S&W mo 66-1
- Thread starter Bumper04
- Start date
Deaf Smith
New member
Not sure myself cause what book value says and what street value is are two different animals.
Mine I've had for, oh, 20+ years and I've never tried to sell it as I just like it to much (and have 2 other SUW 66 2 1/2 snubs!)
Deaf
Mine I've had for, oh, 20+ years and I've never tried to sell it as I just like it to much (and have 2 other SUW 66 2 1/2 snubs!)
Deaf
Hey Bumper, did a fast search and found this info.
66 (1970): Stamping of each model.
66-1 (1977): Changed the gas ring from the yoke to the cylinder.
66-2 (1982): Eliminated pinned and recessed, slightly lengthened cylinder.
66-3 (1986): New yoke retention system/radius stud package/hammer nose bushing/floating hand.
66-4 (1994): Change rear sight leaf, drill and tap frame, introduce Hogue grips, change extractor.
66-5 (1998): Change in frame design: eliminate cylinder stop stud/eliminate serrated tangs/change to MIM hammer with floating firing pin/change internal lockwork.
66-6 (2002): Introduced internal lock.
66-7 (?): Two piece barrel and internal lock,
(2005): Discontinued.
66 (1970): Stamping of each model.
66-1 (1977): Changed the gas ring from the yoke to the cylinder.
66-2 (1982): Eliminated pinned and recessed, slightly lengthened cylinder.
66-3 (1986): New yoke retention system/radius stud package/hammer nose bushing/floating hand.
66-4 (1994): Change rear sight leaf, drill and tap frame, introduce Hogue grips, change extractor.
66-5 (1998): Change in frame design: eliminate cylinder stop stud/eliminate serrated tangs/change to MIM hammer with floating firing pin/change internal lockwork.
66-6 (2002): Introduced internal lock.
66-7 (?): Two piece barrel and internal lock,
(2005): Discontinued.
I don't know when your revolver was made but, as an aside, you might want to be sure that your Model 66 isn't one of the very early ones that was subjected to a recall by Smith & Wesson to correct a cylinder face/barrel junction problem. At least I think there was a recall addressing a problem caused by the misapplication of the stainless steel material which caused the revolver to "seize-up" as repeated firing got the gun hotter; my memory of this supposed event could very well be wrong. Others more acquainted with the "problem" will be along soon to correct my possibly faulity recollection, I'm sure-and I welcome any clarification.
There are three problems that I'm aware of endemic to early Model 66's. The first is the binding issue that you mention which was a result of the gas ring swelling when the revolver got hot (usually from firing a goodly amount of .357 Magnum ammo in a short amount of time). That issue was fixed by relocating the gas ring from the yoke to the cylinder. The second was galling caused by the use of stainless steel internal parts. That issue was resolved by switching to flash hard-chrome internal parts. The final issue was the use of stainless steel sights which, when used in bright light, would "wash out" and be difficult to see. That was fixed by switching to black-colored sights.
Fortunately for the OP, all of those issues had been addressed by the time that the 66-1 was introduced. The only issue I know of with -1 and later guns is the increased likelihood of cracked forcing cones when large amounts of .357 Magnum ammo with light bullets (less than 140gr) is used. It is noteworthy, however, that stainless K-Frames like the M66 (and its cousin the M65) seem to be less likely to crack forcing cones, even with lightweight magnums, than their carbon steel counterparts (Models 13 and 19).