Model 66-8 (4.25in) post-200 rounds questions from a beginner

[spicychinesefood]

Hey all,

(warning: lots of questions)

I will say this, the 66-8 is fun as hell.

As the title implies, I've taken my 66-8 (4.25in) through its first 200 rounds. (100 38 Special, 100 357 mag, all 158 gr.). All factory loads, mostly from New Republic but one box was from PPU (50 rounds 38 special). I noticed with the NR 357 boxes there was some gunpowder(?) or something spitting out of the gun and hitting me or my friend standing behind me. We had eye protection, so no worries there. No misfires or anything however.

I don't think it was brass or part of the gun itself as I saw it happen with a rental once and someone's face got cut by the pieces. No issues with 38 special, so I'm not sure if I should attribute it to the ammo or the gun. Looking to test with a different brand ASAP, but until then figured I'd ask if theres anything on the 66 itself I could check to see if there's any issues with the firearm itself?

I'm fairly certain this second question gets asked a lot but I really just want some more answers specifically for this model 66-8 with the matte stainless finish. Starting with this post. The SW manual with the 66 says not to use ammonia based cleaners on any SW gun - my roommate only has Hoppes 9 so I used a bit before realizing it had ammonia on it, so I wiped it off and now I'm sitting here with a somewhat dirty gun and not sure what to use on it. Also I can't for the love of me get the fouling in the front of the cylinder and around the forcing cone to come off. the internet is telling me Hoppes 9 is the best for that but, well, ammonia. And of course, boresnakes vs patches/brushes, CLP vs solvent, lubes, etc. build a kit vs buy one... Full disassembly cleaning vs just the cylinder and barrel...what do you all do?

Following up on that question, where do I lube it after cleaning? The stock DA trigger is heavy. I've dry fired it with snap caps a hundred times or so as well and it only feels marginally lighter. I've wanted to lube the trigger and the hammer, but others online are saying don't lube the internal parts else they gum up. The internet is kind of unreliable here and I've seen replace the mainspring, take to a gunsmith to get tuned, or just dry fire another xxx# of rounds through it. Quite lost on this part. This post is where I started. I would prefer if I didn't have to do any part replacements or at home gunsmithing (don't want to lose that warranty).

Not a super huge fan of the sights either, they're a bit...bulky? Not sure if replacing them is worth the effort though - looking for some opinions and/or suggestions.

A bit early for me to do it now, but in the future would it be worth sending to SW for a Performance Center upgrade? Do they even do upgrades for the 66-8? Do people even upgrade their 66-8s???

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[shawn mccarver]

Hey all,

(warning: lots of questions)

I will say this, the 66-8 is fun as hell.

As the title implies, I've taken my 66-8 (4.25in) through its first 200 rounds. (100 38 Special, 100 357 mag, all 158 gr.). All factory loads, mostly from New Republic but one box was from PPU (50 rounds 38 special). I noticed with the NR 357 boxes there was some gunpowder(?) or something spitting out of the gun and hitting me or my friend standing behind me. We had eye protection, so no worries there. No misfires or anything however.

I don't think it was brass or part of the gun itself as I saw it happen with a rental once and someone's face got cut by the pieces. No issues with 38 special, so I'm not sure if I should attribute it to the ammo or the gun. Looking to test with a different brand ASAP, but until then figured I'd ask if theres anything on the 66 itself I could check to see if there's any issues with the firearm itself?

I'm fairly certain this second question gets asked a lot but I really just want some more answers specifically for this model 66-8 with the matte stainless finish. Starting with this post. The SW manual with the 66 says not to use ammonia based cleaners on any SW gun - my roommate only has Hoppes 9 so I used a bit before realizing it had ammonia on it, so I wiped it off and now I'm sitting here with a somewhat dirty gun and not sure what to use on it. Also I can't for the love of me get the fouling in the front of the cylinder and around the forcing cone to come off. the internet is telling me Hoppes 9 is the best for that but, well, ammonia. And of course, boresnakes vs patches/brushes, CLP vs solvent, lubes, etc. build a kit vs buy one... Full disassembly cleaning vs just the cylinder and barrel...what do you all do?

Following up on that question, where do I lube it after cleaning? The stock DA trigger is heavy. I've dry fired it with snap caps a hundred times or so as well and it only feels marginally lighter. I've wanted to lube the trigger and the hammer, but others online are saying don't lube the internal parts else they gum up. The internet is kind of unreliable here and I've seen replace the mainspring, take to a gunsmith to get tuned, or just dry fire another xxx# of rounds through it. Quite lost on this part. This post is where I started. I would prefer if I didn't have to do any part replacements or at home gunsmithing (don't want to lose that warranty).

Not a super huge fan of the sights either, they're a bit...bulky? Not sure if replacing them is worth the effort though - looking for some opinions and/or suggestions.

A bit early for me to do it now, but in the future would it be worth sending to SW for a Performance Center upgrade? Do they even do upgrades for the 66-8? Do people even upgrade their 66-8s???

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

If it really bothers you, use Break Free CLP as both solvent and lube. Do not attempt to remove the fouling from the face of the cylinder or the barrel shank (forcing cone) other than hitting it with a solvent soaked nylon tooth brush (start with a clean one and do not use it on your teeth after cleaning a gun with it) to make sure you clean off any debris. Once fired, you will have the black fouling on the cylinder face forever and it will not hurt anything. Unless you drop it in a mud hole, you will not need to open it up for any reason. Do not put lube inside the action as it will attract dirt and gum up the works. Follow the directions in the owner's manual. You do not need to remove the cylinder to clean it, just swing it out. You should not attempt to remove the sideplate. It is more important to have reliable ignition, so do NOT replace the mainspring or reduce the tension on the strain screw. The factory knows what spring weights and so forth are necessary for reliable ignition. Do not try to be a gunsmith.

 

[stansdds]

It's stainless, don't worry about the ammonia, especially the small amount in Hoppes No. 9. The issue with ammonia and S&W firearms is that it will turn the blue finish on firearms made in 2000 and later to a plum color.

 

[WR Moore]

Let's look at the spitting first. I've never heard of New Republic, no clue as to the quality of their product. I'd try a mainstream brand ammo and see if the problem still happens. If so, there may be something amiss, take advantage of the S&W warranty and get it checked out.

Hoppes has been in use for........a long time. Don't worry about it. There are some solvents on the market with HIGH ammonia content (Sweets 7.62 as an example) to remove copper fouling, usually used on rifle barrels that get shot a lot between cleanings. Those are the solvents S&W speaks of.

While I usually agree with Mr McCarver, I have to differ on Break Free or the other do-it-all products. Over decades, I've found separate products for the various cleaning, lubing and protecting tasks simply do a better job. They are, however, beloved of supply geeks and those who have to tote all that sort of stuff on their backs. There are now treated cloths (Birchwood Casey does a really good one) that will remove the combustion products/burn rings from stainless (and only stainless) without much effort and no damage if they really bother you.

And, I noticed something long ago. It was apparently common for some competition shooters not to clean their 1911s during the season. They'd just "lube up" before/after each match. At the end of the season, they'd drop them off with me to "get the trigger redone". Sure enough, they definitely weren't smooth anymore. However, the problem was a sludge of Break Free (I asked), combustion products and who knows what else in the works. Once properly cleaned, they worked just fine. OK, that's an extreme example, that was semis and the OP has a revolver, he'll probably not shoot as much as they did, but the principle is still there. Lubing isn't the same as cleaning. Regular cleaning is a good thing.

 

[spicychinesefood]

Hi Wr Moore,

I tested the spitting with a Remington UMC .357 rounds- as far as I could tell, there was no noticeable spitting when firing so it was probably whatever powder New Republic uses I guess didn't burn fast enough? Thanks for the advice, looks like I dont have to send it to S&W.

I've given it a good cleaning with the Hoppes 9 and it looks almost good as new. I clean it after every range trip (Usually 100-200 rounds).

 

[spicychinesefood]

Hi stansdds,

Thanks for the info, cleaned the 66 again after a range day with the Hoppes and it looks great.

 

[spicychinesefood]

Hi shawn mccarver,

Thanks for the cleaning advice. I got a nylon brush as you suggested and used it to scrape off the fouling with the Hoppes(as suggested by stansdds), from both the front of the cylinder and the forcing cone area. It's all shiny again. The tip on not opening it up was useful, thank you again.

 

[Muley Gil]

Welcome to the Forum.

Buy some .38 special snap caps and dry fire the heck out of your new revolver. That will go a looong way to smoothing out the action. It will also make your trigger finger stronger.

 

[66fan]

Hey all,

(warning: lots of questions)

I will say this, the 66-8 is fun as hell.

As the title implies, I've taken my 66-8 (4.25in) through its first 200 rounds. (100 38 Special, 100 357 mag, all 158 gr.). All factory loads, mostly from New Republic but one box was from PPU (50 rounds 38 special). I noticed with the NR 357 boxes there was some gunpowder(?) or something spitting out of the gun and hitting me or my friend standing behind me. We had eye protection, so no worries there. No misfires or anything however.

I don't think it was brass or part of the gun itself as I saw it happen with a rental once and someone's face got cut by the pieces. No issues with 38 special, so I'm not sure if I should attribute it to the ammo or the gun. Looking to test with a different brand ASAP, but until then figured I'd ask if theres anything on the 66 itself I could check to see if there's any issues with the firearm itself?

I'm fairly certain this second question gets asked a lot but I really just want some more answers specifically for this model 66-8 with the matte stainless finish. Starting with this post. The SW manual with the 66 says not to use ammonia based cleaners on any SW gun - my roommate only has Hoppes 9 so I used a bit before realizing it had ammonia on it, so I wiped it off and now I'm sitting here with a somewhat dirty gun and not sure what to use on it. Also I can't for the love of me get the fouling in the front of the cylinder and around the forcing cone to come off. the internet is telling me Hoppes 9 is the best for that but, well, ammonia. And of course, boresnakes vs patches/brushes, CLP vs solvent, lubes, etc. build a kit vs buy one... Full disassembly cleaning vs just the cylinder and barrel...what do you all do?

Following up on that question, where do I lube it after cleaning? The stock DA trigger is heavy. I've dry fired it with snap caps a hundred times or so as well and it only feels marginally lighter. I've wanted to lube the trigger and the hammer, but others online are saying don't lube the internal parts else they gum up. The internet is kind of unreliable here and I've seen replace the mainspring, take to a gunsmith to get tuned, or just dry fire another xxx# of rounds through it. Quite lost on this part. This post is where I started. I would prefer if I didn't have to do any part replacements or at home gunsmithing (don't want to lose that warranty).

Not a super huge fan of the sights either, they're a bit...bulky? Not sure if replacing them is worth the effort though - looking for some opinions and/or suggestions.

A bit early for me to do it now, but in the future would it be worth sending to SW for a Performance Center upgrade? Do they even do upgrades for the 66-8? Do people even upgrade their 66-8s???

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

I replaced all of the black parts on my 66-8 4.25 inch and put all new stainless steel parts. It looks way better. To me the black parts looked cheap. I’m very pleased with look and feel now. Look on eBay for lead remover cloth. I forget the name. It works great but never use on blued guns.