I finally got my 66-1 back.

A while back I posted about a 66-1 that I saw at a gun store near the house that I just
had to buy for $500.00. When I got it home I wasn’t thrilled with how the cylinder latch worked, so I sent it back to S&W to be gone over and any adjustments made. A few months back in Springfield and it’s back!

The action is tight as a drum, the trigger pulls are great and if there weren’t a few small scratches on the frame near the cylinder release it looks almost new.

I think I’ll keep the Pachmayr Signature grips on it for now, they go with the “law-enforcer’s sidearm” look that these guns had for so long.

I have an appointment to head to the range and requalify a retiree on Monday, hopefully I’ll be able to put a box or two through it to see how she shoots.



Stay safe.

.308 Norma said:

That's a nice Model 66, Riomouse911. On Tuesday, I ordered one almost like it from a gunstore in Idaho Falls. They said it would probably be in today or Monday next, and they'd give me a call. I've had my cellphone sitting in front of me all morning. So far, nothing but 8 robocalls!
Anyway, I was wondering about putting a set of Pachmayer grips on my own Model 66 once I get it. The "Signature" ones you have on yours look pretty good.
Out of curiosity, what are you going to use for a holster for your Model 66? I'm thinking about a Simply Rugged Sourdough Pancake holster for mine.

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I have a Tex Shoemaker pancake that I had made for a 4” M19 years ago that this gun will drop right in to.

The grips came with the gun. At first I was going to go with a new set of cocobolo panels, but these just seem to “work” so I’ll leave them alone.

Hopefully your next call isn’t for a solar power system, it’s your gun store telling you to come down and pick up the new arrival!

Stay safe..

357 Terms said:

Nice Smith!
But, buying a house for only $500 is a whole lot more impressive than that 66!!!

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Man, I wish!

Punctuation using a phone is a grizzly without readers!
Stay safe.

Thanks It came this way, the previous owner took good care of it.

You can't really see the minor scratches on the left side of the frame in the pics, they look almost like holster-snap scuffs, or maybe from a ring if the owner was left handed. Even the turn-ring on the cylinder isn't standing out much.

There was something funky about how the cylinder released, the release button would barely move forward enough to release the cylinder. Since it's now working like brand-new I'm guessing it may have been from congealed oils/WD-40 in the innards. I'll opine that this gun sat an awful lot more than it was shot so the stuff just hardened up. That, and the lack of a box/papers/original grips dropped the price into my "I gotta have it now" range.

Stay safe.

Overkill870 said:

I love the 66. Yours is nicer than mine. I have a 66-4, with some wear and tear on it.

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While this was in Massachusetts getting worked on I bought a M-64 .38 that’s a bit chewed up... that gun will need a good bead blasting to make it look passable.

Stay safe.

MidRoad said:

Man that's a nice looking revolver! Did SW charge you for the work? If so was it reasonable? Sure it was worth every penny.

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It was roughly 125.00 bucks plus 25.00 to ship there and back. Since it was so long out of production the factory charged me for about an hour and a half labor to dial it in. I didn’t mind paying a bit more for factory service because the revolver was in such good shape.

Stay safe.

Ok, I got it out to the range today. Conditions weren’t great, it was windy enough to rip the paper targets off the stands without a gob of staples.

All shots were fired DA, 2 handed hold at 10 yards:

My first 18 were fired using .38 Spl cases with a 158 gr SWC over 4.5 gr Unique. The sights were right on for this load .,



The next 24 were fired using .357 cases with a 158 gr Berrys plated HP over 6.5 gr Bullseye.

I chunked a few shots. One was during a wind gust (the highest one), the others were all my fault;



All in all, the gun worked perfectly, the ammo all fired and despite the crazy wind I hit pretty close to the X... plus I got out of the office for an hour so I’m happy .

Stay safe.

desmobob said:

Nice shooting. I shot mine today, too. It always makes me happy! I shot some 148gr. HBWCs over 3 grains of Bullseye in .357 cases. I also shot some 125gr. JHPS and plated 158gr. SWC loads and was pleased with the accuracy and similar POI for all three loads. That's a nice bonus.

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Nuthin is better than a fun day at the range!

I posted about target WC loads today, they kept bouncing off the conveyor belt material the range uses as target backing.

Stay safe.

ACORN said:

I had one that I foolishly sold off 30 odd years ago to my buddy's FIL. It now resides in his daughters home. I'm hoping she gets pregnant and decides she doesn't want it around the house and gives it back. Then possibly I could buy it back. I have a 6" - 3 and a 2-1/2" - 1 but that 4 incher was sweet.
Hope they've been taking care of it.

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My M-19 was traded off to a former friend for a .454 SRH, a gun I RARELY shoot. It was then traded off to another friend for something else. Kinda like you, I know where it is and if I pony up what he'll ask for it I could get it back... but now that this 66 came home I think I'm good on K-frame .357's for a bit....maybe....

Stay safe.