Winchester Repeating Arms 52B User Manual

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS

FOR

MODEL 52B

.22 CALIBER BOLT ACTION RIFLE

This is one of the famous line of Winchester
World Standard arms. As one of the Classic
Traditions models you can expect the same
quality and satisfaction as with the original
historic Model 52B introduced in 1919. And,
as with the original, you'll appreciate its
economy of design, quick handling properties
and smooth functioning.

U.S. REPEATING ARMS COMPANY, INC.

Winchester trademarks licensed from Olin Corporation.

275 Winchester Avenue

New Haven, CT, U.S.A. 06511-1970

Administrative Offices:

275 Winchester Avenue,

Morgan, UT, U. S. A. 84050-9333

Contents Page

Gun safety warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

General features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

General description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Terminology and descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Serial number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Ammunition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

General operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Initial cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Oiling the action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Operation of the safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Cocking indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Inserting and removing the bolt . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Unloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Trigger System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Forearm adjustment screw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Scope mount and sights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Cleaning and maintenance suggestions . . . . . . . . .21

Ordering parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Service or repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Questions & Winchester.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

1

New gun owner’s record.

Use the space below to record information about your new
Winchester Model 52B rifle.

Serial Number ____________________________________

Caliber __________________________________________

Grade ___________________________________________

Purchase Price ____________________________________

Purchased From ___________________________________

Date of Purchase __________________________________

Winchester trademarks licensed from Olin Corporation
Made in USA. Printed in Japan.
©1997 • KP982/97360

GUN SAFETY WARNINGS

IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THESE OPERATING
INSTRUCTIONS BE THOROUGHLY STUD­IED BEFORE USING THIS FIREARM TO
ASSURE PROPER AND SAFE GUN HAN­DLING. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE
INSTRUCTIONS OR FAILURE TO OBEY
ANY SAFETY WARNING MAY RESULT IN
INJURY TO YOURSELF OR OTHERS, OR
CAUSE DAMAGE TO YOUR GUN.

As a gun owner, you accept a set of demanding
responsibilities. How seriously you take these respon­sibilities can be the difference between life and death.
There is no excuse for careless or abusive handling of
any firearm. At all times handle your rifle and any
other firearm with intense respect for its power and
potential danger.

PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL OF
THE CAUTIONS, PROPER HANDLING PRO­CEDURES AND INSTRUCTIONS OUTLINED
IN THIS BOOKLET BEFORE USING YOUR
NEW FIREARM.

1. Do not carry a loaded gun with a live round in the
chamber while walking, running, climbing a tree,
crossing a fence or anywhere you might slip or fall,
drop the gun or otherwise bump or jar the gun. A gun
that is dropped, bumped, or jarred with a chambered
round might accidentally discharge even with the
safety on, causing serious injury to you or someone
else. When a round is chambered keep the safety on
until you are ready to shoot.

2. Do not rely on the safety to prevent accidental dis­charge. Many safeties merely block the trigger and
prevent firing by pulling the trigger. The safety may
not prevent an accidental discharge due to dropping,

3

MODEL 52B BOLT ACTION 22 RIMFIRE

The Model 52 is what legends are made of. Your
Model 52B offers the accuracy you want in a rimfire
bolt action. It has the renowned Micro Motion trig­ger system. Producing a trigger system like this is
labor intensive and requires extraordinary precision.
Watch-like part fits like you see in a 52B are rare in
these modern days. The match chamber adds further
to the 52’s exceptional accuracy. You may have
already noticed how smooth and effortless it is to
work the bolt. The magazine system, with its five shot
capacity, is easy to operate and very reliable . . . just
like on the originals.

The history behind the Model 52 is equally extraordi­nary. It first appeared in 1919 and was shot at the
National Rifle Matches that very year. It was a
favorite of returning veterans after World War I
because of its bolt action design that utilized a remov­able magazine. Many consider it one of the most sig­nificant factors in the growth of small-bore target
shooting in the United States.

2

ous injury in case of an accidental discharge. Never
load in the house or in your vehicle.

12. Never shoot at a hard, flat surface or at the sur­face of water to avoid a ricochet and possible serious
personal injury to yourself or a bystander.

13. Store your gun in a clean, dry place out of the
reach of children and separated from stored ammuni­tion.

14. Never alter any parts of your gun. Any alterations
or adjustments that may become necessary to the
operating mechanism should be performed by a quali­fied gunsmith.

15. Hunting from elevated surfaces such as tree stands
is dangerous. Doing so may increase the risk of han­dling any firearm. Always make certain that the stand
being used is safe, sturdy and stable. Always make
certain your firearm is unloaded when it is being
taken up and down from the stand. Always make cer­tain that your firearm is not dropped from the stand
or dropped while it is being taken up or down from
the stand.

16. Discharging firearms in poorly ventilated areas,
cleaning firearms, or handling ammunition may result
in exposure to lead and other substances known to
cause birth defects, reproductive harm and other
serious physical injury. Have adequate ventilation at
all times. Wash hands thoroughly after exposure.

5

jarring, or bumping a gun.

3. Use only ammunition for which the gun is cham­bered as indicated on the barrel, to prevent excessive
pressure and possible serious personal injury.

4. Incorrectly reloaded ammunition can cause serious
personal injury and damage to the firearm due to
excessive pressure. Reload only after proper instruc­tion and in strict compliance with instruction and
data contained in current reloading manuals.

5. Never point a gun at anything you do not intend
to shoot. Always keep it pointed in a safe direction in
case of accidental discharge.

6. Always check to ensure that the barrel is free of
obstructions before loading and using the gun. If you
experience light recoil or off sound, check the barrel
for an obstruction.

7. Before firing, clean any grease or oil out of barrel
with cleaning rod and patch. Grease or heavy accu­mulation of oil can cause excessive pressure and result
in serious personal injury.

8. Keep barrel, chamber and action free of rust. Rust
in the barrel and chamber can cause excessive pres­sures resulting in serious injury. A rusted, pitted or
eroded barrel should be replaced.

9. Use hearing protection to prevent ear damage from
repeated exposure to gunfire.

10. Always use proper shooting glasses to prevent eye
injury from flying particles.

11. Never carry a loaded gun in a motor vehicle or
carry one into a dwelling. Always carefully unload
the gun before entering a motor vehicle, a dwelling or
an area such as a camp. Always point a gun in a safe
direction while loading or unloading to prevent seri-

4

7

F

IGURE

1

The heart of the Model 52B is its incredible
trigger system. Over the years the name
“Micro Motion Trigger” has become syn­onymous with accuracy.

The rear of the receiver is drilled and
tapped for mounting a peep sight. The
plain barrel can be fitted with a front
sight by a gunsmith, if you so desire.

The in-line, curved magazine offers reliable
feeds. The button on the right side releases
the magazine for re-filling.

Low profile swivel attach­ments just like early versions
of half a century ago.

The magazine release button is conveniently
placed on the side of the stock, just below the
ejection port.

The forearm adjustment screw lets you
apply pressure or force against the underside
of the barrel in order to maximize accuracy.

6

MODEL 52B FEATURES

The stock is of beautifully fin­ished selected walnut, careful­ly cut checkered.

F

IGURE

1

The receiver top is drilled and
tapped for scope mounts. This
is a rifle with accuracy truly
worthy of the finest scopes.

The Model 52B’s Micro Motion
trigger system is famous for its
smooth, crisp let-off.

The thumb-operated safety is con­veniently located on the right side
of the receiver, just forward of the
bolt handle.

A cocking indicator on the rear end
of the bolt makes it easy to deter­mine your rifles cocking status.

The Model 52B comes with the receiver drilled and
tapped to accept commercially available rear peep
sights and scope mounts. A two-piece scope mount
base and high scope mount rings are available as ac­cessories. (Front sights must be installed by a quali­fied gunsmith.)

TERMINOLOGY AND DESCRIPTIONS

Descriptions in this booklet generally refer to the gun
in the horizontal position. That is, in the normal fir­ing position. For example, the muzzle is forward or
front; the butt stock is rearward or rear; the trigger is
downward or underneath; the sights are upward or on
top. Figure 1 covers the general features and benefits
of the Model 52B design.

For general parts terminology, refer to Figure 2A and
2B. With the exception of magazine disassembly, fig­ure 2A also shows the Model 52B disassembled to the
extent necessary in order to follow instructions con­tained in this book.

Throughout this manual the “action” refers to the

9

F

IGURE2A

Muzzle

Fore-end

Fore-end tip

Barrel

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Your new Winchester Model 52B is a reproduction of
the original Model 52B “Sporting” bolt action. It fea­tures the highly regarded trigger system. Other fea­tures of the Model 52B include the side safety, the
black forearm tip, the special quick-release swivel
mounts on the forearm and stock, and the conve­nient five-shot removable magazine (additional spare
magazines can be purchased from your Winchester
firearms dealer).

8

F

IGURE2A

Magazine

Buttplate

Ejection Port

Trigger

Buttstock

Receiver

Bolt

Safety

Extractor

Cocking indicator

Magazine release button

Bolt

Bolt handle

F

IGURE

2B