Never owned a Ballard with a 52 barrel, but my Win 52 was one of the most accurate .22 rifles I ever owned! I recently sold it when I purchased my Cody/Schoyen Ballard in .22LR, because the Cody Ballard was the first gun to outshoot the 52.
I'd be tickled to own a Ballard with a 52 barrel on it myself!

I have a Winchester mod 52 with a Al Hubalek Special barrel on it.It Shoots about the same as my original Win 52c does.Jay Parisi

I always wanted a Hubalek .22 Ballard. I got one (with 8 land/groove barrel) about a year ago. After trying various lots of Eley Match EPS, Lapua Center X, and Midas +, the best group I could get at 100 yds was 1". I am now a former owner of that rifle.

Maybe it just didn't like that expensive ammo;-)

"How much had it been shot?  Did it have a good tight match chamber?"
The rifle was in excellent condition, looked to be well cared for. The bore and crown looked good and the breechblock locked up nice and tight. Curious, when I extracted a loaded round, there was virtually no engraving on the bullet. The number stamped on the bottom of the barrel indicated that the rifle was built in 1941 or 42.

Quote:


Not good for a match chamber

Maybe some re-reamed to a Sporting chamber.

Frank

If the Hubalek barrel was installed in 1941 or 1942 then the rifle was most likely a pre Model A or at best a Model A. Having it shoot as well as a Model C could be considered an improvement over accepted factory standards of the time. Just my two cents. I have 6 Hubalek rifles; 2 Ballards, 2 hammerless mini Ballards, a Martini and a 52 Winchester. I think they were all state of the art when they were built but they simply can't keep up with more modern developments nor should they be expected to. I think we all love them for the same reasons-their build quality and their beauty.

I own several Ballards converted to either .22 Short (Zettler) or .22LR, plus the one Cody Ballard in .22LR. All have very tight match chambers that wont allow a cartridge to be easily chambered with thumb pressure. Can't recall on the Cody, but the other old customs don't engrave on the bullets, but shoot extremely tight groups. Have to check the Cody, as info on the original order sheet says it's a Badger barrel. Just don't recall noticing any engraving on the bullets?