I found a used S&W 66-4 in stainless 4" barrel, yesterday.

I don't know much about them (made in 1995).

Anyone own one?

Do you like them or not?

Pretty revolver.

Fair price, should I buy that model?

I own a 66-2 made in 1982 (my first Smith I ever bought). The model 66 is one of the most sought after Smiths you will find. It is a sweet shooting gun. Also, you can shot your .38 as well as the .357. You will not be disappointed.

I own a 66-1 4" and it is the one of the best pointing handuns I own. You probably want to stay away from hot 125 gr jacketed bullet loads as they have been known to crack the barrels on MDL 19s (I am not sure about 66s) and K frame magnums will suffer from a steady diet of hot .357 mag loads. That is one reason for the L frames existing. Any 66 is a gun well worth owning and shooting. JMHO

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Revolver luvin' Mountaineer

For a 66-4 4 inch I paid in California slightly over $600.00. The revolver was hardly used. It did not have the box. Without a doubt my 66 ranks in the top three of my revolvers. I own six revolvers and next to my model 10 the 66 is right there. I do tend to agree with tbury to limit your shooting of 357 rounds. If you do get a 66 and want to shoot 357s stay with the 158gr round. Most of these have about a velocity of around 1100 to 1200 FPS. You will be ok with these rounds if the revolver is in good condition. Check the forcing cone area and top strap for any excessive wear. Also, it would not hurt to perform a lockup test and cylinder to forcing cone gap test. Somewhere on this site we have the procedure. Maybe some of the other members can give you the link.
Anyway, bottom line is the 66 is one of the best revolvers you will every shoot.

Good luck,
roaddog28

I agree with the other posters. I had two other 66's but sold them both several years ago and was kicking my own butt ever since. Several weeks ago I bought another one so I could stop kicking my own butt. The 4" 66's balance is awesome and the "K" frame fits my hand perfectly. My favorite S&W.

I bought a new 4" 66-4 in 1997, not knowing the later models would start the down hill slide in manufacturing shortcuts....

The 66-4 was the last Model 66 with case hardened hammer and trigger, firing pin on the hammer nose, no MIM parts and no lock.

The 66-4 is the last of "The Good Ones"!

I normally carry a 2" Model 64, .38 Special as my CCW piece, but if I know I'm going into a bad neighborhood, or traveling, I carry the Model 66 in a Wild Bill's Concealement "Summer Special", inside the waistband holster. Conceals very nicely...

I also have a 4" 66-2 that I bought new. I've enjoyed it a lot and it stays in my pickup when I'm at the farm. Mine shoots excellent groups (with everything but ROUND nose lead bullets). I like stainless revolvers -- one less thing to worry about.

I can't imagine that you won't enjoy owning a 66.

Thanks for your reply's - I'm off to buy it.

i have a 66-1 and love it.

My first was a 66-2 snubnose - may favorite gun by the way. Since I have added several others, including 66-5 4in, a 65-3 4 in, and a 65-5 4inch model. All of them are awesome shooters. I like 38s, 38+P, and 158gr .357 mags in them. They are durable, and hold up well.

My 65s are former law enforcement guns with a bull barrel. My 66s are regular barrels.

Buy it, you will not regret it.

Buy it! And, if you ever find yourself short on cash, have a trusted friend hide it until you get back on your feet! M66s are truly classics!

Here it is - My new (used) S&W 66-4



I cleaned it up - but it didn't need much help.



Now if I can just find some ammo and get out to shoot it.

I have some 66's,and 19's,they are well balanced,accurate, and fun to shoot.Buy it you will enjoy it.

Good move!

I am revitalizing this old thread... I saw a 66-4 today, not sure of the year, are their years to be worried about? I think it has custom engraving, it says commemorative William J Gilette or something like this. I am sure this would reduce the value. I purchased a new 60 pro and finally shot it last night and found a 63 with a 5 inch barrel. I played with some guns yesterday, K frame or Large frame with 5.5 inch barrel and the recoil as you know is significantly less than the 60 pro. So could I expect the 66-4, because of it's weight, with a 4 inch barrel to have significantly less recoil than the 60 pro?

Thanks, hope you see this...

I had to re-register as I forgot my log in info and the forum did not recognize my email, pretty strange.

bb

I have a Model 66 (no dash) and I love it!!

More weight and a bigger grip should always make for less recoil if shooting the same ammo.


I have a 66-4 4" I got from my boss from my first security job (now passed). I used it for my revolver instructor class and carried it for a while on duty. It's one of two guns I'll likely never sell. I lost the grips years ago and just bought some replacements last week from S&W (no idea they still had some of the Uncle Mike's sitting around). I'll get some nice wood on it as it'll be passed down to my daughter (turned three a few weeks ago).


One thing to remember is the 66-4 is a round butt for all barrel lengths. I bought Pachmayr Decelerator grips for it before my instructor class, not knowing it was a RB and not SB. I learned the SB grips fit well enough

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I miss my 4546 the most.

My 66 is a 1975 model. It shoots like a charm.

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This one must have new grips, they are woodlike in color with green streaks, very nice. I am more concerned about if the engraving is after market, at $450 I know it is a good deal and it is in very good condition visually.

Sounds like I cannot lose on it should I buy it. I know I can sell my basically new 60 pro fairly easily, not take too much of a loss as guns are just hard to come by these days.

The 66-4 was the last Model 66 with case hardened hammer and trigger, firing pin on the hammer nose, no MIM parts and no lock.

In addition to the above, you get factory drilled and tapped, I personally won't scope a handgun, but if my eyes get much worse a red dot type optic may be necessary. Nice to have that option w/o altering the gun from original condition.

Thank you, I am trying to figure out how these guns like the 66 and the 64 get the designation of 1,2, 3, 4 etc....

So this is again my concern, the engraving, do folks think this might be a deal breaker? Here in MA it is harder to buy used guns as you need to have a 10 pound trigger pull. This gun had some work done on it and the trigger felt very smooth, but it sure as heck was not loaded.

When S&W releases a model it is, for example, the Model 66. When they make the first engineering change to that model, it becomes the 66-1 and so forth. A complete list of the dash numbers and the changes each represents for every S&W model can be found in a very informative hardcover book entitled Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson that can be purchased from Amazon (under $30; under $20 for the Kindle edition) and other online sources. For that and many other reasons, you will find the book enjoyable.

Ed

Thanks Ed.