Is the s&w 66 a bad gun?
- Thread starter glock17luver
- Start date
SouthpawShootr
New member
I have had a number of Smiths over the years and I have never managed to damage one. I think the frame stretching issues were problems with aluminum framed guns and were limited to people who routinely fired high pressure loads. Cracked forcing cones? Yeah, fire about 10,000 rounds of full power .357 through it and you MIGHT crack it.
As far as reliability goes, I did hear something a long time ago about the 686s locking up under full pressure rounds. Don't know what the cause was, but haven't heard anything else after that. I've never heard anything bad about the 66 (or the 19, for that matter), other than that you shouldn't run a high number of full power .357s through them.
BTW, my favorite revolver is a Smith 66 2 1/2 round butt.
As far as reliability goes, I did hear something a long time ago about the 686s locking up under full pressure rounds. Don't know what the cause was, but haven't heard anything else after that. I've never heard anything bad about the 66 (or the 19, for that matter), other than that you shouldn't run a high number of full power .357s through them.
BTW, my favorite revolver is a Smith 66 2 1/2 round butt.
The model 66 & 19 are great guns. The heavier L frame 586/686 are...well heavier. They are certainly more durable. For carry the K frames lighter weight is appreciated. I have owned both 19s & 66s as well as 586s and 686s. If you wear out a K frame you shoot a lot more than I do. Watch-Six
KEN CHAVEZ
New member
glock17lover, I have to agree with SouthpawShooter, in regards to his comment on 10,000 rounds. Even though I think the S&W-66 is great gun, in my area the model-686 sells for only $5 to $10 more than the model-66. Just a thought!
Next SaxonPig WaHaHaHaHa
where do you get this stuff from, please keep it up you make me laugh. "gall". Webster's Dictionary says (gall) "A bitter fluid secreted in the liver; bile; rancor; malignity; an excrescence produced by the egg of an insect on a plant, espcially the oak; a sore place in the skin from rubbing.-vt. To make a sore in the skin of by rubbing; to fret; to vex; to harass. I definitely would not want this to happen to any of my guns!
I think the word you are looking for is Galvanism or Electrolysis.
I talked to a Tech. at S&W they never heard of "gall" or "galling"? The only problems that S&W has seen with the Model-66 is becouse of the flat bottom of the forcing cone, and that is only with extreme use that the forcing cones durability can be compromised. The slightly larger L-frame series, like the Model-686 addresses this issue by making room for a full-diameter forcing cone.
Next SaxonPig WaHaHaHaHa
where do you get this stuff from, please keep it up you make me laugh. "gall". Webster's Dictionary says (gall) "A bitter fluid secreted in the liver; bile; rancor; malignity; an excrescence produced by the egg of an insect on a plant, espcially the oak; a sore place in the skin from rubbing.-vt. To make a sore in the skin of by rubbing; to fret; to vex; to harass. I definitely would not want this to happen to any of my guns!I think the word you are looking for is Galvanism or Electrolysis.
I talked to a Tech. at S&W they never heard of "gall" or "galling"? The only problems that S&W has seen with the Model-66 is becouse of the flat bottom of the forcing cone, and that is only with extreme use that the forcing cones durability can be compromised. The slightly larger L-frame series, like the Model-686 addresses this issue by making room for a full-diameter forcing cone.
Ken-
The gentleman above got the "gall" term from gunwriters in the 1970's, but they used the term in regard to autos tying up because the steel tended to grab or stick in operation. The surfaces probably looked blotched where parts "grabbed."
I don't think it was ever an issue in revolvers. In autos, it was cured through using different steels to work alongside each other, or through different heat-treatment for adjacent parts.
In those days, stainless guns were just evolving, and manufacturers were feeling their way as they went.
Lone Star
The gentleman above got the "gall" term from gunwriters in the 1970's, but they used the term in regard to autos tying up because the steel tended to grab or stick in operation. The surfaces probably looked blotched where parts "grabbed."
I don't think it was ever an issue in revolvers. In autos, it was cured through using different steels to work alongside each other, or through different heat-treatment for adjacent parts.
In those days, stainless guns were just evolving, and manufacturers were feeling their way as they went.
Lone Star