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01-10-2020, 05:39 PM
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S&W 66 Barrel Not Timed Correctly
Just brought home this brand new S&W Model 66-8 4.25" .357 Magnum. Had ordered online and picked up at my local FFL. And....the barrel is jacked. Take a look. Is this normal?
Last edited by KY1911; 01-10-2020 at 05:45 PM.
Reason: added pics
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01-10-2020, 05:48 PM
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My M69 is canted, the other way.
S&W cannot consistently put a barrel on straight, it seems. Shoot it and bring a screw driver to adjust windage. that's what i did today. at 10 yards I can achieve combat accuracy with full power 44 magnums, double action. I will have to accept this.
I have sent canted barrels back to S&W and had them returned the same way.
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01-10-2020, 05:49 PM
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Even if the front sight lines up perfectly, it's the kind of thing you can't unsee.
Makes you realize why they went to sleeved barrels.
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Last edited by LVSteve; 01-10-2020 at 05:50 PM.
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01-10-2020, 06:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LVSteve
Even if the front sight lines up perfectly, it's the kind of thing you can't unsee.
Makes you realize why they went to sleeved barrels.
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that model has a sleeved barrel, and they cannot make it line up with the frame.
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01-10-2020, 07:40 PM
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The shroud is on straight and not canted. For whatever reason, it's not a spec that the milling lines up between the frame and shroud.
Short barrel versions of the sleeved barrel S&W eliminated the offending lines.
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01-10-2020, 10:00 PM
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01-10-2020, 10:44 PM
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I would send it back to S&W. Poor workmanship.
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01-10-2020, 10:53 PM
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Look at how the lines on the right side of the frame line up with the lines on the sight. On the left hand side it looks like the frame is missing a line or two. The barrel shroud actually looks like its lined up fine with the sight.
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01-11-2020, 01:26 PM
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I would shoot it before returning it for service. It is a hair off. As I posted earlier this AM in a similar thread, shoot it from a rest to eliminate as many variables as possible. I would go 7yds, 10yds, 50ft and maybe 25yds. Use good quality factory ammo. You may be surprised and I hope you are! Good luck and good shooting!
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Shield #5103
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01-11-2020, 02:25 PM
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It is a hair off, the question is whether Smith & Wesson is going to be able to get it perfect or not? And there is only one way to find out. Please keep us informed on what action you choose to take and the results.
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01-11-2020, 02:34 PM
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The serration are clearly mis-aligned; that does not automatically mean the barrel is canted.
OP, sight it in and determine how it shoots before deciding whether or not to send it back...
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01-11-2020, 04:01 PM
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It looks to me that the frame is drilled slightly off center, making the barrel shank sit inside the frame slightly to the left (as viewed from a shooting position from the rear). Since the barrel sits inside the frame slightly left, the barrel lines will not line up with the center of the frame lines. To correct for this, I'd wager that the rear sight would need to be drifted slightly to the left.
This is not a case of canted sight. It is a case of a barrel shank drilled off center inside the frame.
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01-11-2020, 05:50 PM
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As others have stated it appears the lines milled on the frame are off-center, not a canted barrel. Pretty sloppy work but just a cosmetic flaw I think. This isn't the first 66-8 4.25" like this I've seen. S&W probably had a run of frames like this and didn't want to chuck them out. Is the serial # in the CZB range perchance?
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01-11-2020, 07:52 PM
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Hi KY1911,
I am so sorry about your Model 66-8. I am sincere empathy for you. I know the feeling of expecting quality in exchange for money only to be disappointed. I suffered the identical frustration with a circa 1983 586.
There is no acceptable excuse for your gun's condition.
When one sees such an obvious imperfection, the natural thought is what other imperfections plague the gun. My 586's barrel was not aligned correctly. That should have been a huge clue for my naive belief that it was otherwise a good gun. During an extended firearms training course, the cylinder froze rendering my 586 inoperable. The cylinder would not open. That was the second and last time I returned it to S&W. I finally gave it to an old friend. I paid to ship it to his FFL.
I did not buy another S&W revolver until last month. I have a 2.75" copy of the Model 66-8. So far, it has been perfect. I plan on taking it into wilderness areas of the Rockies. I'll have at least one of my kids fishing with me. I have to have complete confidence in it in order to protect my kids from mean critters (black bears & lions).
I hope S&W customer service repairs your gun or exchanges it for a perfect copy.
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01-11-2020, 08:09 PM
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Won't help the OP, but for everyone else, don't accept any revolver at an FFL without a full inspection. This one, I'd return to S&W and tell them to fix it. They aren't going to.improve the product if people don't complain.
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Last edited by S&W Rover; 01-11-2020 at 08:11 PM.
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01-11-2020, 08:26 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JR2ATN
As others have stated it appears the lines milled on the frame are off-center, not a canted barrel. Pretty sloppy work but just a cosmetic flaw I think. This isn't the first 66-8 4.25" like this I've seen. S&W probably had a run of frames like this and didn't want to chuck them out. Is the serial # in the CZB range perchance?
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I think you are right. Notice how the rear sight lines up perfectly with the barrel shroud (but not the frame).
Not sure if that's good news or bad news for the OP, but that's S&W quality control these days.
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01-11-2020, 08:53 PM
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It does look to me like the barrel is off center in the frame. Does that mean the forcing cone is off center to the chambers?
In any event it's just amateur hour workmanship.
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01-11-2020, 10:43 PM
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You paid good money for this product. Send it back to S@W as you deserve a perfect gun when you spend money like that. I would expect nothing less.
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01-11-2020, 10:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TTSH
I think you are right. Notice how the rear sight lines up perfectly with the barrel shroud (but not the frame).
Not sure if that's good news or bad news for the OP, but that's S&W quality control these days.
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This has been as issue for as long as S&W has made revolvers.
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01-12-2020, 05:31 PM
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Send it back to S&W. I had a 625 with a similar problem and they fixed it within a couple weeks.
Last edited by COASTIE01; 01-12-2020 at 05:34 PM.
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01-12-2020, 08:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AlHunt
It does look to me like the barrel is off center in the frame. Does that mean the forcing cone is off center to the chambers?
In any event it's just amateur hour workmanship.
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It's one of the shrouded barrels...do they have the 6:00 flat
for yoke clearance?
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01-12-2020, 08:21 PM
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You didn't spend hundreds of dollars for "almost right." Send that thing back and demand the perfection you paid for.
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01-12-2020, 08:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hapworth
OP, sight it in and determine how it shoots before deciding whether or not to send it back...
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Yes! PLEASE! Then let us know what you find.
Some day S&W is going to be forced to go back to selling guns with round barrels and round contours on the top of the frames, just to get away from this stuff. Then you guys will have to haul your guns off to the nearest CMM to find out if your barrel is “canted”.
There is no such thing as perfect in production-grade firearms.
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01-13-2020, 09:13 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M29since14
Yes! PLEASE! Then let us know what you find.
Some day S&W is going to be forced to go back to selling guns with round barrels and round contours on the top of the frames, just to get away from this stuff. Then you guys will have to haul your guns off to the nearest CMM to find out if your barrel is “canted”.
There is no such thing as perfect in production-grade firearms.
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And why not? These companies advertise that way. One gun company even uses the word "perfection" as part of their slogan. I think that, over the last several years, we've trended toward letting businesses, schools, and industry off the hook by accepting less and less for our dollar. Whether it's a 2-dollar burger order that McDonald's drive thru screws up, a near-thousand dollar firearm, or a multi-thousand-dollar car, people seem content to accept less than perfect and then make excuses for the seller. Sure, it's easier to just say it's not worth the hassle - so at what point IS it worth it?
We should get what we pay for. No more and certainly no less. It's way past time for that simple concept to make a comeback.
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01-13-2020, 12:25 PM
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That gun looks much like the one I saw at B&H Police Supply fairly recently. The shroud on that one was also clocked so that the detent milled into the ejector shroud to accept the ball was positioned such that the ball didn't engage it at all, resulting in no front lock-up. You might want to check that too.
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01-13-2020, 12:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M29since14
There is no such thing as perfect in production-grade firearms.
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^^^Except for Sako AV^^^
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01-13-2020, 12:52 PM
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Well, yours is better than the new M66 a co worker showed me. It spit lead so bad he couldn't get a box of ammo through it. He sent it in along with a check for a master action job. It came back with a reasonable trigger but it would not ignite all loads so we pulled the stocks and apparently the strain screw that was used in the original gun was not long enough to put the pressure needed on the ribbed spring S&W had installed. Their solution was to send him a new strain screw. The problem, they sent him the exact same screw he already had in the gun.
Our solution was to go back to the flat mainspring and live with the heavier pull weight.
All this fiddling around took over seven months.
Nobody's perfect but where does the sloppiness end and why does S&W not fix their final inspection department?
SEND YOUR GUN BACK
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01-13-2020, 09:02 PM
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They won't stop being sloppy until the majority of customers call them on it. If you make excuses or otherwise let them off the hook, you incentivize sloppy, half-a**ed production.
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01-19-2020, 06:25 PM
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Its always a disgrace when a well known Company gets too cheap in their quality of product no matter how long they have been in business. Gun makers are No exception to this as well as many other industries. The Bottom Line becomes their one purpose and quality takes a hit. We have seen a lot of Great designs in Target Pistols over the years. I hope they keep building even better ones.
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01-20-2020, 01:46 PM
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For every post showing so called canted barrels, I'll bet there are hundreds of the same model S&W Revolvers with no visible defects. I own 5 Keyhole Smiths, and everyone has been perfect right out of the box. The only bad ones that we hear about on this site, are from Owners who got a Lemon. Very few Posters I have noticed here post about how pleased they are with their new Guns.
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01-20-2020, 04:25 PM
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Looking at the pics, my opinion is that the milled lines on the frame are off slightly. The rear sight and barrel shroud lines line up fine. Cosmetic, but still an issue if it bothers you.
If you are concerned the barrel may be screwed into the frame slightly cockeyed, I would try measuring the cylinder gap on both sides and see if it is the same. Should be, otherwise the barrel isn't screwed in straight, or the face of the forcing cone is un-even. That's assuming the cylinder and frame is straight....
Larry
Last edited by Fishinfool; 01-20-2020 at 04:27 PM.
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01-20-2020, 07:02 PM
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S&W
This is like a bad joke. I am done with Smith. I know, for every one there are 5 right yadda, yadda, but this is not a blemish on the finish, or a lose grip screw , this is putting the damn barrel on correctly. Might as well be talking about putting the hammer on backwards.
The Smith we used to know is gone. Either buy an M&P or just get a Ruger if you want a revolver
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