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November 11, 2012
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What is your take on this Winchester 52B? Steel grip cap come late on the 52B? Refinished? But plate has a strange look too?
January 20, 2023
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The C Sporting was very late to be put in production and the B Sporting continued to be produced well into the Fifties, as a result. The late ones were furnished with steel grip caps.
The view of the buttplate may be distorted by the camera lens, making the plate appear thicker than in reality. A too-wide angle lens – one of short focal length – can make closer objects appear relatively larger than those in background.
But whether the wood and steel have been refinished is a question hard to answer just by looking at a photograph. I will say the apparent high gloss on the wood is suspicious. The high condition 52 Sporting Rifles I have examined in person have a sprayed lacquer finish but are not buffed to reflect nearly as much light. However, it may just be the photography lighting setup. It really would take a close, hands on inspection to opine.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
June 10, 2026
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Old-Win said
https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/rifles/winchester-rifles-model-52/winchester-model-52-b-sporter-rifle-as-new.cfm?gun_id=103873535
What is your take on this Winchester 52B? Steel grip cap come late on the 52B? Refinished? But plate has a strange look too?
Good morning! I’m no expert on .22 ‘s by any means but I would like to add a note to this conversation concerning Ralph. I have not met him personally but I have had many, many conversations with him starting several years ago when I bought one of the first Winchesters he started to sell out of his large collection, a 1908, 1894, 30/30. Since then I’ve purchased several model 12’s and recently a model 75 Sporter. He’s not inexpensive but I found these guns to be in pristine condition, not a fingerprint on them. A lifetime of collecting from other collectors and dealers. He sent me those pictures several months ago before he listed it in GI but I’m not a .22 collector at that price. All I can vouch for is he has been very honest with me, I have no regrets in an of my purchases. Anyway just my .22 cents worth, lol.
November 12, 2018
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FWIW, here’s a 1939 52B with similar “fancy” wood. 
Both the metal & the wood on the rifle in question are a bit shiny, but perhaps there was a light oiling prior to photos being taken. Not sure of differences, if any, between pre-war & post-war finishes.
June 1, 2023
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Those who were willing to go to the effort of making a special order for fancy grade walnut, were also likely to go whole hog and get Winchester “piano finish” also known as French polish treatment. One of my pre-war 52 Sporting rifles has that high gloss finish. So the high gloss finish on the original rifle in question may indeed be correct.
BRP
November 12, 2018
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In 1940, the “high polished finish” was an extra $5.60 (middle row, 3rd from bottom), on top of the cost to upgrade to “select walnut” (typically $15-20).
January 20, 2023
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When you consider that a 1940 Dollar is the equivalent of thirty-four 2026 Dollars, that extra five-spot doesn’t look like such a bargain. Today, that’s a $170 option. The upgrade to fancy wood is a $510 to $680 option.
I can relate more easily to what a Nineteen Fifties Dollar would buy, after some postwar inflation. Still, a quarter was not to be sneezed at – it would get you into a movie theater except for a Disney film. A Snickers bar was a nickel.
A matter of larger concern to a 12-year old was the price of Winchester .22 rifles. Few today cruising an old Gun Digest think a Winchester Model 63 was particularly expensive. I beg to differ. There was seemingly nobody on Earth who had that much disposable income.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
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