Rolling old school… Broke out the 52B Bull Barrel

[simpletoms]

Had a decent break in the weather here in Kentucky. 40's and light wind. Decided to pull out a few .22's that needed their zero confirmed. On the list; 40x, CZ 457 ProVarmint and a Winchester 52B Bull Barrel. I zeroed at 100 as I can shoot up to 250 yards at the house. The 40x just got a 20 MOA base, the 52 got a new set of rings and the 457 was upgraded to an Area 419 base and Vortex Viper PST Gen 1 6-24x. I've had the 52 for a few years and it's been a good performing rifle. The Thomas trigger has given me some fits. Adjusting it is a process and it will still fail to fire once or twice in a shooting session. That being said, I was once again reminded that the rifle and the trigger are well worth the effort. From the bench at 100 yards I ran a 6x5. First 3 targets were with Eley P100 (1044 FPS), and the next 3 with Eley Match (1045 FPS). With the type ammo and velocity closely matched, I typically don't have to adjust the scope when shifting from P100 to Match. It make life a bit easier as I can practice with the P100 and when I want to step up my game, the Eley Match delivers. Which is the point of this post. I am constantly amazed at the consistency and accuracy. Of the three Eley Match groups I shot, two were less that .5" at 100. When I stepped back to 200 yards, the 52 with P100 shot a 3.2" group. I am certainly a proud Vudoo owner, but vintage .22's still hold a sacred spot in my safe. I know there are some other 52 shooters on this forum, as I did a search to see what 52's guys were shooting. Unfortunately, a lot of the linked photos are blurred out. But from what I did see, there's a pretty good cross section of vintage .22 shooters hanging out on the Hide. Good on ya!

 

[1badDart]

Great shooting. I love my 52's, but shoot mostly aperture sights at 50 yards. Where in KY are you?

 

[simpletoms]

Great shooting. I love my 52's, but shoot mostly aperture sights at 50 yards. Where in KY are you?

Near Elizabethtown. I have a couple 52’s with iron sights and have shot them at 100 yards, with the NRA 100 yard bullseye. The 52 pictured is scoped using the Nightforce 20 MOA base. It’s not the prettiest but it’s been a good performer.

 

[Kisssofdeath]

That is some good shooting. I'm another 52 owner who gets his out from time to time. I have a 52D, Pre A and 52B repo. The 52B is my least favorite and the least accurate.

 

[littlepod]

That rifle sure likes that Eley Match! I've been lot testing all sorts of ammo the past few weeks. I noticed that when switching from same ammo, new lot, or different manufacturer, my first 5 rounds are always a lot larger group, so I always take 5 fouling shots onto the dirt/other paper, before commencing with official 6x5's.

It looks like it's similar in your situation. Top 3 are P100's, first bottom left is the first 5 shots of Eley Match, and then next 2 groups were great. You could do an entire 6x5 with Eley Match and be one of the top 6x5's!

I've been testing ammo with my new barrel reamed in Win52D and have shot 14 6x5's.. so 84 groups, and out of the 84, I've only gotten 8 sub 1/2" groups.

 

[simpletoms]

Here’s the 200 yard run with Eley P100. It outshot the Vudoo today. KOD, I have two pre-A’s, both shoot MOA at 100 with the right ammo. Crazy, both of my pre-A’s are from the 20’s. They’re pushing 95 years old and still can shoot.

 

[simpletoms]

littlepod, I've seen the same behavior when changing ammo or when it's cold. That's why I typically shoot a 6x5 (or two) when zeroing or judging a rifles accuracy. I've had rifles that'll throw out some great groups, but in the end average out well above an inch. Then I've had .22's that will never give you an awesome group, but they'll consistent ride at .9-1.1" at 100 and more importantly, maintain a point of aim. 52's are really good at doing that (so are Vudoo's). One other thing I've noticed, it does seem some bores really need warmed up when the temperature starts dropping. Probably due to the lube being more viscous in the cold. Anyhow, a fun game of figuring out what works and what doesn't. Looking forward to hearing more about your project rifle. Did you re-barrel a 52 or chamber another .22 with a 52D chamber?

 

[littlepod]

littlepod, I've seen the same behavior when changing ammo or when it's cold. That's why I typically shoot a 6x5 (or two) when zeroing or judging a rifles accuracy. I've had rifles that'll throw out some great groups, but in the end average out well above an inch. Then I've had .22's that will never give you an awesome group, but they'll consistent ride at .9-1.1" at 100 and more importantly, maintain a point of aim. 52's are really good at doing that (so are Vudoo's). One other thing I've noticed, it does seem some bores really need warmed up when the temperature starts dropping. Probably due to the lube being more viscous in the cold. Anyhow, a fun game of figuring out what works and what doesn't. Looking forward to hearing more about your project rifle. Did you re-barrel a 52 or chamber another .22 with a 52D chamber?

I chambered my Tikka T1X with a 52D chamber. It's pretty tight, and not as easy to feed rounds, but it sure shoots...

The 2 favorite ammo it likes so far is SK Pistol Match Special and Center-X

 

[simpletoms]

I chambered my Tikka T1X with a 52D chamber. It's pretty tight, and not as easy to feed rounds, but it sure shoots...

The 2 favorite ammo it likes so far is SK Pistol Match Special and Center-X

Oh man, not to take this post sideways, but I too rebarreled a T1x. The results so far, dismal. I had an old Lilja Sako Quad bull barrel. Gunsmith cut it for the action and chambered with a "match" reamer. Well, I went from a decent .22, to a scattergun at 100 yards (3" groups at best). I'm going to see if he will setback the chamber just enough for the bullet to seat a touch in the grooves. If that doesn't work, the T1x will get the original barrel back and be heading towards a new home.

littlepod, I search your posts on your T1x. Nice! Guess I need to start posting more in the 6x5 thread.

 

[littlepod]

Thanks. I do enjoy the T1X. I might get a vudoo next year but right now my T1X is doing great.

This new win52d barrel does not shoot Eley ammo well at all though. 1.5" groups.

 

[pmclaine]

Now Im going to have to break out my Win 75T.

Its been awhile since we have had a .22 caliber "Show us what you got and how it shoots" thread.

 

[simpletoms]

Thanks. I do enjoy the T1X. I might get a vudoo next year but right now my T1X is doing great.

This new win52d barrel does not shoot Eley ammo well at all though. 1.5" groups.

That's crazy. Just shows that there must be something to metallurgy and the powder/lube combination. Your T1X is certainly shooting as well as a Vudoo. I will certainly be watching it's progression as your sort out the new barrel. Moving on to your Vudoo comment, I think the biggest thing you'll find is how smooth the Vudoo operates. The controlled round feed is amazing. I think it's what plagues less expensive rifles. My T1X doesn't feed exceptionally well. Rounds don't feed well from the mag and feed at (my opinion) too steep an angle. I think the timing of the feed lips are off a bit. Has to be a bit more difficult to control in a mass production environment. Vudoo spent a lot of time perfecting their magazine, and magazine design has plagued more than one .22 manufacturer. Sako (quad), Savage, and Tikka are but a few that have struggled with feeding issues. Still, experimentation is part of the fun in this game.

Now Im going to have to break out my Win 75T.

Its been awhile since we have had a .22 caliber "Show us what you got and how it shoots" thread.

You should. 75's are a great rifle and to me are very similar in size, handling and performance to the Anschutz 64 series. I had one years ago, and kinda regret selling it. Break it out!

 

[littlepod]

That's crazy. Just shows that there must be something to metallurgy and the powder/lube combination. Your T1X is certainly shooting as well as a Vudoo. I will certainly be watching it's progression as your sort out the new barrel. Moving on to your Vudoo comment, I think the biggest thing you'll find is how smooth the Vudoo operates. The controlled round feed is amazing. I think it's what plagues less expensive rifles. My T1X doesn't feed exceptionally well. Rounds don't feed well from the mag and feed at (my opinion) too steep an angle. I think the timing of the feed lips are off a bit. Has to be a bit more difficult to control in a mass production environment. Vudoo spent a lot of time perfecting their magazine, and magazine design has plagued more than one .22 manufacturer. Sako (quad), Savage, and Tikka are but a few that have struggled with feeding issues. Still, experimentation is part of the fun in this game.

100% agree on this one... the feed angle is a bit steep, what ends up having to 75% of my rounds is the bottom band of the rimfire ammo catches on the bottom edge of the barrel and scrapes. It makes me have to feed rather forcefully. If I hand feed a load, due to the Win52 early rifling, it does take a bit more effort to push the bolt forward, but it's not as bad as having the bottom edge catch on the barrel.

I've been thinking what sort of smithing I can do to make this better... could file a few thousands off of the barrel on the bottom to make it feed smoother, not sure how that would affect accuracy though. Not sure how I can re-engineer the magazine to load differently... i do notice the first 5 rounds of a magazine work great, but the last few rounds load rougher, given less spring tension...

My factory barrel never had any feed issues though. Everything went smoothly. I guess I can compare the two barrels to see how the chamber entry is like.

I just bought 5000 rounds for this barrel after lot shopping, so I won't be switching to a V22 until I finish shooting these