Model 66 mania!

[AveragEd]

Forum rules prevent me from posting a link to the auction, but there is a very nice 2-1/2" Model 66-4 on GunBroker right now. The high bid so far is $675 and there are three-plus days left in the auction!

Boy, that makes the one just like it except without factory stocks that I paid $416 for a year or so ago a real steal!

Ed

 

[pawngal]

There are 2 1/2 inch 66's there that have sold in the $800 range recently. Don't remember the dash numbers. A year can make a lot of difference

 

[KLYDE]

ED,
I think the 2 1/2" 66 is running a very close second behind the 3" guns in the K frame mania. Probably the most desireable is the 3" 66 followed by the 3" 65's and 13's. Demand for the 2 1/2" 66 has really been getting hot with prices sky rocketing. I know many members here placing want ads with no luck. I picked up a dash 3 last summer for $500. It was wearing S&W combats which I sold. I'm into the gun for about $400. I wouldn't sell it for double that. Consider ourselves lucky.

 

[photoman]

Ed... Where have you been for the last two months?!?! It's nuts out there!

 

[holo]

it sure is crazy out there I agree it is almost name your price time

 

[ogilvyspecial]

It figures.

I score on a gun a few years ago that I could actually make
some money on and it's one that I would never sell.

 

[cddanjr]

It figures.

I score on a gun a few years ago that I could actually make
some money on and it's one that I would never sell.

Your no the Lone Ranger on that thought! I have a Mod 66 4" from the 70's that I paid, $200 in 1988!

Love it, would never get rid of it.

Chuck

 

[ogilvyspecial]

Your no the Lone Ranger on that thought! I have a Mod 66 4" from the 70's that I paid, $200 in 1988!

Love it, would never get rid of it.

Chuck

At least we can look at the bright side of things.
We both have guns that we love eh?

 

[AveragEd]

Ed... Where have you been for the last two months?!?! It's nuts out there!

Oh, I've been out there watching gun, ammo and component prices - availability, too (or lack thereof). I just hadn't noticed guns like that one experiencing such a value spike until that auction.

Oddly, the auction drew no bids for several days, so I started it with a $300 bid knowing full well it wouldn't hold up. But I didn't expect it to go that high. Having a gun just like it, I didn't plan to bid any higher. The next day, it was at $500 and hasn't stopped yet.

I'm seeing a similar thing with Remington Model 700BDLs made between 1997 and 2001. They had scroll engraving on the receiver but weren't bringing more than a non-engraved gun two and three years ago, when I bought six like-new ones for no more than $600 each. Some of the ones I bought have detachable box magazines, which Remington no longer offers on anything but the blued version of the 700SPS. Today, I'm seeing them SELL for $900 and there are some priced at or over a grand!

I'm writing about this buying craze for my July column in Shotgun Sports Magazine. In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, there was a gun show two weekends ago that saw a 33% increase in attendance over the same dates last year. People told the promoter that they were buying guns as a hedge against a recession, not just because they fear a ban on guns in general.

It really is nuts right now. Dealers are telling me that their distributors are refusing orders for guns, citing a FOUR-YEAR backlog of orders at the manufacturers. Smith & Wesson is one of the manufacturers that two dealers told me they could not order, so it's not just black guns that are in high demand.

I'm glad I bought when I did!

Ed

 

[wheelyfun66]

I just won an auction for a 66-2 snub....
paid $655. (plus shipping plus FFL tranfer fees......)

So, I'll be into it for $700.

Will post pics next week or so.....

 

[AR_Paratrooper]

I just picked one up for $600. Hurt my pocket book but it's in pretty good condition. She was dirty and a little scuffed you but I buffed out all the scratches and she's shining like me.

 

[R*E]

I picked up a couple of 2.5" 66-4 in December for $475 each. Guess I did okay.

 

[WI357SIG]

Model 66 and hot loads

The 66 doesn't like hot hand loads. I have seen distorted (oblong) holes in the barrel end of the cylinder. What's the best way to evaluate for that condition?

 

[labworm]

It figures.

I score on a gun a few years ago that I could actually make
some money on and it's one that I would never sell.

Received my permit in 1990, immediately I was standing at the LGS.

I purchased 3 hand guns which I still have and will never sell.

Beretta 21A .25 ($195.00)
Colt Government Blue .380 ($310.00)

And of course what I think is one great looking S&W

Model 66-3 2 1/2 ($300.00)

Not bad for someone that had no idea as to what they were doing at the time.

 

[AgentM]

One of the reasons is that M66's haven't been made for years, and the pre-lock models of all S&W revolvers are in high demand. I paid $600 for a used, but minty 3" M66 w/box, paper, and tools about nine years ago. They've crested $1K+ when I've seen them for sale on-line. I just paid $550 for a police-trade M681 (no-dash), in "VG+" condition, and am glad for it (man, what a gun!!).

I know that recent market forces have completely locked-up the production capacity of almost every US-based gun manufacturer. If things ever get back to "normal", I think it would be great if S&W could put their engineering genius into making .357 K-Frames again. With modern metallurgy and engineering, they could probably make them even more tolerant of magnum ammo.

If you think S&W M66's are bad as far as "inflation" is concerned, look at the prices they're ringing up for Colt revolvers on Gunbroker. You can't even sniff a King Cobra for under a grand. Same market force applies - they're not making any more of them. Fortunately, there are 100x the number of M66's out there. But, that won't last forever.