Who's a Smith 66-2 2.5-in. Fan?

[coldcase1984]

Poot! I need a shorty 27.

Took the 66-2 to the Ranch, and it shot large patterns at 15 yards with 130 Ball .38, 158 JSP Magnums and just a tad better with some light 158 LSWC .38 commerical reloads my dad probably bought in the late '80s.

Can anyone advise if the S&W Performance Center $265 Combat Revolver overhaul includes removing endshake and all that good stuff? This blaster would be fine for a home defense pistol, but for outdoor rec purposes it's just not accurate enough for me; that DW 2.5VH I got from my son puts them all into about 1.5-in. at 15 yards.

Here's pic of three shots I fired at the MGM at 50 yards barricade with that most accurate load. While they all hit, the spread was more than twice the size the DW shot the other weekend. Two North of the hammer and one way out West.
[IMG][/IMG]

[LSP972]

Old school beater.

That looks just like mine; right down to the Compac Goodyears. Mine is P&R, though, 1978 vintage.

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[LSP972]

I was able to buy my old LSP issue 2 1/2" for $19.00 when I retired......based on age depreciation.

You got raped! Mine was $17…

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[Dagga Boy]

You got raped! Mine was $17…

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I got a Glock 17 and a USP45 for $2.00.....:-)

I also got a Mars Armament 1911 for my retirement gift instead of the big glass clock and pizza party for people who hated me to say nice things they didn't mean.

[coldcase1984]

Does your cherry 2" 15 want to live at my house.....I am hoarding right now...:-)

Those are old Compacs. Used to be in my wife's 65, but a little big for my daughter so she got the Compacs with the open backstrap.

Luckily LSP never got back with year of manufacture, so I cleaned the 66 and took it back to the owner. Guess I'm gonna stick with the Cherry Bomb from the '70s for snake and mammal defense in the woods and fields this summer.

ETA: Studying on getting some VZ grips on this little rascal...

[IMG][/IMG]

[Trooper224]

I like VZ grips, but the thought of putting anything other than wood on that gat gives me a sad.

[jh9]

Can anyone advise if the S&W Performance Center $265 Combat Revolver overhaul includes removing endshake and all that good stuff? This blaster would be fine for a home defense pistol, but for outdoor rec purposes it's just not accurate enough for me

At least as recently as 2003, no. I've done the PC action thing once, on a 681-2 police gun that had seen better days. The trigger job was better than decent (and back then they were still using forged parts) but they did nothing about the end shake or the slop in the yoke. The former I later fixed with bearings. The latter I've just sorta lived with thinking maybe one day I'll get around to peening and dressing.

Someone on benos mentioned that S&W had farmed out some of their PC work and that was source of many 929 buyers' ills. If that is in fact the case (and it could be wrong, given that it was unsourced internet chatter) I would not expect things to have gotten better.

That 681, btw, had enough end shake that when it got hot the cylinder would bind. I was shooting it on the semi-regular in IDPA way back when and if I used magnums it would bind on any stage longer than 6-12 rounds. .38s were no problem. Things like this are the reason why good revolver smiths charge as much as they do. I was inexperienced at the time and didn't recognize it as a problem. In hindsight no one with any competence or sense of decency would give that gun back to a customer without at least mentioning the problem. So I wouldn't send a gun to S&W's PC with the stated goal of getting a trigger job and hoping they fix or at least mention minor problems that they find. You're likely to get exactly what you paid for. No more. No less.

[coldcase1984]

So who's the go to folks for end shake and other issues?

[jh9]

So who's the go to folks for end shake and other issues?

The factory should be fine for routine safety/functional issues like endshake, timing, etc. The regular S&W service department seems to be doing just fine. I only know of one revolver that went back in the last year or two, it was a similarly old 629 and the issue was taken care of to the owner's satisfaction.

I just wouldn't use the Performance Center for a revolver due to the numerous 627/929 complaints and the fact that it's kind of overpriced for what you get. It's nothing at all like an experienced gunsmith that will make phone calls, recommendations, etc. It sounds like that's what you want.

I haven't used any of the nationally renowned shops. Other people here might have suggestions if you want a gunsmith to give it a more thorough going over.