66-4 case hardened vs stainless hammer & trigger

[xfarfuldog]

I previously had a thread about the 66-4 differences between the P&R 66's. I purchased a 66-4 and upon winning I saw my purchase had the case hardened hammer and trigger. I have seen the -4's with both stainless and case hardened hammers and triggers. I bought this 66-4 off my iPhone with a very small screen. I had been considering a 66 as well as a 66.

Now that I have the gun, it is bothering me not to have a stainless trigger and hammer. The only other S&W I presently have is a 65 which is all stainless. Would it be expensive to replace the hammer and trigger? Would I be better off just to sell and buy another 66 with the stainless parts? Or just forget about it and enjoy as is?

I have not shot it yet. It is at a friends house. He is polishing out some small scratches. I should say that appearance is very important to me. I have had many different S&W's over the years and plan to get more. Most all my guns are in like new condition.

thanks for your thoughts.

 

[DocB]

I would prefer the case hardened trigger and hammer. The contrast is classic. Also, they won't be making the case hardened parts again as far as I know. I'm sitting here looking at my M10/M64 snub collection, and the ones with stainless parts are kind of blah compared to the others.

 

[armorer951]

I've posted a forum link below with some additional info. Almost all of the "stainless" hammers and triggers are actually forged carbon steel that has been "flash chromed".

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...273054-what-flash-chromed-trigger-hammer.html

 

[Engine49guy]

The only standard production S&W revolver to have a "Stainless steel" hammer and trigger was the first rendition of the Model 60 way back in the early mid 1960's,

Apparently it was discovered that SS parts moving against SS caused "Gauling" , the next version to appear had the same "Case Colored" hammer trigger as the nickel and blue versions to avoid this, By 1969 we see them change to what S&W refers to as "Flash Chromed" hammer trigger which was used on the model 66,64 and 67 that were the next SS revolvers introduced in 1969 and 1972.

The factory likely switched to using all "Case colored" hammer triggers to reduce inventory of parts to cut costs, the next cost cutting measure was the MIM hammer triggers that appear in the 66-5 revision

 

[DocB]

I sure didn't know that. Now I know why the hammer and trigger on my 1981 M64 snub are so bright and shiny. . .learn something new every day.

 

[Alk8944]

Either the "Flash Chrome" or color case hardened parts are correct for this model. FWIW, the only S&W revolvers that ever had stainless hammers and triggers were the very earliest Model 60s. The stainless parts were inadequate and failed quickly. They were soon replaced by standard CCH parts for later production.

 

[BUFF]

"Color case hardening" is a heat treatment process. In the case of older S&W's from this era, ALL of the hammers and triggers were forged, then case hardened, for proper wear characteristics.

Then, those hammers and triggers destined to go into stainless steel guns were flash chromed. This was pretty much just for appearance's sake. Deleting the flash chroming was just a cosmetic issue to reduce costs.

 

[k22fan]

On the used market I often see stainless S&W revolvers that did not get the chrome with rusted hammers and triggers. Discontinuing the chroming did not make sense. It only made cents. Chromed parts also look better but that is a matter of taste.

 

[Texas Star]

I've owned M-60-4's with both CCH and chromed parts. I was worried when I bought my present one, which has the color case hardened parts. But they've not rusted, given normal care, nor have these parts rusted on other S&W guns that were blued.

However, I don't leave guns on boats, nor do I live in a coastal city. And I don't buy "truck guns" that I leave in a vehicle and don't maintain well.

If I was off to a tropical jungle, I'd prefer the chromed parts, which I think would fare better in a hot, humid environment. Otherwise, I don't think it matters a lot, provided that you use CLP or a similar oil.

I think Ruger has always used stainless parts, probably of slightly different alloys, to avoid the galling problem mentioned in an earlier post. (Where it was misspelled as "Gauling.")

 

[Vulcan Bob]

I'll vote for the "Case colored" hammer & trigger, they just look right to me. I bought a used nickeled M19-3 that just got back from the mothership for repair that had the hammer & trigger replaced about four years ago. They both had the "flash chromed" finish. Took quite awhile for me to get used to the look.

 

[k22fan]

Chromed internals would look out of place on a nickeled S&W revolver. I do not think I could ever get over the shock from looking at that.

Ruger has also reduced their parts inventory but in the opposite way. They are installing stainless hammers and triggers in all of their single actions. I do not know about the double actions but probably them as well. There are people seeking out blued New Model single actions that are old enough to have blued hammers and triggers. Fortunately there are plenty of them to satisfy the demand -- for now.

 

[TNZ71]

I think my 1988 era Model 60 has a stainless hammer. I was carrying it on duty while working undercover. Dropped out of the holster in a foot chase. Long story short, the hammer cracked so the Dept. armourer bobbed it. The hammer was silver on the inside.

 

[Green Frog]

Many years ago I had the opportunity to go through a BUNCH of period parts for K-frames. I saw some hammers that had a tiny letter "S" stamped somewhere down on the body so that it could be seen when on a gun. I was told that they were stainless hammers for Model 64, 65, 66 and 67s. I have no way of confirming this 20+ years later, but throw it out to see whether anyone else has similar information.

Froggie

 

[Engine49guy]

I think my 1988 era Model 60 has a stainless hammer. I was carrying it on duty while working undercover. Dropped out of the holster in a foot chase. Long story short, the hammer cracked so the Dept. armourer bobbed it. The hammer was silver on the inside.

If you look at the face of your Mod 64 cylinder you will likely see the letter V or F stamped there, The factory did this so that a SS cylinder could be distinguished from a carbon steel cylinder that hadnt been blued or nickeled yet because SS and unfinished carbon steel look the same.

 

[TNZ71]

If you look at the face of your Mod 64 cylinder you will likely see the letter V or F stamped there, The factory did this so that a SS cylinder could be distinguished from a carbon steel cylinder that hadnt been blued or nickeled yet because SS and unfinished carbon steel look the same.

Yea, poor choice of words saying silver. It's gotta be stainless through and through. I carried it on my ankle for many years after the hammer was bobbed. Never a hint of rust. The bare cylinder on my duty weapon was silver but that model 10 had to be wiped down every time it rained.

 

[Ranger514]

To each his own. I personally like the contrast of the case hardened trigger and hammer on my 686-4. Good information in this thread.

 

[BUFF]

Colored case hardening is a surface treatment and you can polish it off without much effort. The metal underneath is a steel alloy that is silver in color. I've bobbed a few hammers and polished a few trigger faces and they are all silver just under the surface.

 

[Engine49guy]

Yea, poor choice of words saying silver. It's gotta be stainless through and through. I carried it on my ankle for many years after the hammer was bobbed. Never a hint of rust. The bare cylinder on my duty weapon was silver but that model 10 had to be wiped down every time it rained.

S&W SS guns are not pure SS and will rust if not wiped clean of water and salt.

BTW if you really want to know for sure if the hammer is carbon steel take a Q tip and apply a little cold blue where the hammer was removed, if it takes the blue its carbon steel.
The cold blue should not take to the Flash chrome .