Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns I found a pristine S&W 66 today and have some questions.

Yeah, the original concept was that cops could ordinarily think of it as a .38 Special (mainly only shooting .38), but they could carry some 158 grain .357 Magnums on their utility belt for special need, such as a roadblock stop of a desperate felon heading your way down the highway.

Congratulations……great gun…..great buy! You must be liv’n right! memtb

Grats, Terry. That would be a Grail Gun IMHO.

I had read that about the 66. Good gun, just not made to be beat to death. I have a slicked up 19 that I really like. Had a 66, but traded it some time ago.

DF

Couldn't the same be said for the Model 19? I mostly shoot 158's anyway. The 125's tend to sting a little much for my tastes . I use to own a J frame model 60 and 125's out of it would get your attention real fast.

About 4 or 5 years ago I bought a 66-2 from a fellow I shoot trap with. NIB $300.00.
That was his asking price. I had no idea of its value and shot it one time 5 rounds.
Gave it a good cleaning and put the box away and the pistol in the safe.
I guess I did alright.
Semper Fidelis
soup

Yes, I've always found 158s to be much less unpleasant to shoot in a K-Frame than 125s. Seems to defy logic, but that's always been my perception of it.

PS Yes, anything said about a 66 can also be said about a 19, apart from the steel used.

From what I’ve read, flame cutting usually goes so far then stops. That doesn’t make sense but it’s what I’ve read when I had the 360 with the little piece of SS for a blast baffle.

The main problem with the K frames was the forcing cone has a flat on it and can develop a crack. I’ve seen exactly one gun with a cracked forcing cone. I don’t shoot 125’s but I don’t think I’d worry too much if I did.

The size difference between the 66 and 686 is just not worth it to me and I own both. If the 686 wasn’t a gift, I doubt I’d own it. The 66 is just right.

The S&W 66 was the Wisconsin State Patrol duty handgun until they went to semi-autos. I was talking to an officer about how the department liked the 66’s because I had one at the time and he said that with heavy use, they shot loose. So I guess it isn’t a wive’s tale.

The stories of them shooting loose for police forces was a common one. They weren't designed with the intention that cops would be actually shooting high volumes of .357 Magnum ammo through them, but that became the common practice anyway, thus the shooting loose issue.

The K-Framed Magnums were meant to be treated primarily as .38 Special revolvers with the option of upping the power level for special purposes, such as for penetrating barriers like shooting through car bodies, i.e., you dump the .38 Specials out, and reload 158 grain .357 Magnum rounds from your utility belt pouch, if you imminently anticipate such a need arising.

In the early '80s, right after I got out of the Army, I started IPSC shooting with a local club, and one guy was a die-hard revolver guy, who worked in a gunshop. He went through about a half-dozen 66s in the three years the club was active. He shot them HARD, with Magnums, usually 125s, and he went thru those 66s like crap thru a goose. The guns loosened up pretty quick shooting them as hard and fast as he did (he could have given Miculek a helluva run for his money back in those days).
After Jim's experiences with the 66s he had, I never trusted them. Damn that boy was fast with his 66s, though, I gotta give him props for that.

I’ve got a 4 inch 66. But at that price I would have two. Hasbeen

Probably.

I don't punish my 19.

The J frame, IMO, isn't the beset choice for really hot loads. I have some J frames. I treat them as they should be treated.

If I want to shoot really hot .357 loads, I have an N frame Smith and a FA.

DF

No, the J frame definitely isn't the best choice but,,,,they stamped .357 magnum on it so I had to try it. I didn't shoot a lot out of it but I shot enough to know it wasn't for me and feed it a steady diet of .38+P for the most part. It was in as good of shape when I sold it as when I bought it.

$699 is a very decent price in today's market.

Try this page for date of manufacture.

https://www.smithandwessonforums.co...ash-with-a-1978-79-serial-number.136130/

As. for loads, I shoot 158s over 7 grains of AA#5 in my Model 10s. I think 7.5 grains of AA#5 with 158s would make a good load for a Model 66 and wouldn't stress it very much

Yes, model 19s and model 66s (K frames) have the same issue with a relief cut on the bottom of the forcing cone to accommodate the crane/yoke of the cylinder. The light high pressure loads, aka the 125s and 130s had a short enough bullet bearing surface that the bullet could leave the cylinder forcing cone and not yet enter the barrel forcing cone. This allowed the super high pressure gases to stress directly on the weak design spot of the barrel forcing cone. Reading the book about it S&W engineers were able to crack forcing cones within 6 shots with the Peterson 125 grain hot-hod load back then.

Moving the gas ring back to the cylinder helped a little, but the solution was the L frame design, just enough larger in all the needed areas

Cracked barrels within six shots... really? It's a miracle the Combat Magnum has managed to survive since 1955.

Very nice! And the price is very good for you as a buyer. Would be even a fair price in Germany when bought at a gun shop.

I've got a 6 " 66 with German proof marks so they shipped them there and had to be reproof before sale in germany?