Kerboom

3 posts

Ah, Saturdays.

The good: I took home a 3″ S&W 66, a gun I’ve long been seeking.

S&W 66-4

This one left the factory in 1994, the same year Tip O’Neil died, alternative rock pretty much fell apart, and a big comet smacked into Jupiter. The records are inconsistent, but it doesn’t appear many of this iteration were made, making it an even rarer example of an already elusive pistol.

The 3″ K-Frames are one of the most versatile and effective carry guns out there. I’ve waxed poetic on the virtues of the fixed-sight versions before, but a 3″ model with target sights is like having a Maserati with the engine output rated in unicorn power.

Yeah. It’s that cool.

The weird: we had an odd situation caused by incompetent handloads. It appears that Uncle Joe Bob mixed alcohol, distraction, and a progressive press. The progeny of his folly was a round of .38 Special containing no powder but two bullets.

Continued...

Pushing the Envelope vs. Pushing Your Luck

Pictured below are the sad remains of a S&W M&P 340 revolver.  The 340 is a J-Frame chambered in .357 Magnum.  Its frame is an aluminum alloy infused with a small percentage of Scandium, and it weighs in at 12 ounces.

The owner fired six rounds of .38 Special through it without issue. The first shot of .357 blew up the gun. The owner was unharmed, as all of the unpleasantness happened forward of the muzzle.

Squib Loads

S&W Model 29 Mountain Gun. The loads were factory CorBon 200gr .44 Special. The operator was an experienced shooter with military training.

The shooter started with .44 Magnums, then switched to Specials. It’s likely that he expected the milder report and recoil of the .44 Special loads and therefore didn’t notice the discrepancy at first.

Surprisingly, the ejector rod is fine, as are the topstrap and cylinder. Looks like a new barrel assembly should have her back up and running. The shooter was wearing eye protection and was not hurt.

Lesson learned: be careful when switching between Magnum and Special loads, as you might not pick up on the difference in time.