Winchester 52 British made clone?

Probably the most popular caliber firearm in most of the world. Many of us have more than one. They also are very collectible and still cheap to shoot.
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Fast996
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2015 12:57 pm

Winchester 52 British made clone?

Post by Fast996 » Sat Apr 04, 2015 1:50 pm

Hello ,
New to this forum.Thought I'd try and get an answer on this rifle supposedly made in England.It was owned by Charles J. Hyde an Olympic shooter of & for Great Britain in the Helsinki Games of 1952. Is there any images in England of the 1952 rifle team in England. I can't believe there is nothing written or photos. Photos or articles please if you can find them it would help me solve this puzzle.

:GBR:
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Winchester 52 111 design prototype circa 1919
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Below is the link on Hyde.
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/sh ... p?t=589249


The barreled action is proof marked with Birmingham & London markings. Do the proofs tell anything about the rifle?

The rifle was re-barreled by noted barrel maker Eric Johnson he was a shooter at Camp Perry in the USA during the late 20's-40's. Johnson barrels are prized items for there uncanny accuracy.
Hyde sent the rifle to Johnson in 1953 and Johnson sent it back to Hyde who lived in Wiltshire .Did they make Winchester 52 clones before or after the war ?This is a Winchester 52 Pre A circa 1931 round top rare receiver with a flat at the rear of the receiver.Who would clone such a rifle?It is also a single shot design not until 1956 or later did Winchester make this in a 52D & E.

Winchester did make a Single Shot rifle as it was produced in 1919 the design was from Thomas Johnson. Twelve rifles were made according to Winchester and all but one was converted to a magazine fed receiver.So there was single shot rifles made in that time period.Springfield also made a singleshot rifle called the "International Match " in 1923-1924. Possibly this is something Winchester built at that time. See image here.

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I am stumped and trying to find any info on this rifle and the shooter.Very little on the net about Hyde maybe someone knew him or knew of him here.

Here is a link to the rifle.

http://www.gunauction.com/buy/13288112

Received the action and it's a Winchester all parts of the action measure the same as my original Model 52's dimensionaly.There are no welds as far as modification to Single shot or removing the safety. The rear of the receiver tang is the same as the Winchester 52. My guess it was made as a very early prototype by Winchester. Hyde probably had an opportunity to procure the rifle by means of traveling to the States buying it from Winchester. American Olympian Art Jackson owned a very similar rifle and he was a fellow shooter at the 1952 games.
All this is conjecture on my part after seeing the action and measuring it the action is a Winchester and not a clone made by some gunsmith in England.

Here are pictures of my 52c and the Single shot Winchester 52 Special side by side

The receiver drill holes have been filled. Now the bluing and restocking is all that's needed.

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Rear flat cut round receiver original rare Winchester..... is the last photo

Thanks,
Gary
Last edited by Fast996 on Sun Aug 16, 2015 7:36 pm, edited 18 times in total.
NuJudge
Contributing Member
Posts: 139
Joined: Mon May 23, 2005 8:01 pm
Location: SE Michigan

Re: Winchester 52 British made clone?

Post by NuJudge » Sun Apr 05, 2015 5:58 pm

I would go to Rim Fire Central, and to their Winchester board. There have been some discussions I have seen there about clones of the 52 made in the US.
Fast996
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2015 12:57 pm

Re: Winchester 52 British made clone?

Post by Fast996 » Sun Apr 05, 2015 7:45 pm

Thanks. This is about a British made clone .If anyone in Britain had made a Winchester 52 look-a-like. The barreled action at the link say's made in England I for one don't buy it. The machining is so close to the original 52 who would clone it. When you could buy one after the war and modify it .
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I have an update found a trigger for the action as the action was modified for a "B" trigger.The std B trigger would not mount correctly so luckily found a J.B Smith trigger that mounted perfectly and fires correctly.
Smith was a Gunsmith from Hayward California he patterned his trigger after the Wright - Allen trigger in which Karl Kenyon based his trigger upon.

How many J.B Smith / Wright-Allen triggers were used on rifles shot in England? Are they rare among shooters here in the UK. Wright didn't make many triggers so in the USA they are plenty rare.
Finding out if they are used by target shooters would help me solve this puzzle.Charles Hyde there isn't much info on him is there any info on him or pictures in England?

Thanks
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