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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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Old 05-12-2018, 10:55 PM
15mtyler 15mtyler is offline
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Default New model 66 durability

I'm looking into getting the new model 66 with a 2.75 inch barrel and was wondering about the durability. I know the old model had a weak forcing cone. Will the new ones handle an exclusive and steady diet of 158 grain 357?
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Old 05-12-2018, 11:14 PM
Cd586 Cd586 is offline
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I think most of that issue was with the 110 grain 357 magnum stuff on the older guns. Either way, the forcing cone is different on the new production Model 66s. The flat spot is gone. Should be fine.
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Old 05-13-2018, 12:51 AM
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Default Mdl. 66-8 snubby

Yes, the 66-8 is beefed up to handle all the magnum loads you can handle. Many improvements. Alot better revolver than the older models, IMO.

This has been dicussed in detail here before. Search for 66-8 threads.

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Old 05-13-2018, 08:13 AM
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Originally Posted by 15mtyler View Post
I'm looking into getting the new model 66 with a 2.75 inch barrel and was wondering about the durability. I know the old model had a weak forcing cone. Will the new ones handle an exclusive and steady diet of 158 grain 357?
The problems with the older Model 19/66 were with Magnum loads using bullets lighter than 140 grains. These loads will still put more stress on the forcing cone area, but the new version 19/66 have a much thicker forcing cone and should withstand far more use.
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Old 05-15-2018, 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Cd586 View Post
I think most of that issue was with the 110 grain 357 magnum stuff on the older guns. Either way, the forcing cone is different on the new production Model 66s. The flat spot is gone. Should be fine.
Funny, years ago, we looked upon the 110gr Magnum load as an easier shooting, lower recoil option for K-frame mags, especially the snubs. Now, the 110gr load seems to be responsible for many of the problems our planet faces. Boy, am I glad I'm not a 110gr Magnum cartridge; I would feel terrible.

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110gr Magnum/M&P 340 EDC
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Old 05-16-2018, 02:22 AM
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Impossible to say, but probably better than the Models 19/66.


Guns are just simple mechanical devices and the longevity of any individual one simply cannot be predicted. Take cars for example. One will go 250,000 miles with normal maintenance and still be going strong. Another identical example of the same year, make and model will have multiple mechanical issues before it gets to 50,000 miles. Looking at them side-by-side when new there is no one that could even guess which will fail and which will go on far longer than the average car!
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Old 05-16-2018, 08:55 AM
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If you want to shoot the lighter bullets , 125 gr or less , just don't load them up to full magnum potential . I'm not saying in the 38 special range , just leave out full magnum loads and you should be fine .
My favorite 357 load is either 7.0 grs of Unique or 7.5 WSF with a 158-173 gr cast bullet . It's a great " mid range " load and my " everyday " carry load . Regards, Paul

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Old 05-17-2018, 10:35 AM
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Yes, the 66-8 is beefed up



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Thats what I call some “light” loads. Hahahaha
Nevermind. Its too early and I havent had enough coffee
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Old 05-17-2018, 11:02 AM
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I have the new 66-8, 4.25 barrel. I just picked it up.

I haven't gotten it to the range yet, but from all I've read, this new combat magnum is much improved. The main weak point of the old K-frame was the relief cut at the 6 o clock position of the forcing cone. It was fine with .38, and was okay with .158 grain magnums, but if you went with the 125 gr. magnums, the cones would crack. There was also complaints about endshake and frame stretch.

The new metallurgy in the new guns are great. The forcing cone on the new K-frame magnum is full thickness all around. While the lighter weight of the frame will induce more endshake than an L-frame, I think it's about as durable as you can make a small/medium frame magnum.

Keep the 125 gr. magnums to reasonable levels. I've seen the mighty GP100's with eroded forcing cones from a lot of the 125 gr. stuff.

The only 'concern' I have with the new K-frame magnum is the deletion of the gas ring. This allows carbon and lead fouling to accumulate more quickly in the yoke tube. If the specs are tight, the cylinder will get sluggish rotation.
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Old 05-17-2018, 01:10 PM
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The only 'concern' I have with the new K-frame magnum is the deletion of the gas ring. This allows carbon and lead fouling to accumulate more quickly in the yoke tube. If the specs are tight, the cylinder will get sluggish rotation.
If you run dirty loads, you will see build up on this yoke part here as it goes into the cylinder. I had been apart of a few threads where certain members mentioned binding and such. Or not being able to run 3 or 400 rounds consecutively. Not true. Sort of.
You see , I've all ways run clean 38s and clean 357s . Not underpowered in any way. Certain manufacturers have dirty ammo. You need to see which will best suit your needs. I couldn't tell you which. I think the last time I've bought a box of ammo was 10 years ago! And I still haven't fired it. (Hollowpoints) The most I've shot out of a 66-8 4.25" is about 400 rounds at one range visit.
So, it's all subjective to ones experiences. S&W will not sell you a bad gun on purpose. Or at least that's been my experience.
All I kept was the yoke well sprayed with rem oil(didn't remove it like in the picture shown till 900 rounds!). No great science there. And never had an issue.


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