Smith & Wesson Model 66 Combat Magnum 357

[robvious]

a 66 4 inch was my father's carry gun for years.. Old Betsy... he shot IPSC with it back in the day as well... recoil is manageable and controlled by what you put in it... carry is comfortable either inside or outside the waist band... dad carried both ways in holsters he made... I only carry mine OWB in a pancake he made for me...

 

[Muley Gil]

Which model is this? What is the grip device that was added?

That is a 2 1/2" Model 66, wearing factory Magnas and a Tyler T grip adapter.

 

[dschiebel]

2 1/2 Polished 66

For those of you that have or have had a S&W 66 Combat, what are your opinions? Interested in recoil for one thing. Anyone carry one? Which holster style? Thanks.

Carried a 2 1/2 66 polished in an upside down shoulder holster for many years working a a US Marshal and cop. Had to use it once on a bad guy. 2 357 125 golden dots Cops 1 - bad guy 0

 

[gfors]

A 4inch M19 or M66 is the perfect .357 in my book. I have less issue with recoil in a K frame than I do with a N frame, despite the added weight of the bigger revolvers. K frame targets fit my hand perfectly, which makes a big difference in felt recoil.

Agree. Hand fit is everything.
In my hands, a 3" 65 handles .357's better than a 4" M28. I shoot better groups, and feel less recoil. I'll shoot a full box (50) of 158 JSP's in a session, and love every second of it (double up on the ear protection!). I think the round butt makes all the difference. My favorite set-up is the original grips, with Tyler's T-Grip. I have set of Uncle Mike's boot grips, that I also like. OTOH, I have a 4" 66 no dash that really lets you know when you're shooting full house loads! It is a square butt, wearing target grips. Different hands, different ergonomics.

 

[LJBrennan007]

My 66-4 with holster by ETW

Personally, I have great confidence in the .357 mag cartridge and prefer six rounds of that to ten-fifteen rounds of 9mm. I can run plates with this gun in double action mode and keep up with most guys shooting race guns.

 

[BAM-BAM]

The Uncle Mike rubber grips are a licenced copy of Craig Spegel's wood Boot Grip! I love Spegel Boot grips for size and shape.


IMO some of the best grips for shooting full power .357s are the Pachmayr Compacts and Professional Compacts. Really like the Compacts on my round butt 4" 686 with the covered backstrap!

 

[cmj8591]

The 4" model 66 with Hogue rubber grips was THE best duty revolver ever available. That's DUTY gun. I know, the L's and N's have better endurance and might be a little easier to handle with magnum loads, but for a day in, day out duty gun the 66 was the best, hands down.

 

[simobros]

A vote for blue steel

I know the thread is about snub 66s, but I just had to throw in my highly-prized 19-4 2.5 inch that I bought used in 1980.
I bought the finger groove combats at a LGS, shortly after I bought the gun, off of a counter display of S&W grips he had. They fit my hand perfectly and look great to boot.
I generally shoot +P.38s on the range and carry it with 125gr .357s or some of my old stash of .38 SuperVels.
It's either in an old-school Strong high-ride pancake at 4 o'clock or an "upside down" tear out that I think is a Bianchi or Safariland.
It's a little on the heavy side for all-day belt carry, but very reassuring. I generally carry a pre-36 RB 1.75 inch for EDC.

 

[AveragEd]

I have three Model 66s, a 2-1/2" -4, a 4" -2 and a 6" -2. I also have a half-dozen Model 686s but prefer the good old K-frames. For holsters, I use all Lobo Gun Leather gear. They re custom-made to your order, his prices are fair and his selection of styles is very good.

Ed

 

[Glenn54]

First, thank you for your military service.
I have a Model 66 2 1/2" that is my primary edc and I carry it in a Simply Rugged Sourdough pancake.
Because I don't have large hands for a guy, I had Patrick Grashorn, a member of this forum, make a set of pre-war elk stocks ( no the elk wasn't pre-war, he was a much later issue I assume).
The stocks fit my hand perfectly and shooting magnum loads are no problem although it mostly get fed a diet of .38's.

Thank you for your service as well. Love the elk grips. My hands are on the small size too.

 

[jdlii]

The Mod. 66 with a 2.5 inch barrel may just be the perfect K frame for carry. Compact, comfortable to carry in a good holster and very accurate with a variety of ammunition and bullet weights.

I am currently the care taker of a 66-2, wearing a pair of Mr. Gashorn's elk stag grips and a 66-5 with banana grips. When carried, they are in one of two Don Hume holsters both black, one with a a thumb break and the other an "open top." Both holsters are OWB, slide type with open bottoms to accommodate any barrel length.

 

[Rock185]

Glenn, back in the '70s, I carried one every working day for several years. I also shot it recreationally. Most all shooting was done with Magnum ammo. No way to get around it, with Magnum ammo in a ~36 oz. gun, you're probably going to notice the recoil.

I pretty much wore out my 66 out before going to the S&W L-Frame revolver about 1980. Had S&W overhaul the old gun, and I still have it. Fine little revolvers IMHO.

 

[bph9]

The Model 19 and the Model 66 were and are K framed .357's. The were and are failures when it comes to using a steady diet of full house 158 grain bullets. Two thousands rounds (which is not a lot of shooting) usually means the gun is ready for a trip to a qualified gunsmith to tighten them up again as they can and will begin to shoot loose.

I use only .38 specials in K frame guns. If you want to shoot a lot of .357 magnums the L frame or N Frame is the only way to go.

 

[sandog]

Sure, the bigger frames are what is needed for a steady diet of magnum loads.

But the OP asked about the Model 66, not L frames or N frames, nor why they are "better" than the K frames.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

One version has the dreaded "125gr full-house loads" melting the weak K-frame's firing cones like butter, and now we have the "full house 158gr bullets" as the culprits...? Who are ya' gonna' believe?

I continue to shoot 357 Magnum loads in my Models 19-3 & 66-1 with confidence.

Would an L or N-frame be a viable addition? Of course: if I was primarily shooting hundreds of 357 Magnums (and full-house, of course!) at the range every time... But, I don't: well, not now, anyway?

Cheers!

P.S. There is a difference between a 16 oz. Stanley Fiberglass Claw and an Estwing 30 oz.Long Handle Straight Rip Claw, but it is doubtfull a couple dozen nails can really tell the difference...? One's arm can, though!

 

[357 shooter]

For those of you that have or have had a S&W 66 Combat, what are your opinions? Interested in recoil for one thing.

Owned a 66 with a 2.5" barrel and currently a couple 4" models. As to recoil its all about the grip. With Hogue rubber grips I fired 145 grain Silvertips out of the 2.5" with no discomfort. With the 4" models also have Hogue Rubber grips and firing 158 JHP magnum reloads is not an issue in regards to felt recoil.

Some years ago I fired one of those "dreaded" Federal 125 JHPs out of a friends Model 19 with the classic wood target grips and my hand felt pain at round one. These days I don't shoot the 125 magnum loads out of the 66s mainly because of the atomic cannon muzzle blast. My 8 3/8" Model 27 shoots the 125s well with less blast and Earth shattering concussion.

 

[sandog]

Your M27 has less blast and concussion because it has a longer barrel, allowing a full powder burn and having the muzzle farther away helps too.

I can't see an N frame having less blast than a K frame if both barrels are the same length.
There's nothing magical about a fatter cylinder that will tame blast and concussion over a smaller diameter cylinder.

Barrel length will help, and it also helps to be a handloader so you can match the powder's burning rate to the barrel length.

 

[mrstang01]

It's very easy to find a better carry gun. It's called a 686+ and it's very common.

Not with the lock.

 

[growr]

What is this thing called recoil about anyway? Sounds dreadful to me....

Randy

PS.
As my deceased father used to tell me, if you can't handle the recoil of a .357 mag, get an air pistol.

 

[mrstang01]

I sometimes carry this, but would rather a 3" 65 or 13 RB. I find a 4" 19 SB with PC magnas just as wearable.

I've got both, we should talk.