I was at my local indoor range today for a nice little shooting session and afterwards I always like to look in the cabinets for anything that catches my eye. The owners said they just got in over 100 guns from an estate sale, from a customer that used to come in the shop all the time and hang around. I remember he was a nice older gentleman, around 80 y/o I think and I spoke to him a few times. Turns out he passed away not long ago and his wife sold all of his guns to the shop.

Anyways, they were arranging the used revolver section and I ran across something I could not look away from. It was a S&W 66-1 in overall excellent condition. Timing was perfect, it locked up nicely and in overall great condition. The only issue it had was a missing front sight and the cylinder was hard to open. It turned out the ejector rod unscrewed a little bit and I screwed it back on and added a little lock tite. The front sight I will probably use an epoxy to replace,no big deal. The best part was it was only $520 otd. I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough. Now to find some nice grips.

Nice score

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The owners said they just got in over 100 guns from an estate sale

That's the greatest thing you can hear when you walk in the LGS . Nice score, love the 66!

Nice score. Congrats on your new gun

Buncha years ago, a friend bought a pair of those to carry when he joined Chicago Police Dept. He even carried both of them when he was off-duty, said they balanced him out better that way, and he didn't have to reload as often!

A very nice gun at a very good price.

Cool!

I would have been all over it at that price!

Nice job, that's a beauty. I would have jumped on that one too.

Um, it HAS nice grips...

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Originally posted by ArtieS:
Um, it HAS nice grips...

I was thinking the same, but hey, to each his own.

Love me some pinned and recessed.

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The best part was it was only $520 otd.

That's a horrible deal!
One of the worst I've ever heard. I'll gladly give you $550 to ease your pain.

What kind of grips are you looking for? Not that the originals look bad!

Pachymers are always nice, VZ makes nice stuff, Rowan, Spegal (sp?) are always popular.

Nice score! I have 2 German P6's I scored from an estate sale at my LGS. They had 3, but it was outside my budget.

The grips on it now aren't too bad but they are not factory grips and up close you can see some flaws/uneven texturing/staining, an ocd thing for me. I am debating on maybe getting some polymer grips of some sort-VZ or Hogue, but until then these will work. Thanks for the replies.

Very nice older Smith. Good buy, congrats.

I had an impulse buy just last week. Picked up a P229 40 cal with 357 barrel and 8 mags.

^^^Very cool. Sometimes they just call out to you.

Great buy, I wouldn't have passed it up either.

The only time Locktite is required on a firearm is then the person putting the gun together doesn't know how to properly tighten a screw. What you have done is create a situation when if the cylinder rod gets bent the repair will require the installation of a brand new ejector star and cylinder rod, both of which will have to be fitted to the action. Because that is an extremely fine pitch thread and with all that locktite clogging up the threads you won't have any chance at all of feeling when the threads are properly engaged and you'll cross thread the two parts beyond any repair.

For future reference here is how to properly tighten an Ejector Rod. First, on an S&W the early guns had a standard right hand thread on the ejector rods. Later and all current revolvers have a left hand thread and this is identified by a small groove immediately behind the knurling on the tip.

One, if the rod is completely unscrewed you need to get it started in the ejector star. To do this turn the ejector rod in the UNSCREW direction while applying light pressure between the mating parts. What you are looking for is a very light feeling click as the two starting points of the threads pass each other. When this happens immediately revers the rotation. The ejector rod should then thread in easily with just finger pressure. If you feel the thread stall, DO NOT FORCE IT because they threads are cross threaded. Reverse direction and start over. Note, it does take time to develop a "Feel" for this but after some practice you'll get to the point where you can do it every time without cross threading. Once the thread is going in smoothly twirl it in between finger tips until it's home.

Two, fill the cylinder with 6 fired cases that have NOT been sized. Note fresh ammo and snap caps are a distinctly sloppy fit and not ideal for supporting the ejector star.

Three, take an old genuine LEATHER belt and fold it over the knurling on the tip of the Ejector Rod. Grasp this with a pair of slip joint plyers and be firm about it. Now wrap your thumb and fingers around the cylinder and grip about as tight as you would for teaching a 14 year old a firm handshake. This is your Slip Clutch. Now tighten the ejector rod using the pliers until you feel the cylinder slip in your hand. Now memorize how firmly you grasped that cylinder.

Take the gun out and shoot it for about 2-3 boxes of ammo and check the Ejector rod at least every other 6 rounds to see it it has loosened. If you get to 3 boxes of ammo without it shooting loose you are good to go but should make it a habit to check the Ejector rod every time you clean it.

If at any point it does shoot loose then get out your leather belt, pliers, and fired shells and grasp that cylinder just a bit tighter and re-tighten until the cylinder slips in your hand.

PS: I have a model 67 of similar vintage and these are truly wonderful revolvers. I'll also point out that they are relatively cheap to reload for (about the same as 9mm) and Starline usually has 38 spl. or 357 Magnum cases in stock.

https://www.starlinebrass.com/38-special-brass

https://www.starlinebrass.com/357-mag-brass

As for reloading cost, using today's prices I come up with 25 cents per round or 12.50 per box of 50 for 38 special using plated bullets. While it's not the same as the 7 dollars a box before Covid it's still a lot better than what you have to pay for commercial ammo when and if you can find it. I'll also note that I specifically load my practice ammo at the same bullet weight and velocity as my carry ammo.

^^^Thanks for the advice on the rod. I have been contemplating reloading again, as I will mostly shoot only .38 out of it. $12.50 a box of 50 is much better than current factory ammo prices of $25 and up for 50.