For most of my life I was a big bore guy, .44 Mountain Guns, a Magnaported 629, a 5 inch Redhawk and a few slicked up SA's.
I had no interest in the .38 or .357.
Now that I am older, I think that a Model 66 (or 19) is the perfect outdoor companion. As slim as can be for a 6 shot .357.
I had a new 66-8 briefly, and it was o.k., but I traded it for a Model 69.
For the last few weeks I had been searching for another M66, and was hoping to find an older one.
A local guy that always has ads for target .22 ammo listed a Model 66-1 for $600. The ad had been out for a week and I was sure it had been sold, but he still had it.
I knew the dash 1 was the last of the P&R 66's.
The revolver looked a bit dirty in the pics, but if everything else checked out, I wouldn't mind having to give it a deep clean.
When I met the guy, he also had a box with manual and warranty card.
The box has no end label, so maybe it was a spare box picked up later ?
The gun felt tight and sprung on the heavy side.
There were some minor scratches and swirls.
Upon doing a deep clean, I found a dried up grey crud on the extractor rod, inside of the yoke, and on both sides of the hammer and trigger.
The mainspring seemed really stiff, SA pull was 4 lbs. and DA was off my scale. Felt like 13 lbs.
I put in a Wilson mainspring and a lighter rebound, now SA is 2 lbs. and DA feels more like 9 or 10.
(My RCBS gauge only goes up to 8 lbs.)
I'll get around to polishing internals soon.
This 66 has the same width trigger and hammer as my 617, but the 617 has a smooth trigger, and it feels way better than the grooved one on the 66. The smooth one feels "wider' than the grooved to me, though they are the same.
I got out to the range and sighted with some 158 SWC .38 Spec.reloads I had, and with the rear sight bottomed, am shooting about 4 inches high at 25 yards.
I then moved the target out to 50 yards and shot some Federal 158 gr. JSP .357.
Still shooting high, so I ordered a .126" rear blade to replace the .146" one.
(I believe this model has an integral front sight, I sure can't see evidence of a pin.)
I used some grey Scotchbrite followed up with Mothers polish and removed most of the scratches, the stainless was looking a bit dingy before. I know there are still some imperfections but will polish some more later.
I noticed when trying to adjust the sights that the same crud has frozen up the detents, my windage and elevation move very sluggish and with no clicks. I'll disassemble the sight today when I get the new blade and give it a good cleaning.
Maybe the hardened crud used was WD-40 ?
The old Magnas went into the box, I don't like the feel at all.
Had I not bought new grips already, the Magnas would have been O.K. with a T- adapter.
All that space between the front strap and trigger guard seems strange to me, and not having some wood in that space makes the revolver seem more muzzle heavy than it is, lack of leverage I guess.
I'm not a fan of Altamonts but these were a shape I really like, hand filling but not big and square on the bottom like Targets.
"Super Rosewood" is quite a stretch, all these are is a burgundy stain applied to white birch.
But they look O.K. for being dyed Birch.
Holster is an Alfonso OWB/IWB, pretty minimal but will do until I can locate another LH holster.
My brother carried a M66 no dash in the mid 70's as a Dallas detective.
I'll be carrying mine while gold prospecting and canyon exploring, and feel well armed.
I had no interest in the .38 or .357.
Now that I am older, I think that a Model 66 (or 19) is the perfect outdoor companion. As slim as can be for a 6 shot .357.
I had a new 66-8 briefly, and it was o.k., but I traded it for a Model 69.
For the last few weeks I had been searching for another M66, and was hoping to find an older one.
A local guy that always has ads for target .22 ammo listed a Model 66-1 for $600. The ad had been out for a week and I was sure it had been sold, but he still had it.
I knew the dash 1 was the last of the P&R 66's.
The revolver looked a bit dirty in the pics, but if everything else checked out, I wouldn't mind having to give it a deep clean.
When I met the guy, he also had a box with manual and warranty card.
The box has no end label, so maybe it was a spare box picked up later ?
The gun felt tight and sprung on the heavy side.
There were some minor scratches and swirls.
Upon doing a deep clean, I found a dried up grey crud on the extractor rod, inside of the yoke, and on both sides of the hammer and trigger.
The mainspring seemed really stiff, SA pull was 4 lbs. and DA was off my scale. Felt like 13 lbs.
I put in a Wilson mainspring and a lighter rebound, now SA is 2 lbs. and DA feels more like 9 or 10.
(My RCBS gauge only goes up to 8 lbs.)
I'll get around to polishing internals soon.
This 66 has the same width trigger and hammer as my 617, but the 617 has a smooth trigger, and it feels way better than the grooved one on the 66. The smooth one feels "wider' than the grooved to me, though they are the same.
I got out to the range and sighted with some 158 SWC .38 Spec.reloads I had, and with the rear sight bottomed, am shooting about 4 inches high at 25 yards.
I then moved the target out to 50 yards and shot some Federal 158 gr. JSP .357.
Still shooting high, so I ordered a .126" rear blade to replace the .146" one.
(I believe this model has an integral front sight, I sure can't see evidence of a pin.)
I used some grey Scotchbrite followed up with Mothers polish and removed most of the scratches, the stainless was looking a bit dingy before. I know there are still some imperfections but will polish some more later.
I noticed when trying to adjust the sights that the same crud has frozen up the detents, my windage and elevation move very sluggish and with no clicks. I'll disassemble the sight today when I get the new blade and give it a good cleaning.
Maybe the hardened crud used was WD-40 ?
The old Magnas went into the box, I don't like the feel at all.
Had I not bought new grips already, the Magnas would have been O.K. with a T- adapter.
All that space between the front strap and trigger guard seems strange to me, and not having some wood in that space makes the revolver seem more muzzle heavy than it is, lack of leverage I guess.
I'm not a fan of Altamonts but these were a shape I really like, hand filling but not big and square on the bottom like Targets.
"Super Rosewood" is quite a stretch, all these are is a burgundy stain applied to white birch.
But they look O.K. for being dyed Birch.
Holster is an Alfonso OWB/IWB, pretty minimal but will do until I can locate another LH holster.
My brother carried a M66 no dash in the mid 70's as a Dallas detective.
I'll be carrying mine while gold prospecting and canyon exploring, and feel well armed.
