Smith & Wesson 52

Smith & Wesson Model 52 - .38 Special

The Smith & Wesson 52 is a rare handgun in that it is chambered for the .38 Special rimmed cartridge only. The pistol, however, does not fire the standard .38 Special rounds, common to revolvers, but fires a special 'wadcutter' round (a subsonic round that is fit for use on paper targets) that is fully enclosed in the brass casing (similar in appearance to the 7.62mm Nagant cartridges fired by the Nagant 1895 Revolver). The gun was derived from the Smith & Wesson 39 and was designed as a dedicated target pistol. The Model 52 was produced in very low numbers from 1961-1993. It is considered a very accurate target handgun. The pistol can only take low pressure wadcutters and is not built to withstand the high pressures of its 9x19mm cousins.

A 2004 "sequel" to the S&W 52 exists named the Smith & Wesson 952 which fires only regular 9x19mm rounds.

Specifications

(1961 - 1993)

• Type: Pistol

• Caliber(s): .38 Special

• Weight: 40 oz

• Length: 8.55” (192 mm)

• Barrel length: 5” (102 mm)

• Capacity: 5-round box magazine

• Fire Modes: Semi-auto

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The Smith & Wesson 52 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The Man on the Roof	Thomas Hellberg	Detective Gunvald Larsson		1976

See Also

• Smith & Wesson - A list of all weapons produced by Smith & Wesson