Originally Posted by 686 SSR

PR 24 - I've never seen the 66-8 in person, but if the 66-8 design is similar to my Model 69, the barrel shroud has a large notch that is "keyed" into a matching mating piece on the frame. With that design, I wonder how that's possible to ever end up with a canted barrel? Someone must have really had a bad day.

In any event, it appears that the spring-loaded ball detent is not supposed to rest at the bottom its mating groove. By always pushing against the sloped part of the mating groove, the spring-loaded ball bearing applies consistent and continuous pressure forcing the cylinder against the frame. This ensures a tighter lockup of the cylinder when compared to revolvers using the end of the ejector for lockup.