S&W 1066 finally received!

N

nvrquit

New member
Well, I finally received my S&W 1066!

Got the call yesterday while out helping a friend with their PC. Wife called me on the cell and I picked it up on the way home. It is in very good condition and if not for the few very small holster rub marks, it would qualify as excellent. I say this as a field strip & inspection reveals what appears to be very few rounds fired through the pistol, as there is extremely little wear on the normal areas that show such(barrel, lug/lock-up areas, frame rails, etc.).

I also received four(4) mags with the pistol. Three have the yellow cartridge followers, while the remaining mag has a white follower. The three are marked ES on the front edge of the mag body approx. 3/4" from the top frt. edge. The remaining mag(white follower) is stamped "AccuGuide Patent Pending TM" on the lower left of the mag body, immediately above the base plate. Also, this same mag is marked as MS1 in the same location as the other three mags(yellow followers) are marked ES. Question; Does anyone know what the ES or MS1 mean? I know that S&W changed the mag design at one point, but is there any difference in use or reliability?

In any respect, I'm happy so far and a range session is in order this week for a check out.

Thanks for any feedback on the mag issue!
 
I'm not sure about the White follower, but the manual should state which model you have (i.e. a -1 or -2) and which followers your magazines should have. My 4516-1 came with magazines that indicated that they were -1 magazines and should have a yellow follower. If the manual doesn't state which you should have call Smith & Wesson and they should be able to clear it up for you.


Just let me know if you need any help testing your new toy!:D
 
All three mags with my 1066 had a white follower, and they all seem to be working fine. Had to order a triple set of mag springs from Wolff, though, since the original springs were on their last legs. I also got a 20lb. recoil spring just for the heck of it, three pounds up from the original 17lbs.

Now for some Shear Power Plus loads from Georgia Arms...
 
Replies appreciated....

To all that have replied, I thank you.

A range test is in order one day this week, so that I can evaluate for myself the likely addition of aftermarket components.

The items I'm contemplating are Wolff springs(recoil, mag & firing pin), Hogue rubber grips, tritium sights(not sure whose yet), possibly a Bar-Sto barrel, trigger work(anyone got recommendations on a REALLY good smith for S&W auto triggers) and lastly, a Boron Carbide refinish of at least the slide.

Now, this would NOT be all at one time!
 
S&W 1066 received... range report...

Well, a trip to the range today was a relaxing and enjoyable time.

The 1066 proved to be very reliable with every type of ammo that was fed to it. Here's the list:

PMC 170gr. HP, 20 rnds.
Remington 180gr. FMJ, 50 rnds.
CorBon 165gr., 10 rnds.
Federal 190gr. HP, 20 rnds.
Federal 180gr. HP, 20 rnds.
Federal 180gr. HydraShok, 10 rnds.

130 rounds in total and not a single firearm related problem. There was a single "shooter induced" failure, owing to my lack of range time recently. Yes, I "limp wristed" one round, as I relaxed on the grip as the trigger released once. Accuracy was as good as could be expected, averaging approx. 3" to 3 1/2" when I was doing things correctly(15 dys. offhand).

Only complaint is that the trigger could use tune-up, but then it is the factory trigger.

Wolff springs, Hogue grip and a recoil/shock buffer are the first items. I'll take suggestion from anyone that has had trigger work done on their S&W 10mm.

Thanks for any feedback.
 
I strongly suggest you run the 17lb spring and a recoil buffer, not a 20lb spring. In my experience, it will cycle more reliably, produce less muzzleflip, and is less likely to damage the gun as a heavier spring will. A stronger recol spring forces the slide to return to battery much harder, severely beating the gun.
 
nvrquit:


As far as I can tell, the yellow followers are the early ones, the white are the later ones. I recently ordered extra mag followers & base pads from Smith, and the followers they sent are the white ones. You might want to pick up a few extra anyway. (Also, "excellent condition" 10XX-series mags are still available from CDNN and KY Imports, AFAIK).

I run the 20lb Wolff recoil spring, and so far have seen no signs of frame-battering anywhere. Feeding and reliability has been 100%. If 20lbs seems strong, try it with a buffer (available from Brownell's). Try the buffer & a 17lb spring, too.

Someone once posted about running a 24lb spring in their Smith 1006 when testing "hot" reloads. Recommendations are going to differ here, depending on what you're going to be doing with it, i.e., plinking & targets vs CCW vs testing out "nuclear" loads.

Go with what feels right for the application. :)
 
S&W 1066, springs & things

agtman,

Thanks for the heads-up on the mags. I thought I had seen them somewhere!

I want to get the Hogue rubber grips, as the Hogue site seems to show them as having an arched profile on the rear, which is something I think I would prefer to the straight rear of the S&W factory grip.

Next up for me may be one of the 1076's I've be seeing at the shows recently. If I pick one up. I'll look at design of the left grip panel and see if it would be possible to modify the Hogue grip to fit the 1076.
 
nvrquit:


2 quick follow-up points:

Novak's has a "Smith package," and can slick-up, de-horn & refinish your 1066. They did my 1076 some years ago, and I've seen their work on a 1006 and 4506. Check their site for details and current prices.

Second, in your earlier post listing the ammo run thru your gun, you cited the Federal 190gn JHP load. Any chronograph data on that load as to fps?

I've read conflicting info - one placed it @ 950fps (which is actually the fps-listing for Federal's 180gn "FBI-lite" load), while another put it at about 1050 fps, IIRC. Just wondered if you knew.

Having shot a few boxes a while back, and going only by "plain feel" from the recoil-impulse (no chrono handy), the 190gn load felt to me about the same as the CCI/Blazer's 200gn FMJ load, which has a "box-flap" velocity of 1050 fps (probably from a 5" tube).
 
S&W 1066 anad the Federal 190gr. HP...

agtman,

Unfortunately I didn't lug the chrono out to the range with me for the range test of the 1066. I'll dig the box out and see if there's any listing on the box itself. If there isn't any listing on the box, at some future date I'll have to chrono the ammo, after which I'll post the results for all to see.

As to the heads-up on the Novak tip, thanks, and I'll check it out!
 
AT last, back on line...

It's good to have you all back with TFL!

On the topic of pistolsmiths for work on the trigger of the 1066, some feedback has recommended Actions by T. I have never meet anyone that has had any work done by them, so some feedback would be appreciated.

I've got the Wolff 20# recoil spring and the shock buffer installed, but a trip to the range is required. The Hogue grips looked nice, but the mainspring retainer had the threaded inserts installed in a way that made them not "true/square" to the grip frame. One side was at such an angle that the grip retaining screw would not engage the thread of the insert, thus not locking the grip panel in place. An e-mail to Hogue took approx. a week for a reply(they apologized for the delay), with Hogue requesting my address for mailing of a new retainer, with the assurance that the new one will be checked before mailing.

On the topic of tritium type sites, I like the idea (I have IWI's on my Ruger KP94) but would like some that don't have the restrictive cleaning limitations that IWI and Trijicon have (not allowed to strong solvents contact the sights/tritium assemblies). Anyone have any info on this topic?

Been following the boron carbide finish thread over on pistolsmiths.com and it seems like an interesting possibility for the 1066. Anybody seen this coating up close and personal?

Thanks to all for any feedback!
 
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