The Home Machinist!

I appreciate that Tim. I quit trying to strip it when my skill level was surpassed by the problem. I got it quite clean with my ultrasonic cleaner and that's enough for me.

Thanks,

AB

Is there a letter designator in the serial number? I think it would be at the end of the number but not sure. If it is a "B" then the screw on the end of the bolt is a cap of sorts and should turn off. Also if it's a "B" model you overpull the trigger and hold it back, turn the bolt and it will slide out. They can be tricky to get apart and worse to get back together. Once you get the cap off the back of the bolt the procedure gets complicated in that you have to fabricate a tool to hold the bolt handle back (under spring pressure) and drive out a pin that holds the bolt assembly together. There is also a "special" tool made that slips down the back of the bolt, after the cap is off, that slips over the pin and holds pressure on the mainspring so you can drive out the pin. They used to sell this tool on Fleabay and at Brownells but I haven't seen it advertised for a long time. It's really nothing more than a round rod with a u-shaped notch cut in it to clear the pin. I have 2 Winchester 52 "B's" buried in my safe and they were and still are extraordinary rifles. Every so often we have "fly matches" where we use .22's to shoot flies off baited targets at 50 yards. Gotta have a good scope for this, but the 52's always come through. PM me if you need more help. It goes almost without saying that all this info could be meaningless IF the rifle has an aftermarket trigger setup such as Canjar or a few others. You really should figure out if that is the case. Back in the day replacement triggers were put on rifles quite often.

Rick H.

Disregard the Model 52 "B" describtion. After I posted my last comments I took a better look at the pic you posted. Unless I am wrong you have an "A" model or prior. I noticed the safety lever on the left side of the receiver which leads me to "A" model or earlier. I have some books on the 52's and one of the better ones is "The Winchester Model 52 Perfection In Design" by Herbert Houze. It is a pretty good book but has a couple of errors. If you like your rifle and want to learn more about the entire series of 52's this would be a good refernece. Your rifle is probably what was called a "Speedlock" model but that would depend on when it was made. I have never had a 52 A apart so I don't know if the bolt dissassembly is the same. You could visit a website called Culvers Shooting Page where they have a forum just for .22's that is pretty decent. There are several very knowledgable individuals there that may be able to help you out.

Thanks for that. I will give that website a look.

AB