new 66-1 purchase. what should i do?

[geronimotwo]

i just purchased a smith 66-1 with 6 inch barrel. it was advertised on auction arms by martin b retting inc who has a great feedback rating. i paid what i consider a premium price for it at $490 plus $15 shipping, and $30 ffl. i paid this as it is exactly the gun i wanted and it was advertised as "LNIB" with a hint of "storage" on the bottom of the trigger guard. when i received the pistol it all looked good except the bottom of the trigger guard looked as if it had been buffed with a fine wire wheel. i did the revolver checkout, and all the cylinders locked and timed fine. the bore and chambers were all good.

this past weekend i took the gun out and shot a box of 50 through it. i really enjoyed shooting it, except for the right grip would shift occasionally during firing.

when cleaning the gun it suddenly became apparent that it was not locking up on every cylinder. it would lock up fine randomly from 4-11 advances in a row, then would not lock for 1 to 3 times. upon further inspection i found the cylinder stop was binding. i tried a touch of solvent/lubricant which solved nothing. at this point i stopped so i could call alex at retting during the week. he suggested using break free, and also opening the side plate if that didn't work, to look for gummed up grease (which he assured me would be the likely problem in a revolver that had barely been fired).

so i take off the plate, and am able to determine that there is no gunk at all inside the gun. period. no lubrication of any kind, or gunk of any kind.

while checking the cylinder stop, i noticed a number of things i would like your comments on:

i found the rear of the stop to be barely rubbing on the frame, as if it were a hair long. this appears to be what is causing the binding.

i noticed the hand was rubbing on the left side of the slot, to the point of binding if it were seated all the way against the trigger assembly.

there are a number of course machining marks inside the cover plate, and on the hand.

there are two five digit assembly numbers, one on each side of the butt. one of which matches the cover plate.

while assembling, i noticed the rear most plate screw was slightly out of center in the plate hole. although it was close enough to seat itself. also, this screw was shorter than the rest but still had more than enough bottom clearance for a full screw to fit.

things that make you go hmmmmm.

do you feel these are consistent with a gun advertised as like new in box?

i wouldn't be so critical if i didn't have the lockup problem.

 

[JoeHatley]

Everything you mention sounds pretty normal to me.

The bolt not popping up could be from lack of lube, a weak spring, or it may just need a little dressing with a stone. Double check the bolt frame window for a bur.

Long shot, but make sure the bolt notches in the cylinder are not dirty or peened.

Good Luck...

Joe

 

[geronimotwo]

i checked the notches, they're clean. the stop is binding even without the cylinder in place.

 

[cpirtle]

About the only thing that sounds potentially unreasonable to me is the trigger guard. Was there a picture of the rub marks? Fortunately it's stainless and if that were all that was wrong it would be a relatively easy fix with some patience. Sellers always try to find fancy names for scratches, dents, gouges and cracks - (eg: inclusions, storage marks, dimple, faint line etc..)

The other items are a tough call because the gun was functioning fine out of the box, so to a seller who did not fire the gun (lets face it, most dealers don't) probably has no clue it would have problems. That could happen to any used gun.

I think it's worth mentioning to the seller to see how he reacts, he may offer to help out. I've been in situations like this and usually am pleasantly suprised when I bring it to their attention.

On a side note, it probably was not a good idea to take the gun apart or at least admit it publicly. Most dealers would tell you to walk if you tried to take the gun apart yourself. They have no idea how good you are at this and would have no way to verify that more damage wasn't caused after the fact by improper disassembly. (I'm not picking on you because I would have done the same thing)

 

[geronimotwo]

fortunately, the dealer suggested i open the side plate.

the hand binding bothers me too, to line up with the slot the hand needs to be aprox .020"-.025" from the trigger assembly. there is plenty of clearance under the cover, but i don't like the idea of depending on the hand pin when it is extended out in that position.

 

[JNewell]

I don't think anything you're describing is necessarily inconsistent with the guns's description...unfortunately.

 

[dfariswheel]

Here's my take:

First, re-check the timing with EMPTY cases in the cylinder.
On some newer guns the ejector is slightly loose without cases in the chambers, and this will give a false reading.
If the gun is not locking up fully with fired cases, it's out of time, and needs repair.

i found the rear of the stop to be barely rubbing on the frame, as if it were a hair long. this appears to be what is causing the binding.
Not common but I have seen this on a very few occasions. Needs adjustment. .

i noticed the hand was rubbing on the left side of the slot, to the point of binding if it were seated all the way against the trigger assembly.
Needs to be checked

there are a number of course machining marks inside the cover plate, and on the hand.
Totally normal for S&W. Internal machine marks have no effect on operation or customer appearance. Heavy marks on the HAND is another matter. The outside face should be reasonably smooth.

there are two five digit assembly numbers, one on each side of the butt. one of which matches the cover plate.
Normal. S&W puts various assembly numbers on major components. These numbers are to keep major components together during manufacture until the gun is assigned a serial number. The serial number is never the same as the various assembly numbers.

while assembling, i noticed the rear most plate screw was slightly out of center in the plate hole. although it was close enough to seat itself. also, this screw was shorter than the rest but still had more than enough bottom clearance for a full screw to fit.
Normal?? If the short screw is in the UPPER REAR hole of the plate, it's correct, that screw is shorter than the others. If it's in the LOWER rear hole, it's in the wrong hole.

Sounds like a more or less normal S&W with a slightly mis-fit long bolt.
There is a possibility a previous owner had it apart, and this might account for the problems.
None of this is the dealers fault really, since they simply don't have time to shoot and go over each gun with a jeweler's loupe looking for odd problems.
They look the gun over, operate the action once to look for obvious trouble and sell it if they don't see something.

 

[Marshall]

Just for kicks, what were you shooting through it?

 

[rcmodel]

While you have the sideplate off, grease it up with Gun-Slick grease, put it back together, and dry-fire or shoot it about a thousand times. (Snap-Caps are probably a good idea.)

It will be fine!


rcmodel

 

[geronimotwo]

First, re-check the timing with EMPTY cases in the cylinder.

good idea, after the stop (bolt) is fixed

If the short screw is in the UPPER REAR hole of the plate, it's correct, that screw is shorter than the others. If it's in the LOWER rear hole, it's in the wrong hole.

this is only a 3 hole plate, with only one rear screw, which is a flathead for fitting under the grip (versus the two oval head screws outside the grip).

Just for kicks, what were you shooting through it?

just standard target loads. 158 grain wadcutters.

 

[earplug]

My new in the box S&W 625 was out of time and would missfire on factory ammo. S&W fixed it for free.
Get your like new M-66 tuned up and enjoy it. Find A local smith or do it yourself.

 

[geronimotwo]

i was able to talk to alex at martin b retting inc today. he suggested that i send it back to them, with free shipping both ways, so their smith can look it over and fix the problem(s). i'll let everyone know how it turns out. thanks for the advice.

 

[JNewell]

Sounds like a more or less normal S&W with a slightly mis-fit long bolt.

Especially during that period...

he suggested that i send it back to them, with free shipping both ways, so their smith can look it over and fix the problem(s)

They are treating you like a prince. If it were me, I'd be letting them (and everyone else) know how much I appreciated it. Your post here is a good heads-up on what appears to be an exemplary dealer. Thank you for letting us know.

 

[geronimotwo]

latest update! martin b retting had the revolver for a week, sent it back to me next day air with ups, refunded my shipping costs, and have apparently fixed the problems with lockup. thanks!!! i have not had a chance to fire the gun, but during dry firing this gun is doing great so far.

thanks again to alex at retting. he was always intent on taking care of the problem. i love a happy ending!!!

 

[YodaVader]

Very glad to hear things turned out so well! I think you will really enjoy that 66-1 now! I bought one too earlier this year , a 1981 vintage with a 4" barrel and am really pleased with it!

 

[.41Dave]

You might want to measure the barrel on that 66-1 of yours. The nominal 6" barrel is closer to 5 7/8" on most model 66s, but a small number in the 70's (66 no dash to 66-1 time frame) were made with 6 1/8" barrels. These guns are worth about a 20% premium to collectors. Just thought you might like to know.

 

[geronimotwo]

i finally was able to make it to the range. the gun worked very well. it also has one of the nicest triggers. in double action it has a silky smooth long pull that allows you to feel the two clicks made by the action, with just a short squeeze after the second. in single action it is smooth and crisp with short travel. this model also has the adjustable trigger stop that seems to be set perfectly.

You might want to measure the barrel on that 66-1 of yours. The nominal 6" barrel is closer to 5 7/8" on most model 66s, but a small number in the 70's (66 no dash to 66-1 time frame) were made with 6 1/8" barrels. These guns are worth about a 20% premium to collectors. Just thought you might like to know.

yes, this does have the longer barrel, do you know if this is because it is a pinned barrel with recessed cylinder? the box has a small sticker that appears to be a date. 10-6-80. this could be when it was originally purchased. the serial # is 65koxxx if anyone can confirm this?

thanks again to Martin B. Retting who did a great job making this right.

 

[Round Gun Shooter]

Boy, I hope that isn't one the the ones I built when I was in the Armorer school. We each did 5 but they were inspected and reinspected.

Seriously, the 66-1 is my favorite. I have the 2.5" and the 4" and hope to swap my 6" 19 some day for a 6".

Glad your problem is solved. I am sure you will enjoy shooting it.