.38 +p in a S&W Model 66 (Model 19)

[tele_mark]

The answer is probably obvious, but I'd welcome others input. I just acquired a 1981 vintage Model 66 K frame. From what I've heard, you're not supposed to feed these a steady diet of .357 magnum ammo. Which is fine, because I bought the gun primarily as a way to waste even more .38 Special.

I'm wondering about the use of a steady diet of .38 +p, though. I loaded up some nice loads for my 637 which were 158 grain LRN's over 4 grains of Bullseye. I just got 1000 148 LDEWC's, and was thinking of loading up half with 2.8 grains of Bullseye for target loads, and the other 500 with 4 grains as +p.

The question is, will this gun be ok with a steady diet of "hot" .38 loads?

 

[EddieCoyle]

Your 66 will be fine with a steady diet of +P or even +P+ loads. The pressure in a +P load is slightly more than 1/2 that of a .357 Magnum. The maximum pressure for .38 +P is 20,000 psi, the .357 is about 35,000 psi.

The downside of firing .38s out of a .357 is that they're slightly less accurate, and a whole lot harder to clean.

 

[TY43215]

The question is, will this gun be ok with a steady diet of "hot" .38 loads?

Yes

My carry gun is a 2.5" 66-1 my 4" is also a 66-1. I shoot them both a lot with all types of ammo, Magnum and special. I carried a 19 on duty and trained with it using SuperVel ammo which at that time was the hottest you could get (125GR JSP 357MAG) I have never had a problem with any of the K frames. I have never had any excessive flame cutting, no excessive timing problems, no excessive end shake, no excessive parts failure.

If you want the gun looked at let me know, I still keep a full assortment of parts and can still muddle my way through a repair.

Enjoy the revolver and if you ever decide you don't like it, e mail me

 

[TY43215]

I forgot to ask, which 66 did you get?? -3? And the barrel length?? I am looking for a 66-1 6" to complete my set That is what I built at the Armorer School.

 

[tele_mark]

I forgot to ask, which 66 did you get?? -3? And the barrel length?? I am looking for a 66-1 6" to complete my set That is what I built at the Armorer School.

Thi is a 66-1, SN 45K60XX. I detailed it in the Feb. 2007 aquisition thread, but here is the picture:

I bought it at State Line Gun Shop in Mason, NH. They also had a 6" version that was identical, but I settled on this one. I'm not sure if the 6" is still available.

Also, thanks for the input on my question. Looks like I'm going to load up a mess of +p to play with.