Model 66 question

[Preacherman1973]

I have a Model 66 with 4" barrel. It is my first gun and was bought from the widow of a law enforment agent. I had two good friends who are both longtime instructors look it over for me and tell me I was getting an incredible deal and that the gun looked amazingly well cared for. So here is my question. I can shoot all day long using .38 special but if I put even twenty .357 magnum rounds through it the cylinder tends to lock up. The range master and my two friends say they have never even heard of that and cannot figure out what is wrong. To get it unstuck I can sometimes wiggle it firmly by hand but sometimes have to take a rubber mallet to the cylinder. Has anyone else ever heard of this or know what the deal is?

 

[Preacherman1973]

I have a Model 66 with 4" barrel. It is my first gun and was bought from the widow of a law enforment agent. I had two good friends who are both longtime instructors look it over for me and tell me I was getting an incredible deal and that the gun looked amazingly well cared for. So here is my question. I can shoot all day long using .38 special but if I put even twenty .357 magnum rounds through it the cylinder tends to lock up. The range master and my two friends say they have never even heard of that and cannot figure out what is wrong. To get it unstuck I can sometimes wiggle it firmly by hand but sometimes have to take a rubber mallet to the cylinder. Has anyone else ever heard of this or know what the deal is?

 

[18DAI]

Welcome to the forum

It sounds like you have a 66 no dash. The location of the gas ring was changed between the 66 no dash and 66-1 due to this problem.

When the 66 no dash heats up firing 357's, the gas ring expands and ties up the cylinder.

You could contact S&W and see if they still do the modification. You could also simply fire only 38's in it. My 66 no dash does the same thing.

Back in the day, S&W sent some folks down to the agencies which had this happen with their new 66 no dash, and modified them on site (replaced the stainless rear sight with a black one too!). Hope this helps! Regards 18DAI.

 

[fyimo]

I have a Model 67 and Model 66 both are no dash with stainless rear sight and I hope this isn't going to happen with my 66. I bought it to shoot 357's and if I can only shoot 38 special's then I need to sell the 67 or have S&W fix the problem with the 66. Next time I go to the range I will pound 357's through it and see if it locks up.

Thanks for the heads up as I just got the model 66 last week.

 

[Iggy]

Did you shoot a bunch of .38s and then change to .357's without a thorough cleaning of the cylinder?

That can sometimes cause things to lock up as the longer .357's hang up on the carbon ring left by the .38's.

 

[Preacherman1973]

Yes Iggy. That is exactly what I did. I probably put about 50 -100 rounds (different nights) .38 followed by .357 Mag.

Thank you 18DAI! I will follow up with S&W on the gas ring issue. You are right, it is a 66 no dash.

 

[judge]

I believe the problem is dirt/powder in the cylinder after firing .38 rounds. If the holes are not spotless, the .357 mag will not seat fully, and will bind up. Try the rounds with clean cylinder & see what happens. DO NOT use rubber mallet to open the cylinder!! This will cause more damage than you can imagine. Ater loading the .357, pull the hammer back about 1/2 inch and spin the cylinder counterclockwise. It should rotate freely. If it is tight, check for dirt, and make sure the rounds are fully seated.

 

[S/W - Lifer]

The early production guns did this. Contact the factory for repair. I had one of earliest of the 66s and recall how disappointing this experience was.

 

[stevieboy]

I've never had a problem with my no-dash but, then, I've only fired .38s with it. Question: did the model 19s of the same vintage as the 66-no dash (early 1970's) and earlier have the same gas ring as the 66 no-dash? Did they experience similar tie-ups after firing 357s?

 

[john traveler]

Yes, the early production M19 guns had the same problem. It was a combination of closely-fitted cylinder and rapid fire of .357 ammunition in a short time. Heating and expansion of the cylinder-mounted gas ring was the problem. It did not happen when using .38 special ammunition because the .38 specials did not build up as much heat in the same time frame.

 

[RKmesa]

If you also shoot a lot of lead rounds, the lead can build up on the face of the cylinder, binding with the rear of the forcing cone (this happened on a USFA SAA of mine that had too short a forcing cone). Another thought is that if you are saying that you cannot open the cylinder, it could also be that the ejector rod has become loose and pushing the thumb release forward does not allow the ejector rod lock to dis-engage...

 

[Igiveup]

I recently bought a 66 no dash. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but if it does lock up, what does a person do? Will letting it cool down let the cylinder release?

 

[john traveler]

It should only happen with the following combination: a closely-fit cylinder with minimum endshake, and an extended string (two or more) cylinderfulls of magnum ammunition.

Yes, letting it cool for a few minutes will allow the gas ring to contract and resume normal function. A spray of lubricant/cleaner like WD-40 will also help.

 

[bobbyjack]

Any pictures of this gas ring? And does the 66-3 have them? Bob

 

[BunnySlayer]

Check your ejector rod. Sometimes they can come loose in older guns and bind up the action. I've had it happen several times with older Smiths. A little lock tite fixes it. After that, it may be something else.

 

[Texas Star]

Originally posted by bobbyjack:
Any pictures of this gas ring? And does the 66-3 have them? Bob

The M-66-3 has a gas ring, but after Massad Ayoob blew the whistle on this in gun magazines, the factory finally saw fit to relocate it. That solved the matter.

My M-66-3 was bought new in 1990, and has never given any trouble at all. Some older M-19's did.
Because stainless steel retains heat more, the early M-66's were the worst in this matter. As posted above, the M-66-1 engineering change cured the problem. Personally, I think major butt should have been kicked at S&W for releasing the design before attending to this issue.

T-Star

 

[bobbyjack]

Thank you Texas Star ,but exactlky where is this gas ring?

Bob