Taurus 66 Combat 357 Magnum 3 in. Matte Stainless 7-Shot Revolver – Superb Defensive Wheelgun

Description

The Taurus 66 Combat is the seven-shot .357 built short: a 3-inch stainless barrel, a bright fibre-optic front sight and a wraparound Hogue rubber grip. The frame is stamped 66C and the barrel simply says COMBAT, which tells you what it was designed for.

The Taurus 66 Combat holds seven rounds of .357 Magnum, or .38 Special when you want something milder, in a medium-frame revolver that is still small enough to carry on a belt.

What the Taurus 66 Combat is built for

• The Taurus 66 Combat carries seven rounds, one more than almost every other medium-frame revolver
• 3-inch matte stainless barrel, which is short enough to carry and long enough to shoot properly
• A full-length ejector stroke that clears fired .357 cases in one push, which a two-inch snub cannot do
• Bright fibre-optic front sight, far faster to find in poor light than a plain blade
• Wraparound Hogue rubber grip, which soaks up a good deal of what a magnum load produces
• Matte stainless barrel, cylinder and frame throughout
• .38 Special chambers and fires, so practice with the Taurus 66 Combat is affordable

Two corrections to the data on this gun

• Our old product title said six rounds. The distributor record says seven, which matches every other Model 66 Taurus builds
• Sports South lists the grip as Hogue G10. The photographs plainly show a wraparound rubber Hogue, not hard G10 panels
• We have described what the photographs show. If anything arrives different, tell us and we will sort it out
• The rubber grip is the better choice on a short-barrelled magnum anyway, because it cushions rather than transmits
• Seven chambers in a medium frame means slightly thinner chamber walls than a six-shot, which is normal and not a concern at .357 pressures
• Speedloaders for a seven-shot Taurus are their own pattern. Buy them for this gun rather than assuming a six-shot loader fits

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 2-66039C-HG
• Caliber: .357 Magnum, also fires .38 Special
• Capacity: 7 rounds
• Barrel: 3 in., matte stainless steel
• Cylinder and frame: matte stainless steel, medium frame
• Grip: wraparound Hogue rubber
• Action: single and double action, exposed hammer
• Sights: fibre-optic front
• UPC: 725327944065

.357 Magnum and .38 Special are both standardised cartridges with pressures and dimensions published by SAAMI. The magnum case is a tenth of an inch longer, which is why the shorter round chambers here and the longer one will not fit a .38-only revolver. Brush the chamber mouths occasionally if you shoot mostly .38, or the magnums will eventually stop seating.

One honest note about .357 from three inches. You get more out of the cartridge than a two-inch snub gives you, but still well short of what a four or six-inch barrel produces, and the muzzle blast is considerable. Plenty of owners load .38 Special +P for carry and keep the magnums for the range. That is a sound decision and the Taurus 66 Combat handles either without complaint.

Why this revolver earns its place

• Seven rounds of .357 in a gun you can actually wear on a belt
• A three-inch barrel with a full-length ejector rod, which is the practical sweet spot
• A fibre-optic front sight, which on a defensive revolver is worth more than any other upgrade
• The Taurus 66 Combat is stainless throughout, so sweat and weather are not a problem
• A wraparound rubber grip that makes magnum loads genuinely manageable
• .38 Special for cheap practice out of the same cylinder

Belt carriers who want more than five or six rounds, home-defence buyers who prefer a revolver, and anyone who has found a snub .357 unpleasant to shoot. The Taurus 66 Combat is a practical defensive revolver rather than a range or hunting gun.

For more barrel in the same cartridge, the seven-shot Tracker 627 and the eight-shot Taurus 608 are the range and hunting options.

For something smaller, the five-shot Taurus 605 and the hammerless 650 carry more easily. If you would rather have two cartridges from one gun, the 692 with .357 and 9mm cylinders is the same barrel length.

Every Taurus 66 Combat ships with the factory case, the manual and a lock. Transfers go to your FFL and our end of the paperwork is done the same day.