Smith Brings back the Model 66!!!

[WI357SIG]

What goes around probably comes around

My first center-fire revolver was a Model 66-1 with six-inch barrel, target trigger, hammer and grips. I ordered from a LGS 04/07/79 and received it 10/22/80. In those days law enforcement was purchasing 4 inch Model 66's in volume. Delivery time for the new release will probably be similar.

Shot all bullet weights in 357 and one day it lost the timing. I sent it back to the factory for repair. It got a new non-recessed cylinder as one of the chambers was swelled. I believe some change/replacement of the forcing cone due to the cylinder dimensions. It cost one-half or better of the purchase price for the repair. It's a nice gun and I guess I just enjoyed it too much.

Got a 686 and considered that a solution to the short comings of the Model 66. Got a second 686 and put a scope on it. I retired the Model 66 and haven't shot it in 20 years.

When I think about another Model 66 it reminds me of the movie "The Outlaw Josey Wales". Chief Dan George comments . . . "All I have is a piece of hard rock candy. But it's not for eating. It's just for looking through."

 

[jrs70]

Smith and Wesson is in it to make money. They think the new 66 will sell. It is in 4.25 inch barrel so it can be exported to more country's. I'm sure it will do good. Not grate but good. When they are out for a while and I can find a good used one at a good price I'll get one.

 

[Realgunner]

There are just so many things "wrong" with it; but I want one!

 

[WaMike]

Thanks for the answers. I own a 586 and holsters, grips and lots of innards interchange with my Mdl 10 and 15 (and 18!), but other than the extended underlug, I've been unable to see the difference. Guess I need to drag out the calipers and check.

Thanks to Steamloco for the pickup comparison. I presume S&W are the Chevys of RevolverLand!?

No....this isn't a hi-jack!

 

[AveragEd]

I had a sort-of similar experience to WI357SIG's with my first Smith & Wesson, a Model 19 I bought new in the mid-1970s with "all the options" - target hammer, trigger and stocks plus colored sights. I ran a lot of ammo through that gun, most of it 148-grain wadcutter target loads but a fair amount of too-hot (I guess) magnum fodder. Fired case extraction became harder and harder to the point where even one that had contained 3.2 grains of Bullseye required a punch and mallet to remove.

I sent it to S&W and received it back a few weeks later with a new cylinder. The accompanying letter stated that the original cylinder's chambers were out of round. A few years later, the same thing started happening and I returned it again. This time the accompanying letter advised me that this was the last cylinder replacement that would be performed under warranty. I foolishly replaced the gun with a Python.

The old K-frames could be delicate in some ways and I now treat those three K-frames in the photo a few posts back with respect and feed them only target loads.

Ed

 

[jtcarm]

It's lighter, has a more level point of aim, and with proper care can handle any steady diet of magnum rounds (though probably 90% of people who own either will practice with .38 Spl. Some will even carry with .38+P). The problems in the past with forcing cone issues I'm sure would be fixed by now with these new model 66's. As mentioned, they've got J frame's in .357 mag these days and those guns have very thin forcing cones.
.

Yup. With LE switching to autos, very few .357s ever get shot with enough mags to be an issue. Plus the problem was with shorter bullets, 125 & lighter. Think of it as a +P .38 special with the option to shoot magnums.

As for who, I might well buy one. I've bought 2 M-66s in the past year, one with the dreaded lock/MIM (gasp!) What may motivate me is the 2-piece barrel, which is proven to give better accuracy. I just wish they'd do packs like Dan Wesson, and allow us to set the BC gap. That would be awesome, an M-66 with 2 3/4, 4, & 6" barrels (though I'd like a 5" and 3")

It looks pretty much like the 66-7 that was discontinued in 2005.

I like the looks of the 689. I'm still think they could build a 6-shot 40 S&W/10mm convertible on the L-frame.

 

[Gunhacker]

Model 68 already used. Model 666, really?

And it appears that Model 69 is now taken: Model 69 L-Frame .44 Magnum

Now that's an interesting development....

 

[MrTrolleyguy]

That new revolver being called a model 66, with the two piece barrel....

Woo! Where does it mention a two piece barrel? I must have been napping.

 

[steamloco76]

Pictured before I added a red dot sight is my 2005 era, bought new old stock in 2010 model 67-6. Dreaded internal lock, MIM, and two piece barrel. Guess what? It is one of the smooooothest K frame actions I've ever felt and is my most accurate 4 inch revolver. Looks a lot like the new 66.

 

[Warren Sear]

No thanks. I will find a vintage Model 19 with case hardened hammer and trigger and a firing pin on the hammer where it belongs...

Why would you prefer the firing pin to be mounted on the hammer instead of the frame?

 

[rmw]

Why would you prefer the firing pin to be mounted on the hammer instead of the frame?

I don't mean to speak for the poster here, but it might be because it is a more direct way of striking the primer instead of having a middle man so to speak.

 

[S&W1006]

I have a 4" 66-3 that I love but I'm glad they brought the 66 back. The lock doesn't bother me for the most part. I could live without it but I choose to ignore it. As far as MIM parts they work perfectly fine and they save money. The 3rd gen Smiths all used MIM parts also. Revolvers are expensive especially compared to the more popular polymer pistols so they have to reduce cost and MIM is one way to do it. I'm sure there is a reason they chose to use a 2 piece barrel company's don't change things for no reason.

No manufacturer can make everybody happy. Yes the new 66 is a compromise but I'm still glad the option is there. I love S&W revolvers and I would hate to see the day that they don't make them anymore. I want some Colt revolvers but unless I hit the lottery or Colt brings them back I will probably never have one. It took me 3 years to find my 66 and I paid more for it than I wanted to because they weren't making them anymore. There was a reason Smith dropped the 66 originally and I'm sure part of it was lack of sales. I'm glad S&W indulges the revolver fan to some degree. They could go the way of Colt and just not make any revolvers anymore.

 

[5Wire]

Here's the S&W page on the 4.25 inch Two-Piece Barrel Model 66

 

[9146gt]

I have a 4" 629 with a lock. Said I'd never get one. Glad I did. Is it a little different from my older 629 or 29-2? Yes but it works and is accurate.

Perhaps, just perhaps now that they have a "K" frame we might see 22's and or other items. Maybe a 5 shot 44 Special?

It will not hurt the value of the older ones. It will allow those who can't find an original to buy one.

Check out the model 69 on the Smith web site.

Tom

 

[jd70]

Very happy it's back. Even though I own 3 k frame 357 s I will probably save up and buy the new 66. It's the only one I don't have and I can take out the lock. K frame point and shoot better than about every other gun I've ever shot. Going to get a cc license this year and I would rather have one of these than one of my old ones as evidence if I ever had to use one. Really wish it was a 3 inch though.

 

[Hapworth]

Any thoughts on why they went 4.25 on the barrel? Seems odd to resurrect a classic and add a relatively meaningless smidge to the length.

 

[WaMike]

Let's use this analogy: The K Frame is the 1500 series truck, capable of hauling 3/4's of a ton, but not all day every day. Suits many as we don't use the heavy loads often. The L frame is the 2500 series. Built to handle that 3/4 ton all day every day, and just a bit heavier. The 3500 series would be the N and X frame guns-big, heavy and can handle any sane load.

I should have been quicker on this: the N-frame Mdl 27 & 28 are like a 3500 pick-up with a short box (the chamber is shorter than the L-frame)

 

[5Wire]

Maybe they seem "snappier" is because there is a slightly heavier mainspring to overcome the "middleman". That might equate to a heavier DA pull on some of them. BTW, most Rugers - at least the multiple GP100 and SP101 have horrible DA triggers compared to S&W. That may in part be attributed to the coil MS though...

There is no "middleman" to overcome on S&W revolvers. No force is transferred between the hammer and the firing pin, force is direct. the weight of the hammer block is miniscule, has no spring tension on it, and moves out of the way of the hammer only when the trigger is pulled back. The Model 547 has a frame mounted firing pin as does the 617 and the SA triggers on either are just fine. There may be other older models with frame mounted firing pins but I've never owned one.

 

[PA Guns & Ammo]

I would not buy one if they did not fix the forcing cone issue. I would buy an older one though. But I like where S&W is going but I may not like where their prices are going though. Hopefully they will not have a $800 MSRP.

 

[RIDE-RED 350r]

I would rather spend $800 on an all steel Smith revolver than $600 on a plastic auto (pick your brand) any day.

But don't forget, MSRP is rarely the price you see on a piece in a real dealer's shop... If it's any sort of descent dealer that is, Gander Mtn excluded...

I bought my brand new 686 for over 100 less than MSRP from my LGS.