[JJKJR]

Hey Folks,

Twice during the three years that I owed my model 66 revolver it has locked up and was repaired by Taurus. I got it back the other day. I have a copy of the repair sheet which said they replaced the center pin and adjusted the cylinder yoke. Their recommendations were not to use reloads and that my firearm was dirty. It was dirty because it broke while I was firing it. As far as reloads, I use CCI Blazer .357/.38 ammo.

Do you think the CCI ammo is causing the problems? I've used that ammo from the time I purchased the gun. When I clean the gun, I clean everything I can get to externally on the gun with a good gun solvent. I don't take the grip off to get into the gun. Do you think that could be the problem?

I also saw on the other Taurus Forum where another person has a model 66 that was locking up. Is this common with this model gun?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Steelheart]

I've never heard of Blazers (or any other non-excessively high pressure) ammo causing a gun to lockup without a mechanical reason behind it.

The first thought that comes to mind is how are you closing the cylinder when you load the gun? Are you flipping it closed with a snap of the wrist (of the hand that is holding the gun) or are you closing the cylinder with the other hand?

Steelheart

 

[NativeTexan]

"Don't use reloads" is a manufacturers way of passing the buck, refusing responsibility. In general, it's total BS. I shoot everything I own, including to Taurus 66s, with reloads. I don't have a huge round count out of either one of 'em, yet, but I've had no problems.

I'm with Steelheart, are you abusing the cylinder crane? If not, I think it was probably just a part failure and they're refusing to admit the part failed. Possibility, I guess, if your're firing a lot of white hot magnum loads in it, it could have worn the cylinder/yoke, caused some excessive end shake. Have you noticed the gun having a lot of end shake? IOW, could you move the cylinder back and forth very much front to back play? You can measure end shake by pushing rearward on the cylinder and using a feeler gauge to check the cylinder gap. Then, push forward on the cylinder and check gap, subtract the max from the minimum. I think over .005 or .006" would require repair.

 

[JJKJR]

I close the cylinder with my opposite hand. Frankly, I never thought of trying to flip it closed. When I went home today, I checked the cylinder play and there is very little right now since it was just fixed. I'll monitor the play in the future, now that I know to look for it.

Could any of my problems come from not getting into the gun to clean it? As I said in my first post, I clean my gun only externally, after each use. Would it be a smart idea to have my local gunsmith clean it internally each year?

Thanks for your advice.

 

[NativeTexan]

If you shoot it a lot, pulling the side plate off and giving it a good cleaning is a good thing. Some smiths can ultrasonic clean them, not sure how much it costs to have this done. I don't often pull the side plate off my guns, though, but I don't shoot 'em a whole lot, either. They mostly get a diet of .38 handloads with a few 158 grain hot magnums now and then. I carry 125 grain JHPs in the 3", but I don't shoot it with 'em a lot. The 125 grain stuff is actually the hardest on the gun's forcing cone and top strap. Smith and Wesson got a reputation for wear with the 125 grain stuff in their K frame magnums, a bit unjust IMHO since these guns were in heavy use in law enforcement. a M19 smith or a M66 Taurus (pretty much a M19 copy with a couple of improvements) will last the average owner a lifetime, a guy like me especially that mostly shoots .38s and with heavy bullet .357s for an alternative.

A heavy diet of magnums in a medium frame gun like the M66 or a Smith M19 will cause cylinder end shake over time, though, and I know the spec on the Smiths is .006" before repair is necessary. Like I say, I've rarely pulled the side plate off my guns (or the trigger group out of my Security Six) for thorough cleaning. When I get home, I scrub up the bore, the cylinder chambers, the forcing cone area, and the front of the cylinder real good, shoot some light lube down the hammer slot with the hammer cocked, and put it away. If I put 10K a year through 'em or something, I'd probably pull the side plate and give it a thorough cleaning once a year just for the sake of it. I'm not sure it'd be really necessary, but if you're getting a lot of goo in there, I'd say it'd be a good idea to have it cleaned. Don't pull the side plate off yourself unless you're mechanically inclined. On the M66 Taurus, there is a plunger in the side plate that presses against the pawl (hand that turns the cylinder) and is spring loaded. You have to depress it and install the pawl in the side cover when reassembling the side plate, sort of tedious and if the plunger flys out, you may never see it again, LOL. Older Smiths are a bit easier to pull apart and Rugers are dead simple, trigger group comes out the bottom as a unit and exposes the works no sweat. I really love the old Security Sixes, wish I still had mine. Wish Ruger would bring 'em back. The GP100 is a big, heavy beast that just does nothing for me, rather have a K frame sized gun like my M66s.

 

[JJKJR]

Hey NativeTexan,

Thanks for the detailed information. I do shoot approximately 2 thousand rounds per year, with approximately 50% being .357 cal. Based on what you said, I think I'll shoot more of the .38 cal which would be less stressful on the gun. I'm also going to have the gun detailed cleaned once yearly.

JJKJR

 

[gandog56]

My 20 year old Model 66 had it's first boo-boo at 19 years. The crane screw came loose and I could not open the crane. My gunsmith managed to get her open and I told him as long as he had her apart go ahead and do an ultrsonic clean and lube. She will still shoot 1 hole wonders at 20 feet. (Which is about as far as I can focus on a black post on black rear sights) Never in the twenty years have I had a lock up problem, though.