I picked this up Sunday at a local gun show along with a bag of K frame grips (round butt for some reason), and a holster.

It's a Model 66-2, made in 1985

It's got a polished smooth mark in front of the tiger guard on the left side, another couple polished smooth marks above the trigger on the right side, and a couple slightly boogered side plate screws, but is otherwise in excellent condition.

The trigger is superb in both DA and SA and it shot great at the range yesterday afternoon.

I just need to replace the Pachmayr grips....

Yeah, well, now tell us you only paid $250 for it and we can go vomit.
Nice gun!

Nice find. I bet if you call S&W customer service they'll send you replacement screws pronto!

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Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

I bought a model 19 , 6" barrel a couple of years ago . Mine had seen very little use , light turn ring on cylinder . It was wearing the original K frame target grips from S&W . At the time I thought I pd top price , $575 . It has become one of my favorite target shooting guns . Over the years I've had numerous K frame 357's in 4" barrel , model 19"s , 13's , 66 etc . Sooner or later someone would want it more than I did so I sold it . The 6" though will be a keeper .

Congratulations!

Sadly, no need to lose your dinner. I paid about $475 for the 66 (counting about $100 worth of other stuff on the $575 out the door price).

Looks like your revolver has a target trigger and target hammer? That would be a nice plus to me!

I like what you did there with the picture!

Sounds like an excellent deal to me. A 66 is next on my list though not sure if it will be a 4" or 6".

I don't see the 6" 66's show up much anymore. Most of them out there were 4" models and yours has the Target trigger/hammer too. Good deal.

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Ephesians 6 (Armor of God)

I think I also see a trigger stop peeking out from the upper rear of the trigger guard area. I'm told that is a somewhat rare feature. I paid about the same price for my 6" 66-2 close to ten years ago so I'd say you did alright.

Ed

great deal I picked up same. 66-2 in 4" last year for 650.00. it was unfired until I got a hold of it. lol

It does indeed have a trigger stop, but I have no idea how rare it is, if anyone has numbers on that, I'm interested.

I've got a set of mid 1980's S&W Target stocks on the way for it, so next week it should be back in it's original configuration.

I also like my 66 6". I find it is a very accurate shooter and has a fine "hang" onto targets. Hope you enjoy yours for years to come!

Regards,

Dyson

When I was enamored with our amateur PPC league, I took my well-worn 4" Model 66 ND and had it rebarreled with a factory new 6" barrel. It worked quite well for that purpose until my interest in that game waned and my amphibian brain fixed onto something else. When that gun became the basis for Project 616, I was able to sell the "surplus" barrel to a member of this forum to recoup part of the cost of the new iteration of my long suffering revolver. That 6" barrel is a whole lot less common than the 4" in my experience because so many of the latter were found in the duty holsters of law enforcement officers through the '70s and '80s or later. They were and are not inferior to the 4" except maybe for a uniformed carry, and for most folks, not even then. I would suggest they are superior for all around civilian use, but that's JMHO, and of course YMMV.

Froggie

Nice looking pistol OP. My local LGS had a 66-2 with a 6 inch barrel for sale a few months ago. It was in pretty rough shape for what they were asking for it ($575), but I still kinda kick myself for passing on it.

The wood target grips arrived the other day, so it's now looking like it should:



And along side my Model 19-4:

BB57 said: "The wood target grips arrived the other day, so it's now looking like it should."

Mehutch says, "Where oh where did you get the old 'coke' S&W grips and how much?

They are speed loader cut target grips. My understanding is that "coke" grips have a palm swell (that varied from a little to quite a bit) in the side of the grips rather than the straight side of the target grips.

Coke grips also have checkering extending to within about 3/8" to 1/4" of the bottom of the grip, as well as wrapping a little further around toward the front and back straps, which is the easiest way to distinguish them from extractor cut target grips if all you have is a aside profile picture.

Coke grips had an extractor relief cut, rather than the speed loader cut on these grips. I am not aware of the coke grips having a speed loader cut in them, since that wasn't thing in the 50s and 60's when the cokes were made.

Unless I badly miss my guess, these particular grips probably date from the mid to late 1980s.

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I have the same grips my Model 15-4, my Model 19-4 and now my Model 66-2. They show up all the time on auction sites. Prices will range from a low of around $70 to as high as $125, with $100 seeming to be about average for a new or excellent condition set, while a ding or two will reduce the price a bit. They are not exactly cheap, but this seems to be the going rate.



I'd rather spend the money and get a time period correct target grip as it greatly improves the look over a "goodyear" grip, and it gives all my target hammer and trigger revolvers the same basic feel and pointing characteristics.

Sometimes I can get $15-$20 out of the goodyear grip and recover some of the cost. Rubber is a lot more comfortable if you're into shooting .357 Magnum on a regular basis, but that's not a great idea in a Model 19 or Model 66.

The 66-2 w/ target trigger and hammer is sweet.
Mine's a 4 in. and is a comfortable gun. I bought it in about 1989 for $240.00.
Mine has the trigger stop also.
Is a trigger stop more common w/ the TTT's?

I don't know, but I'd like to find out.

I have one on my Model 19 as well, but not on my target hammer and trigger Model 15.

The only S&W revolver I have that came with a trigger stop is this 4" Model 66-2, which also has the "3Ts" (although I've since replaced those stocks with some much more nicely figured checkered targets).



I know that doesn't help with commonality but it does indicate that both 4" and 6" guns had trigger stops.

Ed

Some percentage did. I've wonder how many. Maybe something in the 20% to 50% range had the old style trigger stop, depending on the time frame.

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

Here is what I know about the trigger stops. Most adjustable sighted K and L frames were machined for the trigger stops, and back in the 70's to around 90's they were installed from the factory on all the revolvers, not just the target hammer/target trigger models. There were times when these stops could loosen and they would make the gun not fire. Many smiths would simply remove the stops, which are held in by one screw, and most shooters would never know the difference. That is why a lot of the revolvers would have the cut out for the stop in the frame, but no stop present.
I am not sure what revision of the different models did away with the trigger stops.
I personally use them on all my target guns (adjustable sights), just my preference.
No non adjustable sighted K or L's that I have seen have the factory stop.

Wonderful Model 66's.
I also own a 6"bbl Model 66.
It has the distinctive Hogue "tulipwood" grips on it.
These stocks have the mounting screw on the bottom and have finger grooves. Super nice to hold onto.
The grips cost 249.00 extra.
I use mine as a bedroom gun because of the long range capability.
Why? Well, by the time I get up due to the noise,the perp is already running across the mowed acreage, and a longer range accuracy is needed.
Plus,,, I'm used to a longer barrel as we were trained to use it in "other"ways.