Do you shoot a Taurus 66 .357 Magnum revolver

[Rick H]

I have no personal experience with Taurus firearms (other than my brothers little 380 carry gun). I have read numerous posts that seem to indicate if you get a good one great and if you need service you might as well dig deep and find a local smith to fix it because factory support is non existent. My experience with S&W service is pre 1980 and it was stellar. In the end it is your money and you need to buy what you are comfortable with.

Once burned can leave a sour taste in your mouth.....the reason a Chrysler product will never grace my Drive, but that is another subject entirely.

 

[Wallyl]

fiver....I had some dealings with Taurus over the years....I always succeeded with them.

Brad....I just don't like the looks of the GP100. Also, many dislike their triggers and I don't really want to take a chance getting a "bad" one.

 

[RBHarter]

I had it in 2000-2002 , 90s vintage I'd guess . The guy I got it from got from a friend who got it from a friend I was probably 8-9th owner .

 

[Wallyl]

Rick H Had a Crown Vic in the 80's...it had numerous leaks and issues...was back at the dealer many times...never bought a Ford ever again. In 2019 same deal with the model 27..no more S & Ws for me. Had they treated me fairly....I'd be a loyal customer. I wanted to warn others that their Lifetime Service Policy is not something that you can count on.

 

[Wallyl]

RBHarter I guess it goes to show that one has to be very careful buying used firearms. Viewed a recent You Tube clip...the host has had a lot of experience repairing S & W revolvers. He decided that he wanted to acquire a prelock S & W Mo 66...he decided to buy a new one because the ones he carefully examined had numerous issues and were overpriced. Another experienced long time shooter has a great dislike for S & W revolvers due to the fact they are,. in his opinion, too weak to hold up well with continual shooting.

 

[RBHarter]

Like I said I can't confirm what I suspect and I was "just a case stuffer" then . If I'd known then .

 

[KeithB]

If I could get a Taurus for a good price I'd probably buy it. The "good price" is the key phrase. There are times and places for a utility revolver that you won't cry much over if it gets dropped over the edge of the boat or damaged in some other mishap. I have never really thought of S&W revolvers as particularly strong or robust, but a good example with a good trigger pull is a delight to shoot. Can't imagine what it would take to break a GP100, but agree that the factory trigger pull usually leaves a lot to desire. I have an older one in .357 and after some use the trigger is much better. I have a new one in .22lr and the trigger really sucks - but it will never wear out or break and I can work on the trigger...

I have a Rossi 720(?) which is a .5 shot stainless steel .44 Special. Also have many S&Ws in .44 special, the Rossi has a better trigger than most of them and it looks well designed and well built. Ask anybody if they would buy a Rossi and many would turn up their nose and turn down their thumb - and I'll get a gun for $250 instead of $700-$800.

If you want it, buy it.

 

[Mitty38]

I can only speak from my own experience, here it is....
I paid $325 for my Taurus .357 model 66 with a 6" Barrel, in black with a Houge grip. Decent trigger, melonite finish,that finally grew on me.
Got it about 3 years ago, figured I would get a cheap gun to practice loading on, so If I blew it up, I would not cry too bad.
It has only shot hand loaded, by me, cast lead bullets. It is very accurate does not lead if properly lubed and if the size is between .358 and .359. I have put over 2500 rounds thru (lost count after 2000). Never had an issue.
Most of those rounds were were low velocity to be fair, however a couple hundred have been +38 special p or at the lower end of the .357 magnum spectrum.
Love the factory sights, fully adjustable rear, and large front.
Only thing I do not like about it is it has a stupid key. No problems, just do not like the Idea, that I could lock it loose the key. Then have to wait to order a new key.
Now I would not give it up or trade it for anything.Does what I need it to every time.

 

[Walks]

Keep in mind this is the "New" Smith & Wesson, they are run by "not a gun company" Corp Mgmt. If you bought a New Made Revolver (since the safety change). then they should take care of any problem. I would get a copy of the Lifetime Warranty. I'm sure it says: use of reloaded ammunition nullifys the warranty. And that line around the cylinder means the revolver is a bit out of time to start with. You just got a bad gun, it happens.
I've had bad Rugers, Colts and a Taurus. Ruger fixed the revolvers without a problem. So did Colt. The Taurus...that's a different story. Leave it to be that I no longer own that Taurus or any other.

I got screwed by Leupold on a scope some years back. I've never bought another, never will.

My S&W M27 has had more Hot .357Mag Loads then I can count. My M19 gets only the occasional few it was designed for.

 

[Wallyl]

Thank you....that is exactly what I wanted to know.: feedback from someone that has one and has shot a considerable amount of cast bullets through it. The key deal I can live with as a S & W would have one as well. I'll be sure never to use it. For Magnum loads I use 4.5 grains of Bullseye with a 158 grain cast bullet; basically a medium magnum load. I also shoot a lot of .38 Specials. I gave up on "hot" loads many years ago. If I am so moved to shoot them again; I'll do so with my Ruger Blackhawk. I am a seeker of knowledge as well!

 

[Wallyl]

Walks

I do know about the reloaded ammunition clause, however then never asked me and I didn't tell them that I had. S & W did carefully examine the pistol...nothing in their Sales Quotation about having to fix a timing issue.

 

[Mitty38]

Mine loves Universal and Red dot for mouse fart loads at 21 feet. I had good luck with H110 and CCI magnum primers for a .357 hunting load, I worked up with half jacket cast bullets.
Bullseye worked well for the one .357 lead load I did work up with it.

 

[Wallyl]

I have used both in my .357 Magnum pistols with excellent results, along with Promo. Most of my shooting is at 20 yards.

 

[Ian]

Not a S&W fan at all myself, and as opportunity arises will be trading them for older Rugers one by one.

I've been stewing on that broken crane thing for weeks since you first posted about it. I think I finally figured it out after looking at the photo again. It IS a timing issue, a vertical one. The bullet is hitting either the bottom or the top of the forcing cone and hammering the crane during every shot as the bullet makes the transition. After so many shots, it fatigues to the point that it snaps at the stress riser.

 

[Wallyl]

Ian....thanks for your interest. I only shoot single action, If the the bullet is hitting the bottom or top of the FC would I not be spitting lead particles? Also isn't a timing issue only the rotation and lockup of the cylinder. What you have described is possibly an alignment issue where the cylinder is not aligned centered on the FC?



There's revolver timing and revolver alignment. These are not the same. Timing is it sequence at which the cylinder is unlocked, rotated to the next chamber and re-locked.

 

[Ian]

Yes, you're right, timing is rotational alignment coinciding with the bolt and hand going into their stops/locks. I think like a rifle shooter most times and if the bullet isn't in the dead center of the throat....I think of it as simply an alignment problem.

Would it spit lead? It depends. If it did the lead would impinge on the frame or cylinder shroud, I take it you didn't observe such?

Breaking multiple cranes isn't something S&W is known for. Something is badly amiss and it ought to be fairly obvious.

 

[fiver]

could simply be crooked.
like aimed at the roof of the barrels throat.
it wouldn't have to be much, but like a driveline set to 5-6* of repose angle instead of 3...

 

[Ian]

Good point. The front sight not lining up correctly is a bit of a clue. My wife's Chief's Special printed 9" or more to the left at five yards with any load and a quick look down the top of the frame revealed the barrel was pointng left several degrees. When I started shaping hardwood support for the bench vise to unbend it, I realized the barrel had been torqued so hard in order for the sight and underlug to clock that the front if the frame was actually twisted. The crane was fitted and blended in so it was difficult to tell, for the crane was bent too and matched the twist in the frame perfectly. After some rather intense tweaking with the cylinder out but crane in place I got it 95% right without breaking anything, but the nickel plating started chipping at the edges where the crane and frame met due to being untwisted as a unit. Miraculously, everything was aligned, still timed, and didn't blow up when I ran some semi-proof loads through it. The thing leaded something fierce in the left side of the bore before I unbent it even though the chambers and forcing cone came together in a circle. I think the linear misalignment that sent the bullet into the right side if the barrel caused gas leaks on the left which resulted in the leading.

I had called S&W beforehand and was told "send it in and we'll give you an estimate to fix it". Yeah, no thanks. I had a gunsmith look at it and he said yep, when this revilver was made they were so proud of pushing one out the dior every six minutes that they skipped all the fitting steps like cutting barrel shoulders or timing threads. Chuck it in a fixture and crank the cheater pipe until the front sjghf was vertical and if it didn't blow up in proof, ship it.

 

[Wallyl]

Ian...Thanks again. No, only had some lead spitting after the crane broke. I fired a few shots and noticed it....so I stopped shooting it and took out the cylinder and discovered the broken yoke/crane. It was the original one and the only one that has broken: to be clear,

Yes, new, out of the box (in 1989) the pistol shot far off to one side. As I recall even adjusting the rear (for windage) sight, I could not get it to shoot straight center on a paper target. So I contacted S & W and sent it back. Then turned the barrel canting the front sight blade a few degrees toward teh 11 O'Clock position. I never liked that on bit, but there was no I-net then and I just learned to live with it. When the yoke broke and I returned the pistol to them again...I mentioned the barrel issue. They told me..."replace barrel with new style 6.5" mod 27 barrel.... barrel is corroded at forcing cone and needs to be turned however it has seized onto the frame and has to be cutoff" Of course they wanted me to pay for the replacement for EVERYTHING.