Since first detailing my adventures in searching for the ideal carry revolver in 2015, I have gotten a lot of questions about the 3-inch S&W Model 66-6 I eventually chose. Unfortunately, the 3-inch versions of this gun are pretty scarce, so it’s not something I’ve been able to recommend as an easy off-the-shelf option for other wheel gun aficionados. At SHOT Show this year, I got to take a quick look at what would seem to be the next best thing: Smith & Wesson’s new 2.75-inch version of the Model 66. I finally got my hands on one of these six-shooters a few months ago, and I have a some thoughts about S&W’s latest attempt at the mid-size magnum. The full review is in the video below, or you can scroll down and read the transcript.
It’s funny how things have a way of coming back into vogue with the passage of time. While I hope never to see the return of those hip-hugger, bell-bottom jeans and zip-up Naugahyde boots from the 70s, I am thrilled to see the return of a venerable and street-proven revolver, the Smith & Wesson Model 66 Combat Magnum.
It's been said in order to take two steps forward, sometimes you must begin with a step back. I don't know who originated that piece of wisdom, but Smith & Wesson definitely took heed of this advice when it once again chambered the .357 Mag. in a K-frame revolver and offered its L-frame revolver chambered in .44 Mag. in the revamped Combat Magnum revolver lineup.