Tanaka Model 66 By 888
The Tanaka S&W model 66 is based off the newly improved M19 series in which the horrible but of the box shot consistency plaguing the larger M29 series has been remarkably improved.
The fact of the matter is, the fixed hop systems found on the majority of the larger framed Tanaka revolvers are way too crude. A brief look at the notch down the barrel will show that it is for the most part just a flat chunk of rubber, although when dismantled, it appears to have a morecontoured shape.
Nevertheless, add to that a valve release that does not line perfectly straight with the cylinder pockets and a sometimes loosely set inner barrel, its no wonder that shot consistency is all over the place.
From personal experience, Tanaka revolvers that offered a more stable shot consistency were the ones that utilized the Pegasus straight barrel system. These barrels were commonly found in the earlier Python revolvers and with
various limited edition models to this day. However, by using a non hop barrel, you had little to no effective field range.
The adjustable hop-up design of the M66, as well as the new M19 isactually an improved version of the original concept of the Tanaka Redhawk. The original Redhawk however had a hop system which resembled the Western Arms pistols in which a hex bolt would apply pressure onto the lower part of the chamber, which in turn forces the bb via a ramp to contact the fixed hop notch a little harder. However, the Redhawk did not utilize the nylon ramp, nor did it have an upper notch for hop-up. Instead, a hex bolt would simply tighten the bucking to a tighter seal, and if you turned the screw too much, the chamber would just take on a oval shape, so not a good design at all, simply put, downright awful!
This design was later improved with the 454 Casul version; this time around a hex bolt could apply pressure downward simultaneously. Although the bucking was enormous in size, a slight turn was all you really needed to hold a fine balance of the consistency of a straight barrel but with just enough hop-up to spin the bb out a bit further. Unfortunately for the earlier versions of the Casul, the cylinder was farther off center than the M29 series, so in effect you had shot consistency that would keep hooking bb to the right.
With the new M66, the cylinder misalignment is gone which means each pocket is perfectly centered onto the gas release valve. Also, the inner barrel is now housed with a spring tensioner which forces the barrel toward the cylinder chamber. This facilitates a tighter seal between the cylinder pocket to barrel, which in other words maximizes the pressure output to the bb.
Detail of the gun is as expected from Tanaka Works, no shortcuts are taken. The grip is an actual Uncle Mikes K/L round-butt rubber grip, which many claim to be superior to the rubber Hogue combat grips.
Cylinder holds 6 bb, and the reservoir can hold an additional 7 for a total shot capacity of 13. Standard velocity with .20g Marui bb is at 275-285 FPS (stock) You can fine tune the hammer tension simply by turning the screw located inside the grip. Change in velocity can go as low as you like to a maximum of 300 FPS.
