Hello all,
I joined this forum in the last week because I picked up a used Model 66 that I just had to have after I saw it at the LGS. It's my first Smith and I like it a lot already put 150 rds of 38 through it the first weekend the gunsmith gave it the OK. He said it's in excellent condition, being new to smiths and revolvers really I was sceptical I got ripped off. The major issue is I bought the gun with the idea I could use it for carrying hiking/woods and it's just to damn nice. I am afraid I painted myself in a corner.The wood grips are perfect and I would rate the gun @ 95%. What's it worth? I have a mind to trade it for a new 66 or a 4" 686 just because I wouldent feel bad banging it up. I have it listed in classified for trade only but would like to know cash value should I decide to sell it and buy a new Smith. Thanks for your help in advance

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I can't tell if it's been polished or if it's just reflection but it seems shinier than the standard finish. $575-$675 depending on how badly someone wanted it.

Welcome to the Forum!

That's a nice M66. I'm currently haggling with an owner of the same gun at the local LGS. He's asking 700 and I'm offering 600. I'll probably pay the 700 if he stands firm.
I think 6-8 is normal around here. Target sights and trigger always does a little better, along with a 2 1/2" barrel, and add 50-100 with a cardboard box.

Don't be afraid to use it...that's what they're for. Some model Smiths obviously increase in value without usage... A M66 really isn't one of them yet. Although they are desirable IMHO.

Wouldn't you feel just as bad to pay for a new one and use it or bang it up? Stainless can take good usage. I just bought a couple of used that had rough, ugly, finishes and polished them into show case condition. They look great! And actually, easier to clean and buff out if needed.

One more thing...I've seen some very rough looking new stainless Smiths, (scratches, marks and the like) right out of the box. Not too impressed with the way some of them come from the factory.

Yeah..yours looks like it had some polishing done to it...not that bad IMHO

It's is worth every penny you paid for it no matter the price as long as you really like it. The money spent for something is quickly overcome by the enjoyment of it which has and endless value...............
A quick recent story. Was at a LGS, gentleman brought in an ultra nice 66-2 and the clerk said let me get an appraisal, came back plopped it down and said $350! He said they don't make it anymore. No kidding I thought LOL. Immediately it was worth more to me and apparently the owner of the gun felt the same way. He didn't trade it, I bought it, then sold it for a bit more and used that money to get a replacement for a gun I wished I had not sold.
I see those grips alone on your gun sell for $125+ easily. I'd say it is a $650 to $725 gun. In time it will continue to increase in value, another beautiful S&W revolver so enjoy it!
Karl

Thanks guys, I over paid for for it then. Good thing I stole what I traded for it(figuratively). I wouldn't feel bad about a new one because they are still being made, old guns have soul and are a snapshot in history before mim or locks or hillary, just nice you know? or maybe Iam just being hypnotised by the shinny.

Don't worry about paying more. When you bought it you wanted it and thought it was worth the price. That's okay. Some places I've been, they ask more and get it.

It's a great gun to enjoy. It won't be long and it will go up like everything else...they don't go down in value...for sure.

I paid $450 for a minty 2-1/2" 66-2 with an extra set of grips nearly ten years ago, but that was a smokin' deal even at the time. I wouldn't say you got ripped off. BTW, lots of police clean the exterior of their guns with SimiChrome polish, and doing that regularly for a couple of years will take the original lightly brushed finish down to a mirror finish; no harm done. I'd say you've made an investment that you can carry and shoot for a lifetime and hand down to your kids still in good shape and as accurate as the first round you put through it. There's a reason the carbon steel Mod. 19 the 66 was copied from was, and still is, called the Combat Masterpiece. Carry, shoot and enjoy it!

Great buy, now you need a Model 67,19,15,14 etc etc to go with it!

You like it so much that you need to get rid of it? Curious...

It has had an aftermarket polish job, easily duplicated as many times as needed should the finish get scratched or dinged. A modern 66-8 is a fine gun but it is not the same as an older 66-2 (you didn't mention the exact model you have so this is a guess), and they are not making any more -2s. Examine a new one before you decide.

My suggestions - coat everything (including the stocks) with Johnson's Paste or Renaissance Wax. Find a breathable, padded soft case to avoid damage with storage and a protective holster (full flap or shoulder) for carry. A set of rubber stocks for shooting so you don't damage the originals. Shoot, clean thoroughly, and repeat.

Good luck in your decision.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

All my guns were worth what I paid for them at the time.

Very Nice! Choot it choot it and enjoy! Take care of it and it will take care of you! It was made to be shot! Just clean it real well and very little if any value will be lost! Your son or daughter will enjoy it one day!

For hiking or packing about the woods, pick up a set of Hogue or Pachmayer rubber grips. They are relatively inexpensive and will allow you to carry without worry of dinging up the factory stocks.

Pretty as it is, if it were mine I would have to shoot it a lot and carry it in the woods. Of course it's not mine, and I can't walk the woods anymore, but you see what I mean.

I agree about having rubber grips for the outdoors and those nice wooden stocks for the barbecue circuit.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I purchased a 66-2 w/4" barrel for $700 about a year ago. Maybe I overpaid a little bit, it's got some small handling marks and the lockup could be tighter. I recently saw a 66-1 with box and papers in better condition sell in the $750-800 range and just watched a 66-1 w/6" barrel sell for $556 on GB. No Reserve, started at $500 and no bids placed the first time around! That didn't happen twice though and somebody got a pretty good deal for $556 on the re-listed auction.

I also suggest trying on some rubber grips; the Hogue monogrips are very comfortable for my average size hand. My other suggestion is to avoid hot magnum rounds. I tried some very hot stuff once and after three shots, the cylinder seized up. ('Hot' as in 158 gr. @ 1450 fps--now I know that was a stupid idea.) I had to poke out the spent cases from the front of the chambers after I really struggled to free up the cylinder. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what happened, what could have potentially been damaged, and if anything was actually damaged.

I'm no expert, and I continue to learn more and more through research and collecting. I just found out there could be a trigger stop screw designed to adjust over travel that many people decide to remove from the K-target models because it can cause jamming. I need to investigate that now, and see if that was a factor in my experience. The personal lesson I learned is there's just no point in pushing the limits; this isn't the N frame M28. The signs of excessive pressure were there and any time that happens, that means excessive wear on the gun.

Welcome to the FORUM! I rarely see 66's for sale around here. I only have 1 K frame .357. (13-2) Do have L's, & N though. Good luck on your transaction! Let us know what you come up with! Bob

For truly top dollar from a collector you need the box , papers and everything that comes in the box and they prefer unfired or almost unfired.
So unless you have all that, what you have is a nice shooter. They are not rare, people who have them keep them because they are about the perfect combination of size, weight and power.... S&W started making them again because of the demand...not by collector's but by shooters.
My advice, it's bought, you like it, it's nearly the perfect packing and shooting revolver....Keep it, shoot it , use it , and do not worry about hurting it's "value" .
If you get rid of it , I guarantee you will be kicking yourself for the rest of your life...telling that, " how could I have been so stupid to trade that gun ...worst mistake I ever made story."
I'm telling you from experience...KEEP the gun, SHOOT the gun...avoid seller's remorse.

Welcome to the forum...lots of knowledge and experience here.

For nice wood grips check out Ahrend's Retro Grips, ahrendsgripsusa.com , that's some retro combats on my avatar's model 58. Rubber are just so not attractive. Life's too short for ugly guns.
Kim Ahrend makes grips that fit the hand like nobody's business.
Gary

I have three 66s I bought seven years or so ago, a 6" -2 I paid around $450 for, a 4" -2 with Target Hammer, Trigger and trigger stop that I paid about $550 for and a 2-1/2" -4 I "stole" on GunBroker for its minimum bid, $416. All three are like-new and the 4" came with its box and goodies.



I don't think there was a more "perfect" revolver made than the Model 66. The size and weight are great, they were well-made and I haven't shot an inaccurate one yet. In fact, I won several bullseye and PPC matches with a 4" Model 19-4 equipped just like my 4" 66-2. The L-frame family are beefier guns and many, myself included, like the look of the full-underlug barrel (in fact, I have more 686s than 66s) but the K-frame .357s are "just right."

RW, I experienced the same thing with my Model 19 - hot loads would result in difficult extraction and eventually, when a mallet and punch were required to get fired casings out, I sent it back to Smith & Wesson for repairs. They told me the chambers in the cylinder were out-of-round and replaced the cylinder under warranty. Believing it was a defective part, I proceeded to do it to another cylinder. This time, they replaced the cylinder but told me they would not replace it under warranty again, so I relegated the gun to target work.

Treat that 66 with the respect it deserves - they don't make 'em like that any more and its value will only increase with each passing year as mine have.

Ed

I paid between $225 and $250 for my four inch model 66 no dash in about 1974-1975. That was new in the box.

Thanks for the info guys, I plan on shooting 357 mag out of it just not every range trip I will definitely stay away from the hot stuff still have some Underwood ammo sitting around here somewhere. Big factory loaded magnum ammo I would assume would be fine they are typically 2-300 fps slower

I don't shoot mine much, but I've never had any problems with typical magnum loads from Remington and Fiocchi. Still, I shoot about 80% .38 Spl. and 20% .357 Mag. The Underwood 158gr XTP 'Item 124' is what caused the trouble I mentioned in my previous post.
To update, I removed the side plate last night from my 66-2 to look for the trigger stop, and it has already been removed from mine. I took the opportunity to scrub the front of the cylinder, deep clean the whole gun, inspect/clean/lubricate the action. I de-tensioned the mainspring a tiny amount and the trigger pull feels a lot smoother and just a touch lighter now.
Ed- Sweet collection! I'm jealous. It looks like all yours as well as BConn's wear goncalo alves grips with the striped grain. Mine are plain walnut, a lighter brown color. Does anyone know how the factory chose to supply the different grips to the post 1980 revolvers of this era? Is my walnut set original?
One last thing- I am also a new member to the forum, although I've been a visitor to the site many times in the recent past. What is the appropriate way to decide when to start a new thread if the topic starts to evolve beyond the original post?
Thanks!
-Ryan

Prices have gone up in recent years. I saw one on GB going for over $800 and prices other places near $1K which seems outrageous. The condition looks good but it looks polished. Could be an indication it was well loved. I think $700 is about as high as I would go. Good luck.

I have decided after everyone's advice and after some thought that I am going to keep it. Not having much interest helped also. I have sold a few guns I wish I didn't, don't need another one. Now I just need to find out what guns I can sell and not miss to buy another 66, or a 686, or 69, or 629 . I did end up finding some pachmyr grips at gun show for $5 makes gun ugly but fits my hand like a glove good call.

I have a 66-1 just like yours I bought because it had my state's Highway Patrol emblem on it from when these were issued to troopers in the late 1970s/early 1980s for a few years. The "shiny" was attractive to me, too, and it's my first 357 Magnum too.

I love shooting it, and like you, I enjoy the fact that it's pre-MIM, pre-lock, and is a "looker" as well as a great shooter. I was at the range with it today, and the guy beside me oohed and ahhed over it, and he was shooting a Dan Wesson 715. We traded for a few rounds, and so help me, he hit a steel silhouette at 100 yards with it. A better shooter than I am, but I've seen what that gun can do at normal range distances and I'm impressed.

Enjoy yours, keep it shined up, and use it for what it was intended for -- to be shot!

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

For $5, who cares what it looks like when you're out in the woods, probably alone anyways? It takes only a minute to swap them out when you want to show its true form. I think everyone here agrees you made the right call and in ten years, you probably won't care how much you spent on it.
-Ryan

Ryan, some S&W checkered target stocks are lighter in color with very little figure but I think they all might be made from the same wood, it's just that every tree is different. I have way too many sets of those stocks as I'm a sucker for nice wood and buy a set every month or so when I see ones I just have to have. That 4" Model 66-2 is probably on its third set since that photo was taken.

I keep telling my son that I should sell some of my S&W stocks but of course he sees collector value down the road and vetos that idea. Since S&W no longer offers those stocks and the number of genuine factory-issued ones in nice condition declines every month, he's probably right.

Ed

I did see some stocks? grips? That where very similar to mine at the same gun show and wow are they pricey. Iam at loss to tell the difference between what they had and what was on my gun and some of the where $150.

Ed,
You are definitely correct; there can be a lot of variation in any type of wood from one tree to the next- some species more so than others. I've been a professional furniture builder and cabinetmaker for some years now, and can tell you that there are at least three types of wood that the factory used for stocks during the 1980's anyway.
The sets in your photo are all goncalo alves which has more variation than the other types, but its major identifying characteristic is a reddish-orange color. This is usually accompanied by very dark (almost black) streaks and/or areas of light cream color. Sometimes the dark lines are thin, straight, defined pin stripes, but they're also wider stripes that can blend into the red/orange and appear like splotching in the end grain at the bottom of the grips. The cream color is an indication of sapwood, and can show hard edges or bleeding into the dark areas. Any one piece could exhibit all or none of these characteristics, in different combinations, so this wood has a lot of different "looks". The black stripe on orange background explains the nickname "Tigerwood".
Rosewood is another type I've seen, and it's typically a uniform very dark red/purple/brown with occasional black striping, less dramatic than goncalo alves though. Sometimes the two woods can be difficult to tell apart when looking at small pieces like pistol grips. (That is if you happen to be looking at a more "tame" piece of goncalo alves.)
Original poster BConn's stocks are harder to identify with certainty, due to lack of the telltale black stripes. Based on these pics, I'd say his are goncalo, not rosewood. The type of rosewood I've seen on S&W stocks is less orange and more of that typical dark red rose color- imagine that!
American black walnut is the third type of wood I know. Don't let the 'black' in the name fool you; it's more of a medium brown color, not much variation, usually straight grain in pistol stocks. The brown tones can lean in the red, orange, or purple directions, but almost always stay within the "medium brown" category. My 66-2 stocks are walnut, and yours are goncalo alves- I am 99.99% certain of that. See a couple pics of mine for reference. (And Ed, if you decide you should offload a pair of your K Target stocks, I might be able to help slim down your collection- in fact, I'm in the market now!)

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We are currently unpacking from moving and my son and I were replacing everything back into my safe, those spare stocks among them. I should sell some and will get back with you on that.

Ed