Finally broke free to get my 3" S&W Model 66-2 to the range. Here's a pic of the first three cylinders, fired DA, at 10 yards. A bit of windage adjustment needed but I'm happy with that performance. Ammunition was CCI Blazer 130gr FMJ.



Finding holsters for 3" guns is not easy so, while I'm waiting for my Barranti holster to arrive in the fullness of time (I ordered one in February '17 and am still waiting) I bought a Safariland 568 holster for 4" revolvers and it's worked out great. The tension adjustment allows me to use it with both K and L frames, as well as my Ruger GP100's. Not bad for a sub-$40 holster.



Also brought along my 2.5" M66 no dash, mainly so I could compare the feel of the different grips. After a box through the 3" gun with the wood grips, I swapped them for the Pachmayrs. The wood grips are just a hair wide for me which makes them hammer the inside of my thumb. Not pleasant, but nothing a grip change can't fix.



Both guns shot well, but I prefer the 3" for two reasons: first, it has S&W's smooth semi-wide trigger which makes DA shooting very easy. The 2.5" gun has the narrow, serrated, trigger common to K-frames in the 70's and it can tear at the pad of my trigger finger after awhile. Second, the full length ejector rod on the 3" gun makes emptying the cylinder very fast, particularly after the cylinder started to heat up and grime began to accumulate in the chambers.