I’ve been shooting the new 66 2.75 inch and my accuracy is horrible. Any ideas to help ? I’m good with my 686’s, but this one is tough for me. Will new sights help much ? I heard something about a new power rib spring. Any ideas are appreciated. I don’t want to do anything that will cause reliability issues.


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How are you shooting it? Free-standing? Off a rest?

What size groups are you getting & at what distance?

.38s or .357s?

Several brands or just one?
Denis

I shot my new 66-8 today. My first shots were at about 30 ft. All in the bullseye in one ragged hole. Shot it with both .38 and various .357 mag. loads. All were consisted and grouped very well. I was even able to hit a can at 100 yards several times. I'm quite happy and impressed.

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Dave Frost

All 38’s free standing, about 25 feet, and about 12 inch groups with some flyers.


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It must be me then. I need a lot more practice with the trigger I think.


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That's no way to test for accuracy.
Shoot it off a rest, at 25 yards, and try with .357s too.

The way you're going about it, you can't tell if it's the gun or you.

Most likely you, but....

Better sights may help.
Black on black with that gun is a poor combination.
Denis

You didn't say what type of ammo, lead or jacketed, you were using?

Some of these new 66-8 snubbies (like mine) had forcing cones cut incorrectly, too shallow, & needed chamfering.

Here's my post in a related thread that you might find helpful. Worth checking.

Issues with my 66-8 2.75"

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Afterwards it shot great. I hope you get your's sorted out.

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66 Combat Magnum - target

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Waiting for the break of day

Accuracy this poor at that distance from an experienced revolver shooter leads me to suspect a loose barrel. IIRC the new model 66 features a 2 piece Barrel and Shroud similar to that used in my older model 620 and there have been reports of some barrels "shooting loose" with the 620.

To test for a loose barrel all you have to do is grasp the barrel shroud in one hand and the grip in the other. Then try to pull the shroud from the frame or push it into the frame. If you feel ANY movement at all you need to contact S&W Customer Service and arrange to have it returned to the factory for a Warranty Repair. Because if the barrel is properly tightened even the strongest human on the entire planet could not budge that barrel shroud even a smidgen with their bare hands.

BTW at one point I was curious about how accurate my model 620 could be. I spent 6 weeks practicing twice a week shooting it off a sandbag rest in single action with a 1.75X handgun scope mounted to it and at the end I managed to shoot it to a 7/8 inch group at 50 yards. I suspect that my particular 620 could probably get under 1/2 inch at 50 yards in the hands of a better shot but 7/8 inch aint bad for an old geezer. Note, ammo used was off the shelf American Eagle 130 grain jacketed 38 special. I'll also note that I learned a bit about handgun shooting in this exercise. One is that how you manage the pistol under recoil DOES effect the point of impact and group size. Second lesson learned is that Trigger Management is absolutely critical to accurate shooting, even with a 3 lbs. single action trigger.

What scooter123 advises and check the barrel crown, any ding, burr or uneven cut will affect accuracy.
Post #7 groups are about right, 12 inch "just ain't right " and I don't think it's you.
Don't go throwing money on aftermarket sights, spring kits and such until you find out what's going on.
Are the sights on/in tight?

Different caliber but when I started loading for my 2.75" 69 I was shooting slow (750fps) 44 specials and was not impressed with its accuracy. Granted, the groups were not 12"! As soon as I started steeping up the FPS the accuracy got better and better.
With a 240gr. plated bullet around 1000fps and up seems to be the sweet spot. A hard cast 200gr. SWC might shoot like a laser at 750fps. Bench rest as many bullet weights and velocities as you can before calling S&W.

Double or single action?

The DA trigger of the 66-8 is pretty stiff, making it a challenge to shoot well. SA should group much better at 8 yards.

Shoot SA from a rest like others said, and then see what happens.

All the posts seem to focus on mechanical issues.

The short sight radius of a 2.75" barreled revolver degrades anyone's accuracy.

I'm far more accurate with my 500 Mags 8 3/8th" barrel than with my Ruger SP101s 3" barrel. Don

Not so much as to cause a dinner plate group at 25'. My standard 44 mag wadcutter loads shot like 2" at 40 ft offhand with some holes touching. I was amazed at how good a shot I was with my 69 2.75, LOL.

Assuming the bullet holes are circular so the bullets weren't tumbling - about the only way to group that poorly is for something to be seriously loose. Sights or barrel but something.

I had to send mine in for issues with tumbling bullets and some spitting of lead. Got it back with forcing cone repairs. Took a couple weeks. I’m not the best shooter. But dot torture at 4-5 yard distance and the qualification target was draw fire 6 at speed at 15 yards. Mine shoots real well now

Jacketed. Thanks for the link to your issues. I’m going to check it out.


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The sample I had here could easily hold at 2-2.5 inches for best 5-shot groups at 25 yards off a rest.
DESPITE a piss-poor forcing cone.

You can't quantitatively state anything valid about a gun's accuracy without shooting off a rest, at a measured distance (preferably 25 yards, since 7 tells you nothing & 15 isn't much better in a full-sized handgun), and with more than one load.
That's where you start, and THEN you look at the gun's mechanicals & sights.
Denis

The barrel seems to be tight. Thanks for the suggestion.


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I’m off to the range this Monday to shoot from a test and I’ll bring multiple types of ammo and I’ll report back. Thanks everyone.


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Here’s a pic of the front of the barrel. It doesn’t look as smoothed out around the edges like my 686 does. Not sure if it’s normal.


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Barrel crowns on new Smith revolvers are variable.
Some are cleaner than others.

Once fired off a braced rest at a 25-yard distance with several different loads, you have a foundational base to use in looking further at things like sights, trigger, crown, and cone.
Denis

Fairly typical for a two-piece barrel, actually better than some.

Did you check the forcing cone like my related post shows?

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Waiting for the break of day

My 686 pro shot 12 inch groups. Had a crown just like that. Looked like it was cut off with a hacksaw.
Unfortunately... Yes it is normal suckass S&W QC,, send it back. Sent mine in and came back looking correct. Shoots much better

I agree, but there is nothing wrong with examining a gun for mechanical shortcomings before shooting if you have the expertise. I bet many folks do this, me being one of them.

For accuracy, you need to eliminate as many "variables" as possible. Ultimately, a ransom rest would be needed, but a regular rest can be used satisfactorily.

I would rest shoot it, then work on sight adjustment for whatever loading you plan on shooting most. Changing between 38spl and 357mag ammo will alter your POI. My magnum snubby is sighted in with 357mag ammo. Any 38spl I shoot is low.

If it still shoots bad, then I would start looking for a mechanical reason. Would also let someone else try it too.

If I'd just taken a look at the very chitty cone on the sample here & immediately gave up on it, I would not have discovered that it actually shot quite well, despite mechanical deficiencies.

And I've noted that before over the years.
In a head to head shoot-out between a brand new Smith 686 and a brand new Ruger GP I did a couple years ago, the Smith had what I call a "dirty" (as opposed to a "clean) crown.

It was muddy & indistinct around the edges, not cleanly & uniformly cut, and nowhere near as uniformly machined as the Ruger's crown.

The Smith, despite that & my expectations of accuracy being affected, still outshot the Ruger, off a rest, at 25 yards, with several loads.

What I'm saying is, as noted above, eliminate as many of the variables as possible when trying to determine intrinsic accuracy of a given gun.

Wobbling on your feet, blowing in the wind, and shooting too close, don't accomplish much.
Neither does shooting only ONE load, and a .38 at that.

Sit yourself down, get yourself situated as steady as you possibly can, use a GOOD rest on a stable table or bench, concentrate on trigger & sight, and shoot several different loads at the same repeatable target at the same repeatable consistent 25-yard distance.

Unless your gun has a barrel that drops off, a cylinder that won't stay shut, of it won't even fire, don't see a small imperfection & immediately assume it's the gun. It may very well be YOU, and you'll never know for sure by free-standing & potting away too close with one load.

I've had handguns do one-holers at 7 yards that spread out to 6 inches at 25.
I've had handguns that created shotgun patterns with one load at 25 & pulled off two-inch holes with another at the same distance.

To truly determine intrinsic accuracy, use a rest & a stable sitting position, at a realistic distance, and shoot several different loads.

If you're still getting 10-inch groups, or worse, THEN you look at things like mechanical issues, or sights and grips.
Denis

The S & W 66-8 is the longer barrel (4 and1/25").....I have one and like it very much. The originator of thread I believe refers to 66-8, but talks like he really has the short barrel 66-4

The sample 2.75-incher I had here was a 66-8, newest production.
Denis

The 66-8 also has the 2.75” barrel

What size groups do you normally shoot that way with other revolvers?

Forcing cone perfect.


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I just left the range and I shot much better. I change the back site from my 686 and put it on to see if that helped and it did. I just think I wasn’t getting a good site alignment. Thanks for the help everybody


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Did you try any of what I suggested?
Denis

This is mine at 10 yards off hand double action several different loads after sending it back to get crown and forcing cone cleaned up.

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I got a rest bag. I couldn’t sit because it wasn’t allowed at the range I went to. Big difference!! And I put the rear sight from one of my 686’s and it helped too. Thanks



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I like those grips


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A K frame .38/357 S&W should be able to amaze you with it's accuracy if you are shooting ammo it likes. I used to shoot a lot of NMC bullseye competition. We would occasionally put a K-38 in a Ransom rest and test it at 25 and 50 yards. 2" groups at 25 yards with good ammo was pretty run of the mill. I definitely would not want some of my former NMC competitors shooting at me with their pet M19s if I were 100 yards away.

If you aren't getting the accuracy you think reasonable then find a good shot have them give it a try. That always helps you figure out if it the revolver or you.

Great looking family mikesal34744,and some good target shooting to I might add!

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