My transitional 66

Chukar60

Chukar60

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Not any engineering changes being discussed here. Instead I have a gun that is going to make the transition from a safe queen to a high grade shooter
Some history is in order. I bought this gun as a ANIB 66 no dash. It is in very good condition. In fact I doubt it has been fired outside the factory. The seller told me he bought it brand new and never fired it and I have no reason to doubt his claim.
I took some pictures of the gun with my iPhone X and it looks great.






I am not usually a keeper of safe queens and after a time care taking this beauty I was considering selling and replacing with a nice grade shooter.
So I end up with a new iPhone 11 and want to try the highly touted camera out and grabbed the 66 for a quick photo session.














The amount of detail that the iPhone 11 camera brings out is incredible and honestly, makes taking flattering pics of your guns a challenge.
You can see that there are minor safe dings on the gun that I never noticed until I took the pictures.
I am into it for what I would pay for a high grade shooter with the original box, so next trip to the ranch this one goes along with a couple boxes of ammo to complete the transition.
 
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It can be amazing the things a high quality camer sees that our eyes can miss. I find this even more noticeable in blued guns.

Great photos of a neat gun. Pet her to work!
 
I have a 66ND with box and all the package in the same condition as yours. I too haven't shot it, but I have a couple of 66-2 guns that get worked occasionally. Mine also begins with a 9K serial number which puts it at approx 1976 production. What's of interest is that your stocks have the speed loader cutout, and mine are a "football" target. Once more, it kind of looks like there no 100% rules as it comes to assembly. For now, I'm keeping mine a Queen. But who knows what the future will bring. Enjoy shooting yours.
 
LPD256 said:
What's of interest is that your stocks have the speed loader cutout, and mine are a "football" target. Once more, it kind of looks like there no 100% rules as it comes to assembly.
Click to expand...
9K numbers were used in 1976, '77 and '78. If yours is below about 9K14000, it should date to 1976. At that time, the K frame targets with the speedloader cut had not yet become available, so footballs would be correct. The SL style stocks showed up in about 1978.
 
LPD256 said:
I have a 66ND with box and all the package in the same condition as yours. I too haven't shot it, but I have a couple of 66-2 guns that get worked occasionally. Mine also begins with a 9K serial number which puts it at approx 1976 production. What's of interest is that your stocks have the speed loader cutout, and mine are a "football" target. Once more, it kind of looks like there no 100% rules as it comes to assembly. For now, I'm keeping mine a Queen. But who knows what the future will bring. Enjoy shooting yours.
Click to expand...

I was actually taking some practice pictures to list the gun here on the forum.
The only other 66 I own is a -1 snub and it shows it's experience.
 
LPD256 said:
I have a 66ND with box and all the package in the same condition as yours. I too haven't shot it, but I have a couple of 66-2 guns that get worked occasionally. Mine also begins with a 9K serial number which puts it at approx 1976 production. What's of interest is that your stocks have the speed loader cutout, and mine are a "football" target. Once more, it kind of looks like there no 100% rules as it comes to assembly. For now, I'm keeping mine a Queen. But who knows what the future will bring. Enjoy shooting yours.
Click to expand...

I will be looking for some different stocks. I am not fond of Smith target stocks. They do not fit my smaller hands very well.
These will be offered up for sale as soon as I locate something more suitable to my Hobbit hands
 
Chukar60 said:
Not any engineering changes being discussed here. Instead I have a gun that is going to make the transition from a safe queen to a high grade shooter
Some history is in order. I bought this gun as a ANIB 66 no dash. It is in very good condition. In fact I doubt it has been fired outside the factory. The seller told me he bought it brand new and never fired it and I have no reason to doubt his claim.
I took some pictures of the gun with my iPhone X and it looks great.






I am not usually a keeper of safe queens and after a time care taking this beauty I was considering selling and replacing with a nice grade shooter.
So I end up with a new iPhone 11 and want to try the highly touted camera out and grabbed the 66 for a quick photo session.














The amount of detail that the iPhone 11 camera brings out is incredible and honestly, makes taking flattering pics of your guns a challenge.
You can see that there are minor safe dings on the gun that I never noticed until I took the pictures.
I am into it for what I would pay for a high grade shooter with the original box, so next trip to the ranch this one goes along with a couple boxes of ammo to complete the transition.
Click to expand...

Chukar..., They're some nice pics of a beautiful work of lethal art.

I too use my iPhone 6s for all my firearm pictures, and they turn out not too bad.

Best Regards,

Kobsw
 
I just took my new to me 66-4 out to the range on Sunday--the first weekend the local public range was open. I had a great time shooting it and it's definitely a keeper!

I think you will enjoy shooting yours. I think you made the right decision, what little you may "lose" in monetary value is more than made up by what you gain in shooting pleasure. Someone would have to offer me stupid money for my 66, enough so that I could go and buy another one + a lot of ammo.

Considering it's been almost 30 years since I've owned a 66, I'd just as soon keep this one. But, if you've got stupid money burning a hole in your pocket....
 
JP@AK said:
9K numbers were used in 1976, '77 and '78. If yours is below about 9K14000, it should date to 1976. At that time, the K frame targets with the speedloader cut had not yet become available, so footballs would be correct. The SL style stocks showed up in about 1978.
Click to expand...

I learn something every day. Mine is 9K49434. Thanks
 
LPD256 said:
Thanks! I haven't lettered it or asked for a ship date. It's a very nice example.
Click to expand...

I have a 4K18xxx that letters to 1974 , both sites are stainless. yours seems to be a little newer and has the transitional black rear site. I bought mine several years ago ANIB I shot it anyway but it still has under 50 rounds through it. sure is nice.
 
I've still got my first M-66 a four inch, stainless sight, early one. Bought it new in 1972.I shot thousands of rds of 5.0 of Unique and a 168 gr Keith SWC in .38 cases through it.

Whenever I pull it from the safe, it feels so good in my hand. Like an old friend.

I've often thought if I was relegated to just one, I could get by with a four inch 19/66 I think.
 
Very nice.

I used to have quite a few Safe Queens and then I sold them. :D



This is the only gun that I own that I will probably never shoot. My M520.
 
model 66

the first model 66, 4" i was able to find and purchase was in the area of 1974 where i paid a premium over the list price for. the gun was located across the sf bay at a once very large gun shop named the "traders" in san leandro. those guns were rarer than anything then and paying over list was acceptable for me since it was the only way i could find to have one. the gun replaced my model 19 that i had been using as a duty weapon and it didn't take long for other members of the dept. to notice it.

a few years later, i made a lateral transfer to another agency in scal where the model 66, 4" was the issued weapon. the gun that i received had been issued before and besides some cosmetic wear, the timing was off. i could never get the dept. armorer to agree to repair it as he felt the gun functioned normally. the gun shot ok but there was a small amount of lead that was spit to the side when fired. our issued ammo was the fire breathing Remington sjhp, 125 grain load, that produced a fireball. i carried that gun until i retired. i offered to buy it from the dept on my last day at work but the personnel officer said it was destined to be issued to the new crop of corrections deputies that were hired. by then the regular deputies on the dept. had been issued glock 19s. many years later i read a thread on this forum from a poster that wanted to know what some certain letters stood for as he had just purchased an le trade it. he had found those letters stamped onto the frame of his model 66. since the letters were unique, right then i knew that most likely my old gun had been sold off to the general market. if the dept was going eventually sell those guns off, i would have sure appreciated being able to buy it when i retired.
 
edw794 said:
the first model 66, 4" i was able to find and purchase was in the area of 1974 where i paid a premium over the list price for. the gun was located across the sf bay at a once very large gun shop named the "traders" in san leandro. those guns were rarer than anything then and paying over list was acceptable for me since it was the only way i could find to have one. the gun replaced my model 19 that i had been using as a duty weapon and it didn't take long for other members of the dept. to notice it.

a few years later, i made a lateral transfer to another agency in scal where the model 66, 4" was the issued weapon. the gun that i received had been issued before and besides some cosmetic wear, the timing was off. i could never get the dept. armorer to agree to repair it as he felt the gun functioned normally. the gun shot ok but there was a small amount of lead that was spit to the side when fired. our issued ammo was the fire breathing Remington sjhp, 125 grain load, that produced a fireball. i carried that gun until i retired. i offered to buy it from the dept on my last day at work but the personnel officer said it was destined to be issued to the new crop of corrections deputies that were hired. by then the regular deputies on the dept. had been issued glock 19s. many years later i read a thread on this forum from a poster that wanted to know what some certain letters stood for as he had just purchased an le trade it. he had found those letters stamped onto the frame of his model 66. since the letters were unique, right then i knew that most likely my old gun had been sold off to the general market. if the dept was going eventually sell those guns off, i would have sure appreciated being able to buy it when i retired.
Click to expand...
That is both a cool and sad story. I too wish you could have kept your piece. I have a no-dash 66 with Hogues and it is dream to shoot.
 
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