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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 08-26-2009, 02:22 PM
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The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons.  
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Default The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons.

I have recently been fortunate to acquire a total of 3 factory model 66s' with 3 inch barrels. Believe me ,they did not come easily. Gun shows, gun shops, gun broker, the forum classifieds. I spend an inordinate amount of my free time searching, and have traded and paid dearly to acquire these.

My discussion today is on the changes in the model 66 engineering, and the 66-5 in particular.

This 66-5 is a factory 3.25 in. barrel. product code 102720. Hi Viz sight, V notch rear. All m.i.m. internals ,but thank heaven no lock.

I've only seen a couple of 66-5s and they have all been heavy barrels, like the model 65. These included this 3.25" and a 4" round butt.
There is no mention under engineering changes about the barrels in the S.C.S.W.3.

These pictures are of my 66-2, prod. code 102712, spec. ord. # 5108 made April 1985. Ser. prefix ,AFKxxxx.

The 66-4 ,RSR, 3" glass bead finish, magna ported. prod. code 102715, made 1996. The serial # prefix is CATxxxx which I think is kind of cool.

And the stocking dealer special or R.S.R. gun. I'm not sure which ,as they both have the same product code. Serial prefix is CFBxxxx and the fired case date is February 1st. 2002. One of the last pre-lock guns I've ever seen.




































Your pictures and thoughts welcome,

Regards ,,Allen Frame
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Old 08-26-2009, 02:33 PM
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The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons.  
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Nice collection of 3" 66's. If your question is whether there were any other 3.25" 66's, I think there were some 3.25" with high - vis front sight 66-6's, which had the lock, IIRC. Regards 18DAI.

Edited to add: All the 66-5's I've come across had thicker, "heavier" barrels than those on my 66-3, and 66-4's. There were also true 3" 66-5's, but the front sight ramp did not go all the way to the frame, making them, IMO, not as nice looking as the 3" 66-2,-3 and -4. The last 3" 66's that had the front sight ramp go to the frame were the 66-4's for RSR.

Don't forget the Walther R99 La Chasse, which were simply 3" 66-5's with Walther markings, and the special run of 3" 66-5 Pintos.

Last edited by 18DAI; 08-26-2009 at 02:37 PM. Reason: To add
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Old 08-26-2009, 02:49 PM
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Danger,
DANGER Will Robinson!
Gun Porn X-3!
Very, very nice!
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Old 08-26-2009, 03:15 PM
d625 d625 is offline
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The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons.  
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"I think there were some 3.25" with high - vis front sight 66-6's, which had the lock, IIRC. Regards 18DAI."



There sure was a 66-6, I have one. They were a special run for a distributor, I don't recall which.
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Old 08-26-2009, 03:41 PM
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The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons.  
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Nice combination!!!

My preference would be the one with the red ramp. No real good reason. That' one is just calling my name...
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Old 08-27-2009, 04:12 AM
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The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons.  
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Holy cow! the -5 has what amounts to a culvert pipe for a barrel!

Still it's a cool pistol,and very interesting to see how it changed over the years.
Will I be shot if I say I dislike the case hardened hammer and trigger on a stainless? I much prefer the silver myself.
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Old 08-27-2009, 06:57 AM
Spotteddog Spotteddog is offline
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In a strangely practical sort of way, I like the "bull barrel" feature. Esthetically it might suck, trashing our preconceived notions as to how a 3 inch S/S K should look? But, not having fired one of the later dashes I'm not so sure that with full house .357's in her, she might be just a smidgen more controllable with a whiff more weight at her muzzle? I still like her! But then, I've never met a K I didn't! And in a real world type of application, that express V and F/O front would be mighty comforting.
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Old 08-27-2009, 08:14 AM
FJC FJC is offline
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The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons.  
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Those are gorgeous - really nice set of 66's you have there!
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Old 08-27-2009, 08:54 AM
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The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons.  
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Nice threesome, thanks for the comparison in pictures, it really helps to see the difference,
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Old 08-28-2009, 01:51 AM
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The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons.  
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Indeed ,as observed, the 66-2 sight rib is larger and comes all the way back to the frame. And even sets up a bit from the top of the frame.

The -4 sight rib still comes all the way back to the top of the frame, but is quite a bit lower than the -2.

Then there is the -5, where the rib is noticeably abbreviated halfway up the barrel.

This sure would make it easy to identify these changes on sight, without even knowing the - number of a particular gun.


Does anyone have any pictures of their own 66s they'd like to share??

How about some -3s' ? I've yet to see one in person.


Regards ,,,Allen Frame
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Old 08-28-2009, 04:10 AM
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A/F,
I love it when someone asks to see K frame gun porn!
THANKS!
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Old 08-28-2009, 04:21 AM
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Nice guns and I have always drooled over my brothers factory 66 with round butt and 3 inch barrel.

I recently bought a 66 with a damaged 4 inch tube and am working on building a gun that is 3&1/4" for barrel length and converted to round butt. Picture is of a work in progress, but nearing completion.
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Old 11-19-2015, 07:36 PM
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The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons. The 3.25" model 66-5. The only factory 3.25 barrel? With barrel profile comparisons.  
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3" M66-2 SN: AHL08XX I bought it new August of 1986
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Last edited by flagman1776; 11-19-2015 at 07:39 PM.
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bull barrel, k frame, lock, model 65, model 66, round butt, rrwo, walther

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