Too bad Bob retired after today and no longer has computer access - he was one of the revolver gurus. I only deal with semi-autos, so I am sorry, but can't offer any help. Maybe someone else here will jump in...

Are you planning to shoot mostly 357's or 38's out of it? The S&W 66 is a good gun, it's probably got a nice smooth action too.

The 357s I have now get 357s fired 95% of the time. Those are an SP101 & a FA 353.

Tuckerdog1

Hope Bob finds another computer soon. Not so much for my question, but just for his input in general.

Tuckerdog1

If you shoot mostly 357's then if it was me I'd go with the 586/686 instead of the 66.

The S&W 66 is an excellent gun. Good size, very accurate.

The early ones (no dash) had the reputation of loosening up with a steady diet of full-house .357 Magnum loads.
No one (at least nobody I know) constantly shoots maximum power 125 gr rounds, so I don't see any problem.

I haven't had any problems with my 3" 66-2.

The 66 is a fine revolver. It is basically just a stainless version of the M19, one of the best double action revolvers ever made in my opinion. The K frame Smith revolvers were standard issue to police forces for years before the change to semi-autos. If you find a 66 in the barrel length you want for the right price, pick it up. They don't make them like that anymore.

The 66 with 17/8" barrel is a fine little packing gun and I would carry .357's in it, but I wouldn't feed it a steady diet of them as they can and will loosen up. I would get a 686 for the range or woods, if I was going to shoot .357's all the time.

During the 1950s shooting legend Bill Jordan convinced S&W to produce a .357 on the smaller K-frame rather than the then common and larger N-frame thinking it would make the ideal police revolver. Jordan was right and the medium frame "Combat Magnum" was an immediate hit. The Model 66 is the stainless steel version of this revolver.
These make for excellent carry guns as the K-frame size and weight make for good concealablity while being able to comfortably handle the recoil of full power .357 loads.
However, the original premise was to shoot .38 Specials for practice and limit the use of .357 to carry and defense work. A steady diet of full power .357 ammo can cause the gun to "shoot loose". Also the most popular defense load, the 125 gr JHP, can cause accelerated wear on the forcing cone.
On the bright side, the average shooter will never run enough full power ammo through one of these guns to do any noticable damage. They will last a very long time under normal use. I've been shooting my Model 19s (same gun in blue) for many years with no ill effects.
The Model 66 is an excellent gun and I highly recommend it.

I have no experience with a 66, but recently bought a 65-5 which is a 3", fixed sight version. I really like mine. Found out it had been sent to the S&W Performance Shop to be set up as DAO and have the hammer spur removed. I would highly recommend these K-frame guns, but like mentioned above, I hear they dont like a steady diet of the high velocity/low bullet weight magnum loads. Thats ok with me. I'll shoot a few to keep sharp with the defense loads I carry and practice a lot with .38 specials. Heres my 65-5, wearing a pair of designer grips to better fit my big hands:

Thanks for the info guys. Sounds like I won't be making a mistake, should I wind up with this revolver.
What would you all define as a "steady diet" of 357 ammo?
I can only get to the range about once a month. I'll dirty up several guns when I do get the chance to go. So this particular gun might get 50 rounds of 357 per month tops. Is that over the top? I can easily swap out for 38s, but am curious at about what point I'd be pushing my luck.

Please keep the pics coming. They are mighty nice looking guns.

Thanks again,
Tuckerdog1

Tuckerdog1, 50 rounds per month should be just fine. The few people I know who have managed to wear out a K-frame .357 generally shoot a couple hundred rounds per week!

I have not had any problems from the above mentioned
weapon that I picked up on the USED (but not abused)
market for $225 OTD~!

After all the good things said here about the 66, plus what I was able to find elsewhere, I expect one will be in my safe sometime. They are really good looking guns.
But I was able to get a 638 at the gunshow this weekend.
Will be trying to make time for a trip to the range next week, to test her out.

Thanks,
Tuckerdog1

I love my 4" 686P. Very accurate and smooth gun. Built like a tank. I can't imagine anything else being appreciably better.

Originally Posted by tex45acp

How do those wooden grips feel after a bunch of shots, compared to rubber ones?

The wooden ones look nicer, but from prev experience, my hands sometimes start hurting when I shoot a small revolver with wooden grips...

The 66 with 4" barrel is actually the stainless S&W model 19. The 66 has a little bit lighter barrel than the 19. Ruger security six with sights is about the same size. I put rubber grips on mine. Shooting full houswe 158 hollow points it is not a problem to shoot.
reguards James