S&W M-66
Photo taken from Gunbroker.com

Length Overall	Barrel Length	Weight	Caliber	Action Type	Magazine capacity
9 1/2 Inches	4 Inches	36 Ounces	.357 Magnum	DA Revolver	6

   The model 66 has been, for years, the ultimate duty, and kit gun. This is a stainless steel, K frame Smith, with adjustable sights, chambered for the .357 Magnum. Those are the hard facts, but they do little to describe the feel, mystique, and ideal dimensions of the gun. The model 66 was a dream gun, up until a decade or two ago, and is still quite popular today. It was one of the first stainless steel guns on the market, and one of the few (perhaps the only) of this first generation to be chambered for a useful caliber, in a durable frame. Most of the other models were small framed guns designed for hide out, rather than field or duty use. The model 66 was almost as hard to come by, as the equally desirable Model 29. It was also quite expensive, for what it was. Smith made a series of stainless guns, based on the K frame (Models 64, 65, 66, 676), but the 66 had the combination of sights caliber, and handling that made it the top of the stainless series of guns.
    The classic K frame Smith, done up in stainless steel. This is a stainless steel version of the model 19, Combat Magnum. This is the Smith & Wesson "K" frame, upon which so many generations of police officers have depended. The frame is proportioned for the .38 Special, and there are some who think this frame is a bit delicate for regular use with the .357 round. The gun is equipped with adjustable sights, and can be had in barrel lengths ranging from 2" to 6". To my mind the 4" barrel is the natural choice for a gun of this size, even though the 6" barrel would be ballisticly better for the .357 round.
The 66 had the combination of sights caliber, and handling that made it the top of the stainless series of guns, until the introduction, in the eighties, of stainless versions of the "N" frame Smith.
     The guns were available with 2 ½” 4” and 6” barrels. Being stainless versions of the classic K frame revolvers, they could make use of the huge number of accessories, holsters, and loaders made for the numerous K frame issue revolvers out on the street. The Blue steel K equivalent of the model 66 is the model 19. The guns are identical except for the steel from which they are constructed. This particular example has a 4" barrel, and a six shot cylinder (some latter models were made with 7 shot cylinders).