 70 micrometer sight. Since that model sight did not feature a quick-off removable staff and the staff would have interfered with the Redfield Junior scope base when installed, I’d guess whoever scoped the gun came into possession of it afterward. Who knows? By the time the gun was consigned, the staff was long gone and the base joined it as soon as I bought the gun. 

As you say, 99076C likely started life as a G5272R and from the evidence led a strange and convoluted life. I just wish they’d left the 3279 factory hood in place. Not only are none of those available for sale, none were available for Seewin and JWA to measure for their hood chart masterwork!

I may be one of a few who shoot the C Sporting with metallic sights because the stock is really designed for scope use. For a while, I shot it with my Leupold Compact 2-7X in 1″ rings and the already installed Redfield Jr base.  The comb height and cheek piece thickness are perfect for that use. 

After I removed the scope base and installed the Lyman 48F and Redfield FGB,  I’ve found it necessary to cheek the stock very firmly to get a sight picture. 

All this would seem to be good evidence the 52 planning committee assumed these guns would be scoped. Given the retail price for them, the target market was not widows and orphans and Bill Weaver had by then punched a big hole in the tight little optics oligopoly.