Got the new 2.75" 66-8 "Combat Magnum"

[Rick_A]

And it's good. It is literally the ugliest S&W I've ever owned aesthetically...but it is solid and well made...with no discernible tooling marks or imperfections anywhere. I was a little worried of reports of heavy DA triggers with a hitch from reviewers, but mine is the best I can recall from any new S&W. I was able to fire a few DA shots and found it mild shooting with specials and magnums...both displaying impressive flash signatures. My hits were slightly left...but I'm going to throw on a different set of grips before I mess with anything. I intend to plug it and throw some Pachmayr Compacs on it and calling it a day...which should complete the ugly. As it is I've gotta wait to pick it up. I'll have some pics and such at that time. I like the lower profile sights that people have complained about. The sight picture is no different than that of fixed sight guns, of which I have a few. An OWB leather pancake holster is inbound. I look forward to carrying it around and shooting it some more.

[rwt1405]

Best of luck with it!

Let us know more about it, after the new grips.

[Rick_A]

Here's the first quick few shots...some informal DA shooting.
20190619_195802(0) by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

[Rick_A]

The jagged tears are 38SPL FMJ, the cut holes are semi wadcutter semi jacketed 357.

[Electraclyde]

I have had mine for almost a year. Have not, and don't plan on any changes. I like it as is.

[Rick_A]

Now that you mention it, I plan on bobbing the hammer and converting it to DAO.

[Sixgun100]

Looks great! Thanks for the positive review. Keep us updated on your modifications. Good to hear nice comments about a new Smith revolver.

[Paul105]

Have thoroughly enjoyed mine. Got curious about velocity from 2 3/4" bbl, so when I got my new Labradar I rand the following:

For Information Only, Use at Your Own Risk
Labradar Muzzle Velocity (familiarization run)
60 Deg F
S&W M66-8 2.75" .357 Mag

130gr Fed Hydra-Shok JHP "Personal Defense" PD357HS2 H …….. 1,416 fps avg (84 fps ES) -- two rounds
140gr Underwood Xtreme Penetrator (Philips head mono metal).. 1,422 fps avg ( 5 fps ES) -- two rounds
158gr Horn Xtp - 15.0gr A2400 Std small pistol, new Starline...… 1,316 fps avg (49 fps ES) -- six rounds
165gr CSWCGC (358156) - 13.0gr A2400 New Starline ...… 1,070 fps avg (49 fps ES) -- six rounds
180gr Buff Bore …………………………………………………………………………….. 1,312 fps avg ( 6 fps ES) -- two rounds
185gr LFNGC (Beartooth), 15.0gr Lil'Gun, CCI 400 New Starline.. 1,228 fps avg (14 fps ES) – two rounds
200gr WLNGC (leadheads), 13.4gr H110, Fed 205, New Starline.. 1,102 fps avg ( 4 fps ES) – two rounds
200gr WLNGC (leadheads), 14.4gr H110, Fed 205, New Starline.. 1,155 fps avg ( 2 fps ES) – two rounds
(purported to be the “Doubletap” load info)
200gr WLNGC (leadheads) handload with Lil Gun ………………………. 1,266 fps avg ( 2 fps ES) -- two rounds
Load data not given -- maybe too much of a good thing. Spent cases fell from chambers, and no obvious signs of over pressure. Recoil was heavy. Don't even know if this stabilizes.

If even needed, I would limit useage of the 180, 185, and 200gr loads in J & K Frame guns

Also ran two Buff Bore 180s thru 16" Rossi M92 carbine ……………. 1,894 fps avg ( 6 fps ES) -- two rounds

Larger sample would change results but probably not a great deal.

Originally bought the 200gr LFNGC Leadheads to load in my Ruger Maximum. Got curious, so loaded some in the .357 mag. Haven’t put any on paper, but no problem hitting various shaped steel plates at 28 yds offhand with the 2 ¾”.

Was surprised at velocities from the 2 ¾” bbl.

FWIW,

Paul

[snowman.45]

I've had mine for about a year. It is a great little gun; quite accurate and a smooth trigger. I like the feel overall. I plugged the Hillary-hole and added some Pachmyar Compacts, but have nothing else planned to do to it. In comparison to my 3" Model 66-2, I find little difference in trigger, with the
66-8 being a tad lighter. Makes a great little desert gun for me. I like it so much that I'm I'm now thinking about a new Model 19 Carry-Comp.

[DuckBeav]

Congrats, that's a sweet looking shooter ya got there!

[Sol-Invictus]

I carry mine often in Azula OWB leather. It is far and away my favorite Smith, favorite Smith trigger and my most accurate at 25 yards. I have a 2.5 no dash and a 2.5 ladysmith 66s and this is what I bet my life on over all my other Smiths and Snubs and I have a lot. Here are some pics of it wearing various pairs of shoes.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Groo01]

Groo here
I have the Big Brother to yours.[44mag]
You say the gun does not look good,,,, but,,,
"Any Gun Good--- Shootum Good!"
As to the speeds you get,,, there seems to be a "step" at or on the far side of most magnum rounds at 2 1/2 inches...
A goodly jump in speed occurs that you would not expect.
That is why 3 in guns are in demand...
Almost as fast as a 4 in almost as compact as a 2 in aka "Perfect"
Also with the updated frame/barrel you [or your billfold]will wear out before the gun.

[Invictus357]

Congrats, but ugly?

How the F could that ever be considered ugly?

[Rick_A]

I've owned what I consider to be the most beautiful S&W's ever made. It ain't one of them.

[dr. mordo]

I think they are one of S&Ws better guns for a few years. Just the right barrel size, full length extractor, stainless - perfect carry gun.

I've thought about buying one, but I have 3" Wiley Clapp GP100 that I love and would carry if I dropped down to carrying a 357.

[BLUEDOT37]

Originally Posted by Rick_A

It is literally the ugliest S&W I've ever owned aesthetically...

It's look is quint essential S&W.

Glad you like everything else about it.

Mine's beautiful, even when it's dirty.

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[ScottN]

Congrats on the 66-8. I love mine. I made a few changes to make it even sweeter.

I thought the rear sight was too low and the notch was a bit shallow. I went with the S&W taller .146" blade. For the front sight I went with the Dawson Precision .110" wide by .270" tall red fiber optic sight. The factory front sight is .125" wide. This combo was suggested by a poster on this sight and is a great option.

I also changed the grips to the Hogue bantam grips and installed a Wolff 14-lb trigger return spring. It is about as perfect as a modern revolver can get...imho. It is a woods and range revolver for me.

And last, holsters were a challenge for me to find but I ended up with a couple of good options. I have a iwb kydex holster from JM Custom Kydex that works well for my 66-8 if I want to carry iwb, which I don’t do often because I feel it’s a bit too bulky for extended iwb carry. I also have the following Desantis owb holster. It was on sale for $45 and had good reviews. It works well and didn’t break the bank.

DeSantis Thumb Break Scabbard Belt Holster Right Hand - MPN: 001BA13Z0



Enjoy it and be safe!

[Rick_A]

I changed the rebound spring on one gun and it led to occassional short strokes. I'll never do it again.

I have a nice Desantis thumb break for an N frame, but decided to go with something different this time around.
Handcrafted Leather Belt Holster Black Tan For Smith and | Etsy

[ScottN]

Rick, you bring up a good point on trigger rebound springs. You do have to be careful to not negatively impact the trigger reset. I have never had a problem with the 14-lb spring but results may vary and I’m certainly not a gunsmith.

[HamHands]

The only thing ugly about that new Revolver in my opinion OP are those hideous grips and the "Stink-Hole" in the frame... Both of which you are Moot because you are replacing them anyway... Might I suggest Original Precision's Lock Delete in either the same finish of the gun or flat black to match the trigger, rear sight, hammer, ejector rod, cylinder release etc... I did my the same in regards to the "Lock Delete" with my 3" Talo... Your new gun would look and handle perfectly for me with a pair of 90's "Combats Morados" Pau Ferro Wood...

Below is a pic of my idea of a "Combat Revolver"... even if it's designation from Smith is "Mountain Back-Packer"... Both the "DX" and Mountain Back Packer sport 90's Morado's I mentioned above. Below that is the Talo I sold to my Lil' Brother!


Below is the Talo I sold to my Lil' Brother with the flat black "OP" Lock Delete...
[IMG]Below that is the Talo I sold to my Lil' Brother![/IMG]

[wellthought1]

Nice looking gun you've got there. Congrats!

[Rick_A]

Aesthetically I just don't like the looks of the two piece barrel.

While the wood grips look excellent, for shooting magnums with regularity I prefer Goodyears.

[HamHands]

Originally Posted by Rick_A

Aesthetically I just don't like the looks of the two piece barrel.

While the wood grips look excellent, for shooting magnums with regularity I prefer Goodyears.

Ahhhhhh, the (2) piece barrel... I think it's a mistake on Smith's part to ever go with that design for production costs but I digress and won't go into that here and (P) in this thread with my disdain for such...

I wear "Cop-Gloves" for every-time I shoot in practice, competition, and at the farm shoots I sponsor because they make shooting all "N" frames and CZ's (my favorite handguns to shoot all time) so the Wood grips and recoil are very comfortable. I finally wore out my first pair of said Cop-Gloves and just got a replacement pair off of Amazon for under $40 bones... They will see a lot of action before they wear out.

Good looking gun OP and the best Handgun Caliber(s) ever; in my opinion!

Pic of My M29 3" barrel and my "Cop-Gloves" that make shooting the "Combats..." both 80's LHS and 90's Morado's super comfortable... I've got about 3,000 Magnums worth of wear thru said gloves and about 4,000 "Non-Mag" .38 Specials, 9mm's, 45ACP's and even some hot .40Cals before I consolidated calibers to make a about 7K thru these gloves before they became toast... Their replacements need some wear to make them feel half as comfortable and snug as the first pair but that's an easy fix!

[alwaysoutdoors]

Put some wooden stocks on those for God’s sake.ha

[Rick_A]

I prefer to shoot sans gloves. My 22-4 in 45ACP is my only remaining wood stocked revolver as it is relatively mild in recoil with most loads.

[BLUEDOT37]

Originally Posted by Rick_A

I changed the rebound spring on one gun and it led to occassional short strokes. I'll never do it again.

Changing to a lighter rebound spring typically involves some polishing & an assortment of springs, one over & one under, what you're trying for, which generally is 14#. Doing it another way can give the results you lament.

.

Originally Posted by Rick_A

Aesthetically I just don't like the looks of the two piece barrel.

Most people aren't sure, when they see the current style on the M66 & M69, if it's a two-piece barrel or not. Much better than the style used on the early Sc framed two-piece barrels, IMO. To not like it for the barrel's looks (only noticeable at the muzzle) you almost have to go out of your way.

. . .

IMO, the two-piece barrels have advantages:

- canted barrels are almost unheard of with them since the shroud, with it's front sight, are indexed to the frame by an alignment notch & thus are not subject to barrel installers judgement of when it's straight up like on a one-piece barrel.

- forcing cones appear to be formed when the rifling is formed rather than cut later as in one-piece barrels & are generally smoother.

- since the barrels are not hand torqued into the frame, like one-piece barrels, the problem of over tigthening it & causing a constriction at the barrel-frame union is eliminated.

Finding my new revolver doesn't have a canted front sight with a rough forcing cone along with a constricted barrel, all defects I've encountered as well as countless others, is worth the change & I welcome it.

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Current style two-piece barrel on stainless steel revolvers (fairly innocuous)
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Original style two-piece barrels, Sc frames (fairly obvious)
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[Rick_A]

I know the manufacturing and engineering advantages...I don't like the thickness and profile. The classic 3" guns look best to me.

[S&WsRsweet]

That’s a great review it’s good to hear good things about the newer guns S&W puts out .I would buy that if I needed another 357 .

[HamHands]

Originally Posted by BLUEDOT37

Changing to a lighter rebound spring typically involves some polishing & an assortment of springs, one over & one under, what you're trying for, which generally is 14#. Doing it another way can give the results you lament.

.



Most people aren't sure, when they see the current style on the M66 & M69, if it's a two-piece barrel or not. Much better than the style used on the early Sc framed two-piece barrels, IMO. To not like it for the barrel's looks (only noticeable at the muzzle) you almost have to go out of your way.

. . .

IMO, the two-piece barrels have advantages:

- canted barrels are almost unheard of with them since the shroud, with it's front sight, are indexed to the frame by an alignment notch & thus are not subject to barrel installers judgement of when it's straight up like on a one-piece barrel.

- forcing cones appear to be formed when the rifling is formed rather than cut later as in one-piece barrels & are generally smoother.

- since the barrels are not hand torqued into the frame, like one-piece barrels, the problem of over tigthening it & causing a constriction at the barrel-frame union is eliminated.

Finding my new revolver doesn't have a canted front sight with a rough forcing cone along with a constricted barrel, all defects I've encountered as well as countless others, is worth the change & I welcome it.

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Current style two-piece barrel on stainless steel revolvers (fairly innocuous)
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Original style two-piece barrels, Sc frames (fairly obvious)
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We all agree that 1 piece barrels are the S#** and best thing since sliced bacon... and then comes this guy BlueDot comes into this thread with all his reasoning and practicality...

Seriously though, I don't own a 2 piece designed barrel but you make some extremely solid and practical points that has me thinking (2) Piece barrels aren't the end of the world and actually have some very good "Plus Points"... Good synopsis "BD"! As always, I really enjoy your responses, threads, and your posts. Case in point... your Post on the "Endurance Package" explaining exactly all the finer points on the subject the other day in the "pre 80's sub-forum" was truly stellar my friend and I certainly learned something new! Thanks for that and for the above post about 2 piece barrel advantages/plus points...

[white cloud]

I wish there was a way to get rid of the "black trim".

[stansdds]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I still think S&W revolvers are handsome handguns, whereas the Ruger Redhawk is not and their Super GP100 is just hideous.

[alwaysoutdoors]

Is the street price $750 on these?NIB

[Rick_A]

Originally Posted by white cloud

I wish there was a way to get rid of the "black trim".

There is. Refinish or replace.

[Rick_A]

Originally Posted by stansdds

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I still think S&W revolvers are handsome handguns, whereas the Ruger Redhawk is not and their Super GP100 is just hideous.

I think the GP100 looks okay...especially in three inches...and the Redhawks are hideous.

[Rick_A]

Originally Posted by alwaysoutdoors

Is the street price $750 on these?NIB

Just about.

[junglefighter]

Next step is to buy the Model 69 with the 2 3/4" bbl.I think that would make a nice set.

[AlphaSig]

Agree with you on aesthetics... Imo the older smiths (i e. 66-6 I just posted) look better but seems like you have a good shooter there maybe it will grow on you in time ... Good job.

[HamHands]

Originally Posted by stansdds

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I still think S&W revolvers are handsome handguns, whereas the Ruger Redhawk is not and their Super GP100 is just hideous.

I've thought Ruger's Revolver handguns were UGLY since I was a 6 year old little boy... Especially the GP series compared to Smiths, Charter Arms, or anything else even... Ruger's have their merit in a lot of ways though. Their Mark I and Mark II series .22LR's, their .22LRRifles, and of course their out of production .44Carbines are just love at first sight and even more lovely in form and function. I'm on the hunt for a semi-auto .44Carbine right now so they aren't all hideous...

[Rick_A]

Originally Posted by HamHands

I've thought Ruger's Revolver handguns were UGLY since I was a 6 year old little boy... Especially the GP series compared to Smiths, Charter Arms, or anything else even... Ruger's have their merit in a lot of ways though. Their Mark I and Mark II series .22LR's, their .22LRRifles, and of course their out of production .44Carbines are just love at first sight and even more lovely in form and function. I'm on the hunt for a semi-auto .44Carbine right now so they aren't all hideous...

I've been a fan of their rimfires...and own a 10/22, 22/45, and LCR-22. My son has a MKIV and wood stocked 10/22 to shoot. I owned a Mini-14 for some years...some of the wood stocked variants through the years have been rather attractive. Their model 1 rifles are quite attractive, and the SP101 looks purposeful. They look elegant polished up with the right stocks.

[HamHands]

Originally Posted by Sol-Invictus

I carry mine often in Azula OWB leather. It is far and away my favorite Smith, favorite Smith trigger and my most accurate at 25 yards. I have a 2.5 no dash and a 2.5 ladysmith 66s and this is what I bet my life on over all my other Smiths and Snubs and I have a lot. Here are some pics of it wearing various pairs of shoes.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

That first pinned barreled 2.5" REvolVer with the ivory colored grips... that is a lovely piece! Tell me/us more about it please? What a nice Revolver!

[Rick_A]

I did the bob job, DAO only conversion, and plugging this morning. I'll have some pics tomorrow, if I can.

[Rick_A]

Originally Posted by junglefighter

Next step is to buy the Model 69 with the 2 3/4" bbl.I think that would make a nice set.

That's more gun than I need.

[Sixgun100]

Originally Posted by Rick_A

I did the bob job, DAO only conversion, and plugging this morning. I'll have some pics tomorrow, if I can.

Looking forward to seeing it. Thanks!

[shocker]

Originally Posted by junglefighter

Next step is to buy the Model 69 with the 2 3/4" bbl.I think that would make a nice set.

Indeed they do.

[Rick_A]

A little more to my taste.
Smith Wesson 66-8 Combat Magnum by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr
Smith Wesson 66-8 Combat Magnum by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr
Smith Wesson 66-8 Combat Magnum by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

I like how the hammer is nearly flush with the trigger pulled.
Smith Wesson 66-8 Combat Magnum by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

I like it better now. It looks handsome and purposeful.

I still need to wring it out with some shooting.

[Rick_A]

Took it back out. It was still leaning left. Once I got it centered in slow fire I let loose a bit.
20190710_081858 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

The Pachmayr grip *just* allows a full purchase for my size large hands.
20190710_101324 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

I still like it

[NCBeagle]

I agree. Butt ugly. So, I swapped out the black hardware for bead blasted silver. Also swapped out the stiff factory main spring. Oh, almost forgot, had to recut the forcing cone because it was tossing shrapnel in my face. Seriously, left the range with bleeding wounds on my face. Did a post about it at the time. Anyway, it’s all fixed up and a regular in the hiking carry rotation.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BLUEDOT37]

Originally Posted by NCBeagle

Oh, almost forgot, had to recut the forcing cone because it was tossing shrapnel in my face.

Same for mine.

Seems an early batch of these got out of the factory with their forcing cone's diameter too small.

Opened it up a bit & it's fine now.

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[Rick_A]

Originally Posted by NCBeagle

I agree. Butt ugly. So, I swapped out the black hardware for bead blasted silver. Also swapped out the stiff factory main spring. Oh, almost forgot, had to recut the forcing cone because it was tossing shrapnel in my face. Seriously, left the range with bleeding wounds on my face. Did a post about it at the time. Anyway, it’s all fixed up and a regular in the hiking carry rotation.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not sure if I'll bother swapping out the blacked out bits, but I do intend to use it primarily as the hiking carry.

Unfortunate about the forcing cone situation. Mine appears to be good.

[Rick_A]

My oldest and prettiest next to the newest. The top gun is as good as gone. I decided that I don't have room for safe queens.
20190715_104045 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr