2-piece barrels?

[Jupiter01]

A bit of a babe in the woods, here! I have always had a fondness for Smith & Wesson, and recently, I have been reading and looking at a lot of different S&W revolver models (60 3", 66 2 3/4" 686 3"and 4" and even the "R" word...RUGER; GP 100 and SP 101)looking forward to my first revolver purchase in ~30 years.

I see references to a "2-piece barrel" Good thing/bad thing? I can't seem to tell by looking. The only two-piece barrel I remember was years ago on my Dan Wesson, and it shot marvelously well!

So, which models have them? Will they be featured on the "new" classics, like the Model 66 2 3/4"?

Is this because they are cheaper to manufacture, and should
Quality/reliability/accuracy be the same as earlier models?

School me, please!
Thanks!

 

[riverrat38]

The new model 66 (66-8) with the 4.25 inch barrel is a two piece barrel.
The 2.75 inch will be, also. They are the same guns, only difference is barrel length. I like the 2 piece barrels, but some prefer tradition and the one piece version. I like that the shroud with front sight is keyed to the frame and doesn't depend on barrel torque for sight alignment. I like that the two piece barrel has eliminated the flat spot that was necessary on the one piece barrel K frame MGN's. Stronger at the forcing cone. And, 2.75 inch barrel should be just right for me to carry concealed.

Best,
Rick

 

[k22fan]

Earlier "two piece" S&W barrels had an external muzzle flange that can be spotted in front of the barrel sleeve in a side view. That is how the Model 66-7 was made. While that did get rid of the stress inducing flat under the forcing cone it did so by making the rear of the barrel as thin as the thinnest part of the flat all the way around. The Model 66-8 and Model 69's muzzle flanges are recessed into the shroud so they do not show in side views. In only those two models the yoke and ejector rod assemblies were redesigned to create clearance for thicker barrel breaches.

A small number of shooters believe that S&W's "two piece" barrel revolvers are S&W's most accurate revolvers because their barrels are under tension the same as Dan Wesson barrels. That is logical but only significant to the most accuracy oriented owners.

A draw back is that very few gunsmiths will work on "two piece" S&W barrels. They are tightened into the frame with a wrench that has the shape of the bore. After tightening a short section of the bore is reamed to remove distorted rifling. As a practical matter barrel replacement is a factory only job.