Smith & Wesson Model 66 - Old or New?

[Toros]

I was a cop in NJ late 70's-80's. 9mms were starting to slowly work their way into the mix as duty sidearms in that Era.
I worked for the State and our issued sidearm was the 66 4" with mandatory issued Pachmyr Presentation grips. The fancy, dancy finger groove ones were an option for female officers only.

Mine was flawless in every way and I shot very well with it at the range and for qualifications.
Years later, my wife was going to buy me one but the guy in the gun store talked her into buying a 686 instead. Pre-lock....I love my 686 but miss the 66.

 

[jstert]

slightly off topic but hopefully relevant: gb.com has many postings for s&w 10-x, 38sp, 4", 6-shot, police turn in revolvers, listed in fair condition for mid $200s. i emailed a couple of sellers to learn more but got in reply, "we don't know, dropped shipped unseen from our (unstated) distributor's warehouse..."

does anyone know any specific information about these current, specific, listings? bought one? i'm a shooter, not a collector, so a reliable, well loved/predinged, old school, blued steel revolver is just the ticket. thanks, and answers will hopefully be helpful to o.p. as well.

 

[bunnspecial]

Considering that a lot of police agencies started phasing out revolvers in the late 80s/early 90s a lot of the "police trade in" 10s/64s in circulation now came from places like prisons and security companies(including armored trucks).

I paid over $200 back toward the beginning of the last decade for a 4" 64 that I suspect came from a lot of places. It was a factory DAO only gun(bobbed hammer and no SA sear), which is also inline with that useage. It was old enough to be pre-lock and pre-MIM(hammer mounted firing pin). The gun LOOKED like it had been tied to a truck bumper and dragged along a gravel road. The sideplate on one side was roughly "pebbled, and the grips on the wood Magna-style grips on the other side were worn a full inch shorter than normal. I speculated that it was a prison guard gun that had 20+ years of a big keychain clanging against it for the sideplate wear, and another 20 years of rubbing against someone's belly. I threw a nice used set of Goncalo Alves Magnas on it, which improved its appearance many times over, and shot it a lot.

Despite looking as bad as it did, that gun was as tight as the day it was made and the barrel looked like it had probably had less than 100 rounds down it. If I had to further speculate further, it was shot once every year or two for qualification, cleaned and checked out by an armorer, and then stuck back in a holster for the next round. It shot GREAT and for a really long time was my go-to carry gun for "I don't really care if this gets knocked around a bit" situations.

Although mine might have been one of the ugliest I've seen, I think it's a fair characterization for what you're likely going to get out of recent "police turn in" lots. Some will look almost new, some will look terrible, most will be somewhere in-between, and the vast majority will have rarely been fired.

I can remember going to Buds(the physical store in Lexington) a few years back and seeing racks of both model 10s and 4006s(plus some occasion Beretta 92s) hanging by their trigger guards and they'd pull down a couple for you to look at them.

 

[Lubener]

Originally Posted by Slick17601
Go with a 686.

++1

 

[KCJeep]

Many a 66 has been traded off or passed over for a 686...and many have regretted it later. It's a situation where you clearly need both!

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by Slick17601
Go with a 686.

++1


How about a highway patrolman?

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted by JHZR2
Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by Slick17601
Go with a 686.

++1


How about a highway patrolman?


Why not like some other people you may know one of each??

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted by JHZR2
Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by Slick17601
Go with a 686.

++1


How about a highway patrolman?


I've personally never warmed up to the L frame.

I have a 6" 28-2("Highway Patrolman") and 27-2s in 5" and 8 3/8". Between those two and my 19-3, I feel well covered in S&W 357 Magnums and don't desire a 586/686.

The only thing I could potentially see adding would be a 2.5" 19(preferably P&R). Of course, I wouldn't say no to a Registered Magnum

, and a Colt 3-5-7 is on my long-term want list also.

(I am a 357 magnum junkie, and have had multiple guns chambered in that caliber from Colt, Ruger, and Dan Wesson in addition to S&Ws, although I've downsized a fair bit).

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted by bunnspecial
Originally Posted by JHZR2


How about a highway patrolman?


I've personally never warmed up to the L frame.

I have a 6" 28-2("Highway Patrolman") and 27-2s in 5" and 8 3/8". Between those two and my 19-3, I feel well covered in S&W 357 Magnums and don't desire a 586/686.

The only thing I could potentially see adding would be a 2.5" 19(preferably P&R). Of course, I wouldn't say no to a Registered Magnum

, and a Colt 3-5-7 is on my long-term want list also.

(I am a 357 magnum junkie, and have had multiple guns chambered in that caliber from Colt, Ruger, and Dan Wesson in addition to S&Ws, although I've downsized a fair bit).


Highway Patrolman is the model 28, and is an N frame. Are we talking about the same thing? Do you like it or not?

I get it that it's not stainless or k frame, like the 66, but it strikes me that there's better deals on those than other older S&Ws.

Mode 64 HB seem relatively plentiful, especially 64-3 and -8, it's just a bummer that only one minute fraction of them shoot .357.

I prefer to shoot .38, but also desire the option to shoot .357. I have a nice K-15 Combat Masterpiece, and would snag a 64 if the right deal arrived, but I've just never seen deals on the 66.

If I had money and desire, this OKHP .357 rated 64-1 is pretty neat to me.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/854450233

But not for the $1900 they're asking.

 

[bunnspecial]

Sorry, I was agreeing with you, even without saying it

My comment was that I'd rather have an N frame or K frame than an L frame-sorry for not making that clear.

As a side note, I realize that the above is a NOT a Highway Patrolman/28, but if you DO ever see a factory nickel Model 28(not stainless, of course, since all were carbons steel) don't be surprised if it's that expensive if not more.

I did at one point have a model 13, which is more or less a heavy barrel model 10 chambered in 357 mag(or a carbon steel 64, if you prefer) but didn't warm up to it that much. I like the better sight picture of adjustable sights, especially on a 357 Mag, but can appreciate the gun for what it is. I sold that 13 to a friend who still has it and shoots the snot out of it(it's actually the only 357 Mag he owns) so I guess I'm alone in my opinion of it.

 

[JHZR2]

I thought that was the case. Nickel 28 were only made in tiny numbers for the Florida HP, I think.

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted by JHZR2
I thought that was the case. Nickel 28 were only made in tiny numbers for the Florida HP, I think.


Courtesy of the Standard Catalog of Smith and Wessons

 

[thooks]

I remember in the mid to late 90's, you could buy pretty much any S&W revolver for about $200-250.

I wish I had bought several back then. I have three .357 Magnum revolvers, had a 29 classic. Kinda regret that I sold that but I sold it shortly after Obama took office and sold it for almost twice what I paid for it in 1993.

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted by thooks
I remember in the mid to late 90's, you could buy pretty much any S&W revolver for about $200-250.

I wish I had bought several back then. I have three .357 Magnum revolvers, had a 29 classic. Kinda regret that I sold that but I sold it shortly after Obama took office and sold it for almost twice what I paid for it in 1993.


I wasn't gun buying age then, but I've heard plenty of tales about it.

A good friend of mine at one time owned 39 Registered Magnums, and most of them bought back in the day when they were "just another old S&W." He's since liquidated most of them and made out quite well on them.

 

[hatt]

Originally Posted by thooks
I remember in the mid to late 90's, you could buy pretty much any S&W revolver for about $200-250.

I wish I had bought several back then. I have three .357 Magnum revolvers, had a 29 classic. Kinda regret that I sold that but I sold it shortly after Obama took office and sold it for almost twice what I paid for it in 1993.

I remember new 686s for $329 at Sports Authority in the mid 90s. I'd take a few of at the inflation adjusted $550.

 

[Slick17601]

Originally Posted by JHZR2
Originally Posted by Lubener
Originally Posted by Slick17601
Go with a 686.

++1


How about a highway patrolman?


Nothing wrong with a nice Model 28, just depends on your preference of frame size. Going to a pre-lock 27 gets you the finest .357 Magnum ever made.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted by Slick17601


Nothing wrong with a nice Model 28, just depends on your preference of frame size. Going to a pre-lock 27 gets you the finest .357 Magnum ever made.


28 is just a less polished 27, no?

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted by JHZR2
Originally Posted by Slick17601


Nothing wrong with a nice Model 28, just depends on your preference of frame size. Going to a pre-lock 27 gets you the finest .357 Magnum ever made.


28 is just a less polished 27, no?


I've seen people claim that the 27 lockwork got a bit more attention and they think they are a bit smoother.

I have a 28-2 and have owned several 27-2s. The 27s are nicer for sure with the high polish blue and the checkered top strap, but where the "rubber meets the road" so to speak they both shoot every bit as well and I don't feel any difference in the lockwork. My 27s have always been range toys, while I have in the past carried the 28 just because I feel like the finish is a bit more tolerant of holster wear.

There's a similar dichotomy in Colts with the Python and Trooper 357. Both are E frame guns(about the same size as the L frame) and have the same lockwork including the frame-mounted firing pin. The Python has the underlug, top rib, and of course that beautiful high polish finish, while the Trooper just has nice adjustable sights(right off the Officer's Model Match) and a matte finish reminiscent of the 28. It may be heresy to some, but I found my Trooper 357 to shoot every bit as well as a Python. I consider the 3-5-7 a step above the Python

.