New to me Taurus old model 66. Beautiful!

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I just pick this up tonight in a trade. I have about $275 wrapped up in the deal. I can’t believe how crisp & smooth this action is! The case hardening and blueing is very nice! Here it is next to my Highway Patrolman.

Anyone else have one or any experience with the older Taurus 66?
 

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I have owned several older Model 66's.

My Old Model 66 from 1982-83 has one of the best triggers of any of my revolvers.

The Old Models have a hammer safety rather than the transfer bar safety. Maybe that explains why its trigger is noticeably better than my later models, though they are very good.

 
I just pick this up tonight in a trade. I have about $275 wrapped up in the deal. I can’t believe how crisp & smooth this action is! The case hardening and blueing is very nice! Here it is next to my Highway Patrolman.

Anyone else have one or any experience with the older Taurus 66?
Had one and it is one of my greater regrets of selling. Though, in my defense, someone important to me *needed* it and I only *wanted* it.

It continually shocked folks when they shot it and the action was nothing short of perfect. It is but one of a few older Tauri that I have owned from new that had been internally engine-turned or jeweled at the factory.

A true stunner and I ever wait for my right-of-first-refusal to kick back in on it.

Amazingly (not here used lightly) built and fitted, brilliantly accurate and in one of the highest kudos to a revolver - seldom used outside of SAAs - it was a complete joy to listen to the workings of the action.

Todd.
 
I don't know about other eras, but the early and mid 1990s Taurus made some great revolvers.
 
My 689 from the late 80s-early 90s I one of my best examples of fit and finish. It's beautifully blued, everything fits perfectly, and the action is every bit as smooth and crisp as my S&W 686 no dash. One of my favorites and my only 6 inch barreled DA revolver. All the others are snubs, 3 or 4 inch.
 
I had one in 89-90, great gun smooth action. I abused mine and shot the cylinder loose and traded it in. I would not hesitate to buy an older one today if the price was right. Looks like you got a nice one for a good price!
 
I like those grips!

My gun has a target hammer and target trigger- both are case hardened. The cylinder isn’t recessed like my Smith, nor is the barrel pinned. The sights are all black with no insert or white outline. I don’t have a trigger scale but the single and double action feel is very smooth and similar to my Smith and my Colt Diamondback.

I think that the 6” barrel looks a little long for the size of the frame. Too bad the barrel isn’t 5”. That would look very balanced!
 
A Taurus model 66 was my first handgun. I bought back in 1986. I traded it off for a Super Blackhawk 44 mag.

The Taurus 66 is a great revolver!
 
I have owned 3-4 model 66 Taurus guns and all were excellent guns. I wish I still had a couple left. I helped my BIL get a 6" vent rib barreled gun and letting him pay me back. I got half of the money then without saying a word to me he sold it because he needed money. And the rat never paid me the rest of the balance.

But Taurus guns from that period were very well made. Jan Libourel at Guns & Ammo wrote about them all the time. He caused me to buy several model 80s, 82s, 85s and 66 guns. And I nearly forgot one. A model 96 that was the Taurus answer to a S&W K-22. Also two model 94s. A 22 and a 22 mag. Never any trouble with any of them.
 
From the early '80s to the mid '90s Taurus really picked up their game in terms of build quality and overall fit and finish. The Model 66 revolver and the Model 92 semi-auto were their two flagship handguns that really help establish Taurus in the U.S. marketplace.
 
I bought one new (4" bbl) in 1987. I even carried it for a little while on the job. Always worked well for me, though the ejector rod sleeve worked loose a few times after a decade or so, locking the cylinder shut. Easy fix. I still have it.

A few years back, a friend inherited a 6" one that he sent over to me for a good cleaning. It shined up very nicely, and was from about that same era, maybe 1990 at the latest, guessing from its serial number. Looked just like yours. Seemed like it had been shot a lot less than mine has been.
 
Biblethumpncop, I have a model 66 I bought in November 1979 and still have it, and its number is 78xxx. According to info I found they started making them in early 1978.
 
Biblethumpncop, I have a model 66 I bought in November 1979 and still have it, and its number is 78xxx. According to info I found they started making them in early 1978.
Wow! Awesome! That makes it a product of the 70’s like me!
 
My first centerfire handgun was a satin nickel .357 mag 66 with the 6” barrel, I bought it new in 1989. It was a great shooting revolver... but I had to sell it to help pay the rent. :(

You’ve got a nice revolver there, congrats. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
My father had a stainless Taurus model 66, similar to what Tallball posted. Purchased in the 1980s in South Africa. It was a very nice revolver, pleasant to shoot.
 
I picked mine up in the early nineties. Has a transfer bar so maybe not a old model. Has factory ports though and a very sweet trigger
 

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