More G.T. 'Bulged Barrel' Magic !

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Rick W.

Remember the 52 is a 39 converted to single action only.

My Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson shows my serial being in the first year of production [1961] and it still retains the double-action lockout screw. The 52-2 did away with that.

The whole pistol is just a reworked model 39. Much of it was unchanged [design-wise]. I suppose this was S&W's answer to Colt's out-of-the-box competition Gold Cup National Match pistol for big bore shooting. S&W had no experience [at that time] with big-bore autos so based it on their successful 9mm design.

The old Gold Cup Midranges and the 38AMU's were pretty nice too, but that is another story.

I've had several Colt Gold Cup National Match autos in .45 cal (I have one now) and had the best experiences shooting them with the Series 70 models with the collet barrel bushing. I've read that those bushings were "prone to breaking" but none of mine ever has. The collet let the barrel return to the same position repeatedly whereas the solid bushing had a thousandth or two of play.

The Model 52 has a solid bushing too (a threaded screw-in bushing with a spring plunger lock). I would prefer a collet but I think my style of wildly waving two-hand hold wouldn't improve much...

Originally Posted by hayhugh

Can a person purchase a "BMFH" on line or was this also a home built item?

My BMFH is a home-made job, having a 2 1/2" dia chunk of brass 4" long fixed to a standard hammer handle. I originally made it for knocking the hub nuts off my Austin-Healey. The Healeys had a dinky little lead hammer that was inadequate for the task. I made two of the hammers while working as a millwright. My supervisor was pissed but I did actually use one at work.

Judging by the prices for brass at www.onlinemetals.com, I have $100 of brass in these two hammers...