Model 66 questions

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ShowMeState1977

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I'm soon to take possession of a nice S&W Model 66 with a 4 inch barrel. Does anyone carry one of these conealed IWB? What kind of holster do you use? Any other wisdom you'd like to impart about this gun would also be appreciated.
 
I sometimes conceal the blued-brother of the m66--the m19. i use a milt sparks vm2 holster. with a good belt, i do not find it difficult to conceal.
 
One thing to impart is not to shoot magnum loads with bullets smaller than 158gr. in this gun or a model 19. The smaller bullets allow gas to get by them while still in the cylinder and cause damage to the frame and barrel forcing cone. Inspect the gun for damage in these areas before shooting.

The gun is not "unsafe" with magnum loads - it was just designed when 158gr. was the standard load and does not tolerate the later, lighter, and faster bullet designs well. If you search this forum for "flame cutting" and "66" or "19" you should find well-detailed threads on the subject. To address this problem, in 1980 S&W introduced the 586/686, a slightly beefier mid-frame 357 to address the issues with the lighter bullets. The 19/66 was later phased out.

These are excellent guns, with wonderful handling, shooting, and carrying characteristics. a 2.5" model 19 is my favorite carry gun, and one of the best concealed carry guns of all time.
 
I don't have a 4' 66 but I do have a 4" 10HB that I sometimes carry in a Bianchi Shadow. The 66 is a fine revolver. I have known several police and security officers who have carried one. My 66 is a 2 1/2" version that I carry in a Bianchi model 5BH. Right now my wife uses the 66 as her nightstand gun.
 
I CCW carry a mod 19-4 4"..... but geeze.... there's no damn room for IWB... I guess I have to lose 20 pounds!
 
Thanks for the info! So if I shoot 158 grain magnum loads or any of the 38's (+p included), I'll be fine?
 
I hate to disagree, but the gasses do not pass the bullets with lighter bullets. The problem is the gasses are still burning furiously when the 125 SJHP bullets, which are immensely effective BTW, are past the cylinder gap, and the hot flow of gasses can cut the forcing cone/top strap. If the only SJHP 125s you shoot are at bad guys, and maybe a few to check accuracy, you should have no worries. This is not an instant killed gun scenario.
I would not shoot a heavy diet of stout 357s of any ilk out of a 66. It is only my opinion, and others may differ, but it will get loose long before a Ruger just because it was originally designed as a 38 Special frame. Don't get me wrong, I really like S&W 19s, 13s, 65s, and 66s, and am thinking of getting one now, but I don't plan to launch barnburners out of them constantly. They are surperb shooting and feeling with 38s and milder 357s, and will last a loong, long time like that. Rugers are tougher, but S&Ws (at least the ones I have had) seem more refined. Like life, there are tradeoffs. My wife cannot bench pres 200 pounds, but I don't mind a bit.
 
I am going to agree, and to disagree, with most here.

Your M66 is perfectly capable of handling any commercial .357 Magnum ammunition. Especially now that the companies and SAAMI have decreased the maximum operating pressure for the round.

About gas cutting. I have seen gas cutting on frames, even on a M27 (N-frame). The .357 Maximum had gas cutting problems, too. However, most of the time, the gas cutting of the framd tends to be a self-limiting problem, so ignore it as a real problem. Besides that, I know a machinist that can put metal back on the frame with EDM and you would never know that it was done when he is finished.

The K-frame Smiths, in their original versions, had problems with the barrel forcing cone spreading and splitting from the use of hot loads. Most of that has been lessened by the lowering of the operating pressure. However, do not feed this thing a steady diet of full pressure loads, just for this reason. In the later series revolvers, attempts were made to correct this, but it ended up being one of the reasons for the introduction of the L-Framed guns.

Another reason for introducing the L-Framed guns was that the K-Framed .357s had a problem with cracking center pins. That was caused by the flex from hight pressure loads and the relatively lighter crane on these guns. This is another reason to feed it a steady diet of modest loads and keep the hot stuff for occasional use.

I have owned 19s and 66s and never regretted it at all.
 
I'm a huge fan of the model 66 and i really wish i bought one when I had the chance. With that said *I* would only shoot .38's and .38+p out of it, but I do tend to baby my guns a lot. It should be very nice for a IWB CCW. I use my 3" gp100 in a Don Hume IWB and it works just fine. However I don't think anything on my hip in the summer would conceal for me, ymmv.
 
So really...... WHO has a problem with 158gr magnum rounds? Does anyone really think they are less effective?
 
Since I have very little data on performance against bad guys (none actually), I tend to look at FBI data, and they rate the 125 gr SJHP as the numero uno one-shot stopper last time I looked. Therefore I figure everything else is less effective, by definition. Not useless, just less effective.
 
The K-frame Smiths, in their original versions, had problems with the barrel forcing cone spreading and splitting from the use of hot loads. Most of that has been lessened by the lowering of the operating pressure.
Click to expand...
I think people are getting a little too preoccupied with the magnum-out-of-a-K-frame thing. The Model 66 is a great gun that can handle occasional loads of even the 125 gr JHPs with no problem. It's only when people get out on the range and begin shooting it every other weekend with magnum ammo.

It used to be that a cop could carry ONE gun for his entire time on the Force. And when he retired, the local police would let him carry it into retirement. They must have figured it was a good investment. Truth to tell, many cops didn't much care for practice and so they passed their qualifications with .38 ammo and carried .357 ammo. The only real problem was when the chiefs made their men carry 158 gr JHPs, which often overpenetrated and took too long to recover from. But when police finally began making their men practice with hot magnum loads, the armorers noticed that S&W's quality control had slipped dramatically (especially during the late 70s and early 80s). They also noticed the erosion problem, but it was essentially from those officers that tended to practice a lot with the hot loads.

Today, the situation is arguably better, as most 125 gr JHP loads are "optimized" for shorter barrels. It seems no one wants the slower burning banshee powders that burned all the way down a 6-inch barrel and launched a bullet at devastating speeds. No, they wanted fast burning powders that would burn fast and get those bullets out of short barrels at devastating speeds.

Fast burning powders aren't necessarily better for your guns, but magnums are where huge amounts of ballistic horsepower are generated for emergency situations and, I suppose, for fun. If it saves your life, who cares it it's a bit hard on the gun? People use +P loads in the earlier Model 60 despite the fact that it reduces the life of the gun. If you want to shoot lots of magnums, get a Ruger, then carry the 66. I have Rugers, but if I had a shot at a 66-1, I'd go for it simply because the gun is a gem.
 
On the topic of Mags in K frames, back in the day I carried a 19 as my duty revolver. I was also the department armorer and Instructor. We carried and qualified with Super Vel JSP Magnum loads. At last count I had over 20,000 rounds through my 19 and NEVER had a problem that normal maintenance and my basic armorer kit could not cure.

I now carry a 2.5" 66 in an Alessi Hideout or a 4" in an Alessi Belt slide. The Alessi Hideout is my favorite IWB holster and I have it for a M&P semi auto, a 226 Sig, and for the 2.5" 66-1. It is concealable, comfortable, and they last.

Only problem is the wait time is about 10 months right now.

Regards,
 
Hey Round Gun: Held similar positions and assignments....carried and still own my M/19 in nickle.......an early gun #390XXX that was used when I bought it in '66. That gun was sent back to S&W by me for a refinish and light graving job and to date I conservatively estimate it's had way, way over 50M thru it....true, most were downloaded wc/swc loads, but still it's eaten a hulluva lot of hot handloads using cast Keith 168s pushed by max loads of 2400....A bit loose, but I would STILL stake my life on that gun....it has simply never failed. It has never broken a part and the timing is still just about what it was when it came back to me from the factory in February of '66.

The 66's I've owned and handled don't have quite as smooth an action on average as those older 19's but I've gotta believe they'd come along with time and use.

Truth be told, you really can't go wrong with that design....it'l just about do it all. It might be a bit light for the full bore mags but it'll eat 'em when you need 'em......and it's a LOT, LOT easier packin' than any 27 variation.

And yes! One big super plus on the Alessi rigs....Owned two and they far outshine any of Galco's or Bianchi's rigs.......worth the wait.
 
I have a 6"' Model 66 that has been one of my favorite hiking and carried while hunting guns for years. The 6'' is a bit long for concealed carry but it can be done in cold weather with a longer coat. Mine has had thousands of full power loads plus more than a few of the 125 JHPS through it with no problems although I wouldn't recommend the 125 grs for daily usage on a regular basis. Also as has been noted you will eventually see forcing cone erosion in most all 357s from continuous firing hot lighter weight bullet loads and recutting the forcing cone may be needed after a while. Since my wife claimed it, my(our) 66 get mostly .38s fired through it now with 4 or 5 cylinders of .357 rds occasionally. The K frame S&Ws are not as tough as the L frames or the Rugers but they are not the weak sisters many would have you believe.
 
I am another fan of the M19 and M66. I too packed them as a duty gun and I still have one of each, both 4" barrels. I think they are the best general purpose revolvers ever made.

I use mine as house guns and fun guns. They are larger than I care to pack around day to day. I've gotten old and lazy.
 
My winter carry is a M19-5 in nickel and 2 1/2" barrel and has seen a lot of near maximum hand loads using the 140 grain and 125 grain SJHP under 7.8 grains of W-231. I just checked and there is very little erosion in the forcing cone and the top strap.
This is a 1986 manufactured revolver and I bought it new...I, too, am a fan of the Mod 19...
 
The 66-2 is mine!

Well I have it and it's purty! It locks up tight as a drum! The serial number starts out ACN30XX. Can anyone tell me what year it was made?

The guy I bought it from gave me a box of 158 grain .357 to go along with it!
It doesnt have the original grips on it, unless they came with Safariland wooden grips.

Thanks again for all the info!
 
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