Posted: 6/3/2011 11:08:33 AM EDT
Here is my Model 66 I just purchased froma local gun shop. It looked like it was in decent shape. I got it for $400. Can anyone tell me roughly how old it is?
Thanks in advance and sorry for the crappy pics. |
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i remember going into gun shops and there would be a box on the counter full of original s&w grips folks would discard as they purchased new revolvers as well as pachmayer grips, install 'em at the shop and go on about their business, leaving the originals behind. personally, all mine have pachs, but i retained the originals. just 'cause.
nice pistol, nice price. you didn't lose nothing there amigo. skinny on s&w is, if you got a revolver marked mod 66, that's the first issue. mod 66-1 is the first engineering change to the revolver. 2nd issue of the gun. ad infinitum. i've got 2 of 'em and love 'em both. one is a 4" bull barrel, the other is a 2.5" snubbie. both are tits revolvers. there's a real history with old/sorta new s&w revolvers. check into it. some folks talk down the newer models with the lawyer hole on the left side, but i don't agree, own two are they're reliable as sledgehammers. that skinny barrel 4" is a knockoff of the first s&w i ever owned, foolishly selling it when i thought i needed money, and really didn't. stainless steel don't rust, and it performs in a revolver. i packed mine all over the place for about 20 years. should never have sold that handgun. i regret it. oh, and lose the hogues, get a set of pachmayer grips. you'll shoot better up front. -tom |
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While the original grips are nice to have & look good, they get slippery when sweating & tend to ride up while shooting DA.
I see them for sale at the shows...sticker shock ! I always kept mine after swapping for some more "shootable" ones. Looking at my stash, seems like I have more "N" & "K" frame S&W grips that I have guns for, the packrat/hoarder that I am. 
My 6 inch 66 no dash has old hard plastic finger grooved Rogers grips on it from back in the day. |
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the other thing to look for is "lockup".
clean firearm, cock the hammer, either let it drop slowly or pull the trigger. hammer down, trigger all the way rearward. does the cylinder move? if you can move it 1/4", it's a junk gun. walk away. the tighter the better. stainless s&w offerings usually are good, if not excellent. some old colt wheels are amazing. no drift at all, and 70+ years old, lotsa rounds downrange. i won't buy a wheel that's got much drift at all. smith will refit a pistol, even an old one, but they will charge you for the effort. just so's you'd know. $400 is a great price for a good handgun. it's a shitty price if it's a loose one. -tom |