Formerly known as xpd54.
The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions or policies of my employer.
www.gunsnobbery.wordpress.com
Last edited by 03RN; 05-09-2019 at 05:52 PM.
Will be interested to see how it holds up for you. Some of the things mentioned (parts availability, more durable forcing cone, barrel length) are intriguing. Maybe someday S&W will remove the lock from the non-J frames and I can start buying their revolvers new again.
No QC complaints. Was dead on from the factory. First 50 rounds were 158gr factory federal JSP. Boy, my forearm was smoked after 50rds. I love these grips for carrying but they make lots of heavy .357 shooting a workout.
Not my best accuracy but in my defense it was a brand new gun and the DA was hitching. Just felt dry(which it was).
Next 50 rounds was 158gr swc over 13.5gr 2400.
Better accuracy. Less recoil.
Next 50 were in .38 cases. 5.2gr of unique under a 158 truncated bullet. All fast double action cylinder dumps with speedloader reloads. The 3x5 card was only at 25 feet but it was rediculously easy to hit as fast as I could find the front sight.
No complaints. The lock is gone. New grips installed and I need to find my tiny roll pin punch so I can install a night sight. Considering it was perfectly zeroed from the factory and looks like it's mechanically zeroed im wondering if it's a candidate for a fixed rear sight.
Really handles nice.
If you can afford to buy an older M66 and can locate a like new one, I urge you to do so. K frame action parts will fit the M66. Buy an extra extractor rod and shop for the very few other parts making fitting inside the cylinder and set these aside. You may never need them. The new revolvers are ok but lack the grace and soul of the older ones. My opinion is that the older guns are smoother. In my prime when blindfolded and presented with 5 different K frames to study, I could then distinguish between and among them by noting the differences in their actions. Part of this trick depended on detecting sound differences. Newer Smiths with less dense mim parts have a slightly different sound when working the action. That's a moot point. However, my experience prompts me to say that the newer guns can be made smooth but not quite as smooth as the older ones. Most would never know the difference, which does not matter anyway.
The 2.75" 66-8 looks interesting. The price is arguably less than the going rate for 3" M-66s.
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
I'm not to worried about soul. I bought this as a beater to shoot a lot.