Jack Flash, my thinking and yours is very similiar on this matter. It just does not make sense to me that S&W would taken thousands of K frames (for example) and heat treat some for the .357 Magnum, others for the .38 Special, others for the .32 S&W Long, and others for the .22 LR rimfires. To do so would mean they were 'engineering down' certain models. It would seem to be more economically feasible to treat them all the same. However, I have asked that exact question on this forum at least 3 previous times, and no one with inside knowledge has responded.
There is some factor that makes a Model 66 suitable for .357 Magnum and the Model 67 not (and there are many other examples). If it is not heat treating, then I don't know what it could be. I would love to have some accurate information form an inside source.
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