RETRO STYLE
The M-22 is definitely retro in looks. The M-58 was simply the adjustable-sight N-frame, without the rear-sight machining cuts made. The forward part of the frame has the same contour as the adjustable-sight frame. Not so the M-22. The front of the frame is scalloped down near the barrel shoulder, as on the old-style M&P revolvers and the Outdoorsman. The barrel is tapered and round, with the forward locking plunger in the front of the ejector-rod housing. The ejector rod is enclosed, unlike the M-10 precursor--the M&P--and I like the look and balance it gives the 22.
The Thunder Ranch logo is on the grips this time around.
Another retro touch is the addition of the top screw on the sideplate. Yes, the Model 22 is a "four-screw" S&W; decidedly not retro is the key lock on the left side. Despite the sputtering of some, I haven't had any problems with sidelock Smiths, nor do I expect any. As a sop to the anti-gun crowd, it is a pretty benign one, and the design doesn't cause problems with trigger pull.
It's hard to beat accuracy like that--25 yards and Black Hills ammo.
The grips are old-style skinny but can easily be changed. After firing the first few cylinders-ful, I swapped them for a set of Kim Ahrends' grips. I need the area behind the triggerguard filled in order to shoot with any comfort, accuracy or speed.
One change from the old style is the front sight. In shape it is the same half-moon that you'll see on literally millions of Military & Police and Outdoorsman revolvers made before 1960. But the sight on the M-22 is pinned to the barrel. The base is machined from the barrel forging, and the upper half is a fitted and pinned blade. With the old guns, if your load, grip or whatever didn't shoot to the sights, you had few choices, all bad: You could modify the sight, altering an expensive part (the barrel), or you could try to apply Kentucky windage. With the modern Model 22 you can file, grind, serrate, sculpt or do whatever you want. With a supply of replacement blades and a correctly sized pin punch, you can take out the old one and put in a new one to start over after each iteration. Kudos to S&W for that. If that were the only change it had made, it'd be worth it. But it has made the other changes mentioned, and the result is a revolver with great potential.
One potential is for licensed concealed carry. Without the sharp edges of adjustable sights, your tailor has less to worry about. Sharp edges shred clothing. If you dehorn or remove the hammer spur, you have a carry gun that is the very definition of "no sharp edges." The M-22 is as compact as you can get in a bigbore wheelgun, and with a good pancake holster, it will carry easily and conceal without a problem. You can have two spare full-moon clips on your belt for less space than a cell phone takes.
Back in the day, one big cause of rear-sight damage was door frames. Car doors and building doors take their toll, but I had one rear sight brought in to my shop damaged by a freezer door. The owner had leaned in to take something out of the chest freezer, and the door slipped, hit his sight and cracked the blade. None of that is going to happen with the Model 22.
For someone who wants to compete with his carry gun, the Model 22 is not going to put you at a disadvantage. If you shoot in USPSA or IDPA, the M-22 can easily make Major, it reloads wicked fast, and the felt recoil and sight setting can easily be the same between your carry load and your competition load. It doesn't matter if you carry 230-grain JHP +Ps or 185s; you can load the same for competitor and not have to change the sights.
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