S&W 52-2 barrel weight

I have just begun to shoot a S&W 52-2.  My pattern with iron sights and with a red dot is high.  Shooting high is not normal for me with my 45 or with my 22.  If I shoot the 52-2 with two hands on a bench rest the pattern will come down to the bullseye.  I have seen barrel weights for this gun.  Is that what the barrel weight is for?
I am also wondering if more powder would get the bullet out of the barrel faster or should I try using less powder to reduce the barrel flip.  I am currently using a 148g LHBWC over 3.1g HP 38.

Hello djw1cav,

What type of .22 do you have?  I have seen this before when shooters try to go back and forth between a trigger that swings and one that slides.

Jim

Have screwdriver.  Will adjust sights.

Look more at group size.  Seek consistency.  Adjust sights as needed.

Jack H wrote:Look more at group size.  Seek consistency.  Adjust sights as needed.

+ 1

Jim

The 52 can be tough to shoot well.

Think follow through on all your shots.
Took my wife a while to learn to shoot hers

spursnguns wrote:Hello djw1cav,

What type of .22 do you have?  I have seen this before when shooters try to go back and forth between a trigger that swings and one that slides.

Jim

Jim,
My 22 is a Nelson conversion on a Caspian frame.  So I am definitely going back and forth between a swing trigger and a sliding trigger.
djw

Hello djw1cav,

It doesn't take away from any of the previous responses, they are all appropriate.  I have worked on this with my wife....successful dryfiring moved her groups "and" made them smaller.

Let us know.

Jim

You have to grip the 52 just like a 45, hard.  When you sighted in off sandbags two handed the gun didn't recoil as much.  Your load is fine.

for 52 weight www.djprecision.com

Thank you all for your comments.  According to the consensus of expert opinions I was headed in the wrong direction, looking at loads and adding a barrel weight. 
What I will do is add dryfiring the model 52 to my dryfire routine as well as making an effort to hold tighter and lengthening my follow through.
Thanks again,
DJW

I do not shoot competitively, just for fun, but I have had a barrel weight on my 52-2 for years, and shot the pistol well before and even better after adding the weight.
It does help lessen the follow up time, as there is a noticeable drop in the what little felt recoil there is to begin with.
The nice thing about the DJ precision weight, which is what I use, is that it does not require any fitting to the frame, as the original S&W weight required. Best of luck.

My M52-1 with the BME dust cover mount with 1" UD using Leupold steel rings was just right in weight.
Went to a BME rear sight mount with Holosun dot and Kodiak Machine base.
Way too light; installed the 4 ounce DJ Precision weight and now it is just right again.

YMMV
Clarence

Also want to add that I use a vintage ortho/anatomical Jay Scott grip.
This will make the pistol feel lighter since you have more hand/grip contact area.
Kind of hard to explain but the .45 and .22 are at 2#12oz ish.
The M52 is at 3# with the 4oz added weight, but it feels the same as the other two.

Clarence

C.Perkins wrote:My M52-1 with the BME dust cover mount with 1" UD using Leupold steel rings was just right in weight.
Went to a BME rear sight mount with Holosun dot and Kodiak Machine base.
Way too light; installed the 4 ounce DJ Precision weight and now it is just right again.

YMMV
Clarence

Clarence,
Your scope mount sounds interesting.  I am using a borrowed grip mount and a ultra dot on my 52-2.  I like the idea of a smaller dot but was concerned about the small dot size and the auto light adjustment.   Do you use it indoors and outdoors?  How does the light adjustment work for you? 
 Another reason I chose the grip mount, was I did not want to repeat the balancing act I went through when I mounted a Matchdot on the slide of my 45.  Did you have to change anything else when you added the slide mount? 
DJW

I also went to the BME rear sight mount. I didn't have to do anything with my load or springs. My grips help keep the weight up overall and the nose does not feel too light. YMMV

DJW;

I have two of the Holosun HS403GL
They are 2 moa dots with manual adjustment on brightness(bush buttons +/- on top).
Also can be used as manual on/off instead of auto power off.
Battery compartment is on the side unlike some other models is on the bottom so you have to remove the sight from the rail and then separate the sight from the mount to replace it.

Like LenV stated; no change in ammo or spring, just rocked on.
I like it.

We will see how the one on the .45 holds up under recoil.
My long line load is 4.8gr of Bullseye under a Nosler 185gr JHP

I picked up both of mine from Legendary Optics, $180 each to my door.
Got the Kodiak Machine bases and H1 shades from KC Crawford.

Clarence