S&w mod. 66

[dave]

Have a chance to buy, private party, a 4" .357 M. 66, Stainless. Used but like new. 450---good price, too much, average worth? I just don't follow prices on modern stuff! Thank you.

[DRB]

Not a bad price not a steal but if you want one buy it. I paid $400 for the WSP marked one I have and thought that was fair.

[Art]

It's a fair price that would be a bit on the low side where I live. Like DRB said not a "steal" but how often does a "steal" come along.

[mercman]

I was amazed at how much these are going for now. I just traded a VG, 4" with Pachmyr grips for a NIB Remington 11-87 Police.

[4F4Nam]

The older models are commanding pretty high prices these days. Private purchase is always worth something, too. Fair price in my estimation, if you really want it.

Ed

[Cosine26]

Some of the earlier Model 66's had a bad habit of cylinder "Lock Up". If fired with full power 357 loads the cylinder would bind and not rotate. I do not remeber all of the details but S&W had to modify the cylinder bushing to eliminate the problem. I do not remember the "dash" number that identified the modified revolvers. Perhaps some S&W expert can provide this info.
I just found the info. The 66-1 corrected this problem

[da gimp]

a whole lot of friends that were law enforcement carried S&W mods 19 & 66, the stainless version of the 19, and all loved em. I had never heard of this "lock-up" problem.

Those 2 pistols were probably carried by 80% or more of all uniformed officers is my guess after the Model 10's & 15's were phased out.

[Tuna]

If I remember right it was the hammer nose bushing that had to be replaced in the first run model 66. The hole for the firing pin in the bushing was too large and sometimes a primer would flow back into the hole causing the cylinder to lock up. This also happened with the early model 686. The bushing and the firing pin had to be changed out on all of our 686 duty weapons. S&W sent me the requied tools, replacement parts and hot .357 ammo to fire to be sure each revolver funtioned properly. It was an easy fix for me to do and I had all of them done in three days.

[Cosine26]

The following is from the S&W collector page
66 (1970): Stamping of each model.
66-1 (1977): Changed the gas ring from the yoke to the cylinder.
66-2 (1982): Eliminated pinned and recessed, slightly lengthened cylinder.
66-3 (1986): New yoke retention system/radius stud package/hammer nose bushing/floating hand.
66-4 (1994): Change rear sight leaf, drill and tap frame, introduce Hogue grips, change extractor.
66-5 (1998): Change in frame design: eliminate cylinder stop stud/eliminate serrated tangs/change to MIM hammer with floating firing pin/change internal lockwork.
66-6 (2002): Introduced internal lock.
66-7 (?): Two piece barrel and internal lock
The "Lock Up" problem did occur and caused quite a furor. Item 66-1 above describes the mod to the revolver to correct this problem .
When the M66 was introduced it was very scarce and thus commanded a premium price. Some restricted the sale to LEO's until the supplly became abundant.
There was another problem that occured on the Models 14,15,16,17,18,19,48,53,66 and 67. There was a Trigger Stop on these revolvers designed to limit "overtravel." They would sometimes come loose and rotate out of position and prevent the revolver trigger from traveling enough to release the hammer. I have a copy of the official S&W bulletiin addressed to "United States Law Enforcement Officials" that recommended removing the Trigger Stop from service revolvers and providing instructions with diagrams of how to accomplish the removal.
Thge "Lock Up' problem never occured in the M19. It was strictly a stainless steel revolver problem.
FYI

[da gimp]

If I remember right it was the hammer nose bushing that had to be replaced in the first run model 66. The hole for the firing pin in the bushing was too large and sometimes a primer would flow back into the hole causing the cylinder to lock up. This also happened with the early model 686. The bushing and the firing pin had to be changed out on all of our 686 duty weapons. S&W sent me the requied tools, replacement parts and hot .357 ammo to fire to be sure each revolver funtioned properly. It was an easy fix for me to do and I had all of them done in three days.


Tuna our Dept lucked out & ordered 686's from Gant's Law Enforcement supply when they first were talked about. I ordered the only 6" gun, the rest being 4" models. Mine was a 3 digit serial # in the beginning run of production. To the best of my knowledge none of our guys had a problem with any of their pistols. Like a dumb chit, I sold it a lttle over a year later.........

[Tuna]

When we got our 686's we had a couple that had problems from the start. One that is hard to forget was when we were adjusting the rear sights. One of the men who was a good shot had two different groups on his target. Fire a shot and it would hit 4 inches left of center. The next shot was 4 inches right of center and then back left and so on. I had him stop shooting and I took the gun from him and was checking the barrel when it came out of the frame in my hand. That was a bit of a surprise to be sure and it went back to S&W the next day and I got it back for him a couple of days later. The 686 was the first of the stainless steel guns with the barrel pressed into the frame instead of being screwed in. When we convereted over to semi autos we were able to buy our 686 revolvers and I still have mine. I have at least 35,000 rounds through it with about 5,000 being .357 magnum rounds and the rest being .38 spl. It has an action that is like glass it's so smooth in double action. It's also the only one my wife will shoot and it has to be .357's in it or she won't shoot it. Something about 3 feet of flame coming out the end of the muzzle she likes. It's a good thing I reload.

[Shawn Grear]

Just bought a mint 66-2 w/2.5 Bbl. with box , paperwork , and tools today for $525 otd . Can't wait to see how she prints . It will replace my 19-4 snubbie as my nightstand piece due to less maintenance needed for rust prevention . Serial # is ABJ71xx , can someone provide a approx year of Mfg ?
Merry Christmas ,
Shawn

[gwp]

Serial # is ABJ71xx , can someone provide a approx year of Mfg ?
Merry Christmas ,
Shawn

November - December 1982

[da gimp]

congrats Shawn, ya done good hand.........some Super Vels or some of the new Hornady defensive ammo oughta work just fine as fodder.........

[Shawn Grear]

Thanks gwp & gimp . I ,ll keep her stoked with the Remington 158gr. SWHP +P , FBI load for now but will be experimenting with other loads like the hornady +P critical defence . There is a local ammo mfg that is gonna be loading up some 38 spl. "inverted" hollow based wad cutters for me next week or so . Gonna be standard pressure though . But ought to take care of any booger man that breaks in the door . Any thoughts on other loads to try will be greatly appreciated !
Thanks again,
Shawn

[Art]

As far as ammo goes; the new Speer .38 Special +P "Gold Dot" is designed especially for short barrel revolvers and is supposed be an excellent load. It has sufficient penetration and expands well. The Remington and Federal 110 gr. SJHP .357 Magnums are moderate loads in that caliber that are better than any .38 special load even with the velocity loss in a 2" barrel. I can control them well in my S&W Model 640 and a shot a bunch of them (Remington version) out of K frame 'Smiths in my LEO days. I don't find their blast or recoil objectionable out of a gun like your 66 2 1/2" but I'm very recoil tolerant.

Also, I suspect that the Remington version of the "FBI" load you're using is the best in "snubbies" due to the bigger hollow point cavity compared to the Winchester loading. It is an excellent choice in any .38. I have them loaded in my model 40.