Model 66 with 357 mags

[p0838]

Any problem using the 110 load with Model 66 2.5" barrel?

 

[stiab]

I chronographed some of that exact load thru my 2.5" M66 at 1163 fps. They are not very hot, don't kick much. Your question has been asked here before, and the concensus was they are fine to shoot in a M66.

 

[flop-shank]

I like Remington 110s more. If you want to play it ultra safe, Speer 135 gr. SB .357s would be excellent and hard hitting.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I like Remington 110s more. If you want to play it ultra safe, Speer 135 gr. SB .357s would be excellent and hard hitting.

Excellent yes but hard hitting, not so much... They are rated at only 990 fps so they don't deliver as much energy as most. IMO their prime function is to allow those who bought a 12oz .357 Magnum to shoot ammo that is marked .357 Magnum without all the recoil associated with a Magnum round.

 

[flop-shank]

Excellent yes but hard hitting, not so much... They are rated at only 990 fps so they don't deliver as much energy as most. IMO their prime function is to allow those who bought a 12oz .357 Magnum to shoot ammo that is marked .357 Magnum without all the recoil associated with a Magnum round.

Fair enough. True they don't smack like the full power .357 stuff, but they hit harder than .38s and they expand beautifully under pretty much any conditions. Follow up shots should be a snap.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Fair enough. True they don't smack like the full power .357 stuff, but they hit harder than .38s and they expand beautifully under pretty much any conditions. Follow up shots should be a snap.

Now I have to agree with you. I knew if we shuffled up the words enough we would come out on the same side and agree...

 

[kbm6893]

I had a 66, but sold it for a 686. I rarely even shoot magnums, but when this question was asked on this forum about limiting magnum loads in k frames, I emailed S&W directly. The response was "do not shoot 110 grain or 125 grain ammo in the gun. Keep it at 158". I played it safe and traded for the 686.

 

[flop-shank]

Now I have to agree with you. I knew if we shuffled up the words enough we would come out on the same side and agree...

Well, yes. Of course that would depend on whether "powerful" were based on if the load in question were being compared to the .38+P, or full house .357 magnum, not to mention what the meaning of is is, or how one defines sexual relations (no I did not have sex with that woman). Sorry for the Slick Willie flashback.

 

[38-44HD45]

I had a 66, but sold it for a 686. I rarely even shoot magnums, but when this question was asked on this forum about limiting magnum loads in k frames, I emailed S&W directly. The response was "do not shoot 110 grain or 125 grain ammo in the gun. Keep it at 158". I played it safe and traded for the 686.

I don't know what they are smoking up there at the Safety Wesson plant, but that's nonsense. Factory 110 gr. .357 ammo is loaded light, compared to full-house 125gr. stuff, and not all 125gr. loads are screamers. The Remington 125gr. Golden Saber, for instance, is loaded to about the same ballistics as Speer 135gr. Short Barrel, roughly equivalent to Federal 147gr. +P+ .38s. Furthermore, 158gr. loads can be hot enough to put substantial wear on a K-frame. You got bad advice, in my not-so-humble opinion. All crows are black; doesn't mean that everything that's black is a crow.

 

[Lomax Anderson]

I shot those today and do not like them...they shoot way low and groupings were bad to say the least...switched to my 158 grain handloads and had 4 holes touching and two more about 1 inch away, Shot both loads out of a 65-3 3" and a 686-6 with a 2.5...110 grainers are good for the brass only...in my book

 

[OKFC05]

I don't know what they are smoking up there at the Safety Wesson plant, but that's nonsense. Factory 110 gr. .357 ammo is loaded light, compared to full-house 125gr. stuff, and not all 125gr. loads are screamers. The Remington 125gr. Golden Saber, for instance, is loaded to about the same ballistics as Speer 135gr. Short Barrel, roughly equivalent to Federal 147gr. +P+ .38s. Furthermore, 158gr. loads can be hot enough to put substantial wear on a K-frame. You got bad advice, in my not-so-humble opinion. All crows are black; doesn't mean that everything that's black is a crow.

I agree, and I think the problem is partly how the question is asked. If I had to answer, I'd probably start out saying, "Sit down, this is more than one sentence." There are some screamer light-bullet loads out there (and that can be handloaded) that are hazardous to a K frame, but there are some others that are loaded to safe levels in either gun. The real question should probably include which loads exactly do you mean?

 

[kbm6893]

I agree, and I think the problem is partly how the question is asked. If I had to answer, I'd probably start out saying, "Sit down, this is more than one sentence." There are some screamer light-bullet loads out there (and that can be handloaded) that are hazardous to a K frame, but there are some others that are loaded to safe levels in either gun. The real question should probably include which loads exactly do you mean?

Well, since the average shooter is not a full time gun enthusiast, but more likely a person who buys a gun for protection, and does not reload, I have no idea what load is best. But when a gun says ".357 magnum" on the barrel, it should be able to shoot whatever commercially available .357 the owner wants to shoot. I did lots of research on the K frame magnums, and found out the K frame .357's were developed to give police officers more punch in their guns. They were phased out since the guns were not as forgiving towards .357 ammo. The L frame came along and solved the problems.

 

[stevieboy]

I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing more eccentric than the range of ammunition that gets sold as ".357 magnum" ammo. The only thing, apparently, that all of the myriad of products has in common is that they utilize the magnum-length brass as opposed to the shorter .38 special brass. Sometimes it appears to me that one could study the various factory loads in .357 that are out there and never sort out the differences.

A few oddities that I've picked up reading various threads about magnum rounds over the years:

110 gr. magnums are apparently relatively light loads. But, many (not all, I guess) 125 gr. magnums are real screamers.

125 gr. magnums by and large shoot harder and much louder than 158 gr. magnums.

158 gr. magnums work well in K-frame revolvers whereas 125 gr. magnums pose a risk of cracking these guns' forcing cones if fired too frequently from them.

180 gr. magnums apparently shoot with recoil, noise, and flash that is roughly equal to that which one experiences with 158 gr. rounds -- which is to say, considerably less than the recoil and noise generated by many 125 gr. rounds.

I'm sure there's more odd information about magnum rounds that I haven't mentioned. I've long since given up trying to figure this out. My magnum round of choice is 158 gr. JHP, when I can find the stuff, and I'm pretty much done experimenting with the many other flavors the round comes in.

 

[EPM]

As a police officer I carried a model 66 and used 125 grain remington jhp's in it for duty rounds. A fellow rookie officer shot a fleeing suspect with a model 10 loaded with 200 grain .38 special ball ammo,and the round ricoched off the back window of the car window! He then switched to a hotter round.
Ed