I love the recently reintroduced Model 66, and following up with a blue version makes good sense.
The L Frame is wonderful, but I said years ago they should make it in full lug (as they do), and traditional lug (I detest the term “half lug”), or traditional ejector shroud. They should have made the 686 Mountain Gun a standard production item.
With the two-piece barrel, the whole problem of the thin section of barrel beneath at the 6 o’clock point (looking toward the muzzle) has been adequately addressed. I prefer the 158 grain bullet anyway, which means no problem using Magnum ammo in the old 19/66, as it was the short length of bullet combined with the extra hot 1,400 fps 125 grain Magnum round that caused the problem - the short bullet didn’t seal the gap quite long enough thereby allowing the blow-torch effect on that thin section of barrel at the six o’clock point. Apparently, nanoseconds really do make the difference.
In any event, we now have a 19/66 that truly is everything Bill Jordan wanted back in the mid 1950s.
Good show.
PS - that little lock comes right out revealing the true intent of that little hole above the cylinder release - an “oil application port” for that one drop once per year.
