The original Model 22 was introduced by Smith & Wesson in 1951 as the Model 1950 .45 Army. It wasn't until 1957, when S&W started assigning number codes to the various models, that it became the Model 22.

The new Thunder Ranch S&W M-22 is what a lot of us have been waiting for: a fixed-sight bigbore wheelgun in .45 ACP. The top front of the frame has been scalloped down much like the old Outdoorsman model.

The idea (then and now) was to produce a durable fixed-sight bigbore revolver. Yes, adjustable sights can be very useful in getting the last bit of accuracy out of a handgun. They allow you to precisely adjust the sights, even if you make a change in ammunition. But they can be fragile. When I was doing full-time gunsmithing, many of the local police departments still issued revolvers, and a lot of them had adjustable sights. I got so good at quickly replacing bent or busted blades that I could even do them on a "while you wait" basis.

(There is a fellow competition shooter who has abandoned the use of adjustable sights on his pistols. It doesn't matter who made it or who installed it; he's broken it. Name a brand, and he can show you the pieces.)

So a fixed-sight handgun, especially one intended for defensive use or use off the target range, has a lot of attraction. And then there's the Indiana Jones phenomenon. A fixed-sight bigbore revolver has a certain mystique, an aura, especially if it has retro styling.

The author has seen many a moon clip dropped from this height cleanly chamber.

The S&W Model 58 is certainly a fixed-sight bigbore. No one can argue that its .41 Magnum chambering is lacking in horsepower. But the M-58's design is modern, an N-frame built like a late Model 10. No, what gets a certain segment of the shooting culture excited is a bigbore M&P, a wheelgun like the .38-44 Outdoorsman but in something bigger than .38 Special.

The Army had Smith & Wesson produce such a thing back in 1917. Called the Model 1917, it was a square-butt .45 ACP revolver but with an exposed ejector rod and a five-inch barrel--cool but a bit bulky. Cutting one to four inches isn't easy, as the skinny barrel makes soldering a new sight in place a tough proposition. If you have one with a Brazilian crest on it, that's a 1937 contract gun--again, a five-inch barrel, not the four-incher we all really, really wanted.

Which we now have. Actually, we've had two. Last year's Thunder Ranch four-inch, fixed-sight revolver--the Model 21--was chambered in .44 Special, which is understandable, as Clint Smith and the others who pushed for it are smitten with the .44 Special. Me, I respect it, but I'm not enamored of the .44 Special. More on that in a bit.

The new Model 22 comes to us in .45 ACP, taking either moon-clipped ACP rounds or the much less common .45 Auto Rim. In a pinch you can use .45 ACP ammo without moon clips, but the extractor won't be able to do its job. The rimless cases offer the extractor no purchase. For fast extraction, and fast reloading, you need moon clips, preferably full-moon clips.

The new Thunder Ranch M-22 comes in a carry case with the TR logo on it and the TR logo in the grips. No gold inlay on this one. (Nothing personal, Clint, but if I want a gold inlay, I have a few other designs I'd prefer to see.)