# help with s&w revolver pls



## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

i bought this never fired revolver its a357 snub got it for significantly less than asking. the guy at the gun store put it aside for me knowing id just love how pretty it is... i have been in the market for a 357 revolver...

i heard some ooohhs and ahhhs.. what do i have here? what yr?



whats the significance of this firing pin on the hammer?



well, im not very good with it in the target dept. its pretty and makes me look skinny. so i like it:grin:


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## 6811 (Jan 2, 2013)

when you flip open the cylinder you should be able to see the model number on the frame. with that info you should be able to research when S&W started making that particular model. As to when that gun was manufactured, you may need to call S&W and give them the model and serial number and they should be able to let you know when it was made. As to the significance of the firing pin on the hammer, well thats how it supposed to be. the hammer drives the firing pin to the primer of your ammo in the cylinder.


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## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

thats a nice little gun


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## Infidel (Dec 22, 2012)

Presuming it's a 6 shot you've got a K frame S&W that looks like a M66 (open the cylinder and check the frame under the yoke for exact model designation). The exact model of your revolver will probably also include a revision # expressed as a dash i.e. 66-2 would be model 66 revision 2. They're great revolvers and most S&W snubs shoot pretty well once you get used to them. The firing pin on the hammer is actually called the hammer nose and is present on all older S&W revolvers, S&W has since switched to a transfer bar system similar to the Ruger revolvers. You should get in the habit of checking the hammer nose on the revolver fairly regularly since they're pretty easy to break, it should wiggle just a little bit when you try to wiggle it up and down on the bushing. Exact year of production will require the serial # and someone with a book (Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson) to narrow down. On some models an exact year of manufacture will be impossible to get but a range of years can be obtained.

I would invest in some .38 Special target loads and run a few hundred of them through it to get a feel for it. I imagine you'll be shooting it pretty well after a couple hundred rounds.

-Infidel


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## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

thank you guys :0

thank you man hands. is there something that makes this special? the feller at the gun store saiys you cant get this any more and that they are rare.
cause i wanted a new gun. this is a new old gun. it came with no box but they threw in a very nice combination lock box with the deal. its not pink but what ever it does what its spose to do.


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## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

thank you infidel. right now i cant have it cause its on hold due to ca laws. i can only have congical visits with her for another while. so i cant really look at it right now. it is a 6 shot.

is it like an 80's model?

i have been running 38sp through it. the gun has had about 35 rounds run through it now. the gun store feller gave me 400 rounds of 38sp and 100 of 357mag. i think hes sweet on me. i guess i find it discouraging that i freaking miss all the time with this but dominate on my other pistols...i want to be good at it but really do perfer my m&p and beretta for over all fun and my EDC.


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## tango (Apr 12, 2013)

Looks like an older model 66. The firing pin in the hammer was standard.
It does not have the stupid lock that the newer ones have.
Open the cylinder and look at the yoke at the front of the cylinder where the serial is. You can google S&W and find an approx. year.
It sure looks like a very nice, clean revolver.
Shoot it, you will like it---


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## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

what yr did they put the firing pin off of the hammer?? they said this one doesnt lock just like you said, tango. and pointed at some tooled thing by the wheel release to show me the lock on the new models. what does that lock mean?


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

Newer Smiths have a little key that is used to lock the action. Key hole is located near the cylinder latch. Older guns without this unwanted or needed stupid lock are worth more money.


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## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

ahhh thank you chipper!


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## Infidel (Dec 22, 2012)

shotlady said:


> thank you infidel. right now i cant have it cause its on hold due to ca laws. i can only have congical visits with her for another while. so i cant really look at it right now. it is a 6 shot.
> 
> is it like an 80's model?
> 
> i have been running 38sp through it. the gun has had about 35 rounds run through it now. the gun store feller gave me 400 rounds of 38sp and 100 of 357mag. i think hes sweet on me. i guess i find it discouraging that i freaking miss all the time with this but dominate on my other pistols...i want to be good at it but really do perfer my m&p and beretta for over all fun and my EDC.


The M66 isn't built any longer, the pre-lock S&W's are worth a bit more to collectors. The lock basically locks the action up so it can't be fired and the reason most people don't want them is due to reports on the internet that they are prone to coming apart on magnum guns and locking the gun up tight. They also spoil the lines of the revolver with the hole in the frame for the key. The model 66 is a stainless variant of the S&W M19. According to the Blue Book Of Gun Values, the Model 66 is sometimes referred to as the Combat Magnum and was produced from1970-2005 and there were 6 engineering changes so they went all the way to 66-6 with model designations. From the pictures I can see that the barrel is not pinned to the frame so it was produced sometime between 1982-1998 when they introduced the floating firing pin, if the grips are factory you can reduce the last year of possible production to 1994 when they went to hogue grips. You can check out S&W Model 66 - Gun Wiki to do a little more research once you find out which variant it is for sure.

Shooting a revolver tends to be a little different that shooting a semi-auto. Start with a short range target and once you've mastered that start pushing the target back. Short barreled guns are also going to give you a bit more trouble due to the shorter sight radius and more severe recoil. I consider a snub nose revolver a short range gun typically 15yds or so max where as with my .45 ACP I have no problem pushing the target back to 25 yds. A magnum will extend your range a bit but full house magnum loads out of that revolver are likely to be a handful. The best advice I can give on shooting a revolver is to make sure when you grip the gun that your trigger finger is straight when it's on the trigger, if you grip the gun too high up on the backstrap your trigger finger will be at a downward angle which will pull rounds off target. Try these targets to find out what your issue might be Pistol Aim Correction Targets | The Crimson Pirate

-Infidel


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