![]() ![]() While it appears 52 "C" production began in early spring of 1951 at around Serial #75,000, Type "B" Sporting rifles continued to be produced up until at least #84553BX (See photo on P 135). In any event, this rifle is the earliest number "B" I have seen, so, using it as a cut off, we can assume Winchester produced 3810 Type "A" Model 52 rifles of all configurations, with the percentage of Sporting rifles unknown. This would mean #44600 would be one of the first 52 "B"s, but APPENDIX 7 in the Houze book lists a 52 "B" in Winchester's Firearms Reference Collection with a serial number of 44402B, which would put it in November or December of 1936 production. Houze indicates the first "B"s were made on May 28,1937. Starting with Serial # 40592A and counting forward to the first Type "B" rifles gives us the next number. Total Estimated pre-suffix Type "A" Model 52s: 3889 to 4028 Again, we don't know how many of these were Sporting rifles. Given the pre-suffix Type "A" starting serial numbers of 36564 to 36699 in February of 1935, and the first Type "A" rifles actually marked "A" beginning right at 40592A, I think we can safely assume Winchester produced around 3889 to 4028 pre-suffix Type "A" rifles. Actually, the pre-suffix Type "A" Sporter I own is #40586, just 6 rifles earlier than Sporting rifle Serial # 40592A pictured on in Houze's book, making it one of the very last pre-suffix Type "A" rifles and marking the end of pre-suffix Type "A"s. Houze states on that Winchester began stamping an "A" in the serial numbers of the new Type "A" receivers, and retroactively stamped all receivers still in inventory, at around Serial number 40,000. Total Estimated Pre-A Model 52s After Sporting Rifle Production: 5145 to 5340 I guess we'll never know what percentage of these were Sporting rifles, but Houze describes the sales as "brisk" Hence, from the date of the first Sporting rifle until the first pre-suffix "Type A" rifle, Winchester produced approximately 5145 to 5340 Model 52 rifles of all configurations. The first "Type A" (pre-suffix) rifles, with the modified receiver and improved safety stem, were produced in February of 1935 (See ), beginning with around Serial # 36564 to 36699, depending upon when in February production actually began. It appears the very first Sporting rifles (after the introduction of the 52 speedlock) were produced in August or September of 1933 (See in Houze's book), beginning at around Serial # 31359 to 31419, depending upon the actual month production began. I have come up with some production numbers that I feel must be at least close, but I would like to present this information to the Winchester gurus to see what they think. In an attempt to estimate which model is, in fact, rarest, I have used Houze's book, a few magazine articles, auction results, and my own rifles for reference. Yet, many of the publications assigning values to firearms characterize the "Cs" as the rarest. My less-than-scientific observations seem to indicate "B" Sporters are, by far, the most commonly encountered, and I have seen personally more "Cs" than "A"s and "Pre A"s. 22 rifle of all time, I recently purchased a pre-suffix "Type-A" Sporting rifle in about 98% condition, and this purchase piqued my curiosity about its rarity. ![]() In my never-ending pursuit of the very finest. Today my question involves production numbers for Winchester Model 52 Sporting rifles. I am very new to RFC, but I have been a rimfire enthusiast for 35 years, owning everything one can imagine, plus designing and fabricating a few myself. I THINK THIS LINK WILL WORK FOR WINCHESTER DATES OF MANUFACTURE: ![]()
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