model 66 barrel length

[ronaldharold]

i was watching a video on you tube on the model 66. the guy doing the video was reading the manual that came with the gun. he said the barrel was 4 1/8 inches long. are these barrels this length or 4" . i have a 66 with a 6" barrel and would love a 4 1/8 if they exist. up here in canada barrel length 4 inches and under are prohibited unless you have a prohib licance that you can no longer get.

 

[shawn mccarver]

i was watching a video on you tube on the model 66. the guy doing the video was reading the manual that came with the gun. he said the barrel was 4 1/8 inches long. are these barrels this length or 4" . i have a 66 with a 6" barrel and would love a 4 1/8 if they exist. up here in canada barrel length 4 inches and under are prohibited unless you have a prohib licance that you can no longer get.

I believe that most "4 inch" S&W barrels have been 4 1/8 for several years now. I examined a brand new Model 64 about a week ago, and the barrel stuck out of a custom holster for a 4 inch K frame, and when I measured, it was 4 1/8. I am not sure if the same would be true on the last batch of 66s produced before they were discontinued.

 

[Alk8944]

The common explanation for the extra 1/8" is so the guns will be legal for the Canadian market where revolver barrels must be longer than 4". The extra gives a bit of a cushion.

I cannot guarantee this correct, but it makes more sense than making two barrel lengths. Kind of a "Sounds right so it must be" thing. LOL

 

[Nightowl]

What I have heard is that back in the 70s there was a reported push for gun control legislation that affected barrels of 4 inches. Smith for a time began producing their 4 inch guns in 4 1/8 to prevent being caught up on it if it passed. This prevented guns from holstering properly in police holsters and apparently the legislation never materialized. As far as I know this did not last too long. I remember a hearing about it at the time, but never saw one. I believe there was another thread here some time ago about it.

 

[murphydog]

I am not well-versed on the barrel length restriction in Canada, but it seems the issue is whether the barrel of the gun is listed by the factory at 4", or whether a specific gun measures above 4". If the former is correct, then it doesn't matter how long a specific one measures. Standard production variations can be +/- 1/8 to 1/4" in barrel length.

I believe S & W (and Ruger?) make 4.25" barreled revolvers for this reason.

 

[Doc44]

S&W issued a directive (#1525) on May 18, 1975 to increase the length of all barrels from 4 to 4 1/4 inches . This was done because of concerns that firearms with a barrel length of less than 4 inches would become illegal. The change resulted in barrels with an acutal length of 4 1/8 inches.

Bill

 

[ronaldharold]

barrel length

ruger makes the model 100 with a barrel 4.2 inches which is legal in canada without a prohib licence . some people get the prohib handgun drilled out and a barrel sleeve over 4" installed and the guns barrel measured and( reclassed?) by the rcmp. theres a model 66 4inch at the local gunstore that i might get the gunsmith to measure for me. prohibs are usually around 30% less than a regular restricted firearm because the prohib licence was discontinued in the 70s and the people who have one are becoming less every year.

 

[highpower3006]

I just measured the barrel on my 1976 vintage 66 no dash. It measures 4" on the money. If there are barrels 4 1/8" long on 66's they were made after mine was produced.

 

[Bert Man]

My 1980 66-1 also measures exactly 4 inches.

 

[ronaldharold]

barrel length

i posted the same question on canadian gun nutz.i forgot the min legal length is 105 mm, that converts to 4.133" a 4 1/8" barrel is only 4.125" making it .008" too short- damn metric system.

 

[bearman49709]

I just measured the barrel on my 1976 vintage 66 no dash. It measures 4" on the money. If there are barrels 4 1/8" long on 66's they were made after mine was produced.

I measured my 4" 66ND it is 3 15/16" so I measured some more of my S&Ws. My 66ND 2 1/2" is 2 1/4", 617ND 6" is 5 13/16" 629-1 8 3/8" is 8 1/4". Note all are shorter than thy are listed as,the 629-1 is from 1984 and is 1/8" short so it's hard telling what you can count on.My Ruger security six is 4" on the nose.