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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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Old 08-09-2018, 08:25 PM
Discus420 Discus420 is offline
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Default Thunder Ranch 1950 45 acp

So I was in the market for a Smith and I was out looking at a 686 but they wanted 1200$ and that was just too much for the gun. I posted it here and everyone agreed keeping me from doing something dumb. BUT I ran into this baby online and I could not help myself. I paid 800$ out the door. Not sure if its a good bad or ugly deal but the gun is sweet. I need to get some half moon clips. Can you shoot the gun without these clips? How did I do one the price gents?? Very little info on these and no recent sales
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Old 08-09-2018, 08:26 PM
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Old 08-09-2018, 08:28 PM
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and it came with the original paperwork and case131775256.jpg

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Old 08-09-2018, 08:30 PM
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I don't know market value, but if I had $800 in my pocket and saw that, it would be hard to pass up.
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Old 08-09-2018, 09:04 PM
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Congratulations on a nice addition

You did good

That is the Model 22 Thunder Ranch Revolver, product code 161239. They came out about 12 years ago


All of the serial numbers began with TRR for Thunder Ranch Revolver

Your revolver is designed to work with moonclips. Most folks these days use full moon clips instead of half moon or third moon clips. There should have been a little ziplok style bag with three full moon clips in with the paperwork

About 90% of S&W revolvers that fire autoloading cartridges will fire without the moon clips, but that is just luck, not design. The case mouth rests against the cylinder throat most of the time. Obviously it is ammunition sensitive depending on the length of the brass and the type of crimp used

Extraction of the 6 empties is not always fun, you might need a pencil to push them out of the cylinder from the front.
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Old 08-09-2018, 09:36 PM
S&WIowegan S&WIowegan is offline
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Thumbs up Solid Defense Revolver

This is a very good defense gun. I owned two of these when I went to Thunder Ranch in 2006 and took Clint Smith's revolver personal defense class. My main gun performed flawlessly throughout the 3-day course so my back-up was never used.

Bear in mind this is a fixed sight gun so target shooting beyond 25 yards is not easy. On the other hand, the plain sights leave fewer parts that might fail with your safety on the line. The first of these guns shipped with a too tall front sight which caused bullet impact to be low to point of aim. S&W heard the complaints and switched the front sight free of charge.If your gun shoots low, call S&W and request a fix. The front sight is also fairly thick and will completely cover up the target beyond 50 yards.

I still shoot mine in IDPA matches. Just be sure and practice with your match ammo so you know where the gun hits.

Enjoy your near new revolver!
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Old 08-09-2018, 09:41 PM
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I got a little ziplock like you said but these are no the clips but what are they??IMG_4454.JPG
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Old 08-09-2018, 10:05 PM
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Your gonna like it.
Attempted to make a private sale of this one
few weeks ago. Buyer never showed..Kinda glad.
IIRC this one was right at the OP's buying
price but was strapped with some nice stags.
Neat revolvers.
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Old 08-09-2018, 10:10 PM
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The keys for the internal lock above the cylinder release.
Moon clips (full, not 1/2 or 1/3) are still the fastest way to load 6 and eject 6. I use a 625 JM in USPSA/IDPA matches with NO issues at all.

Some (even on this forum) will tell you that moon clips are a major pain... that you are so much better off using .45 Auto Rim casings...not so at all.
Many home made tools for unloading the clip....I use the California Comp de-mooning tool that is in the Dillon Blue Press to do that...every squeeze kicks out two empties.

I just use a regular pair of pliars open to the widest setting to load them....Easy Cheesy!

Randy

Last edited by growr; 08-09-2018 at 10:11 PM.
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Old 08-10-2018, 01:10 AM
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Discus420;
I have a 625-8 JM Special that I have had and shot for many years. There is no doubt that the steel full moon clips represent the most positive way to speed load these .45 ACP revolvers. I use Ranch Products full moon steel clips when I need the "most positive". They do require tools. The Original Deluxe Moonclip tool is a good choice. It will both load and unload the clips without bending them. Bent clips are a NO-NO as they will cause malfunctions of the handgun.

MOONCLIPTOOL - Home

I actually prefer the Brownell "screwdriver" tool to demoon the clips as I find it easier to use.

BROWNELLS MOON CLIP STRIPPER | Brownells

It is more money but the BMT mooner and demooner is highly touted:

BMT Equipped, Inc.

They are considerably faster to both moon and demoon the full moon clips

For general use the RIMZ polycarbonate clips (Model 25 semi rigid model) work quite well, are easy to load and unload without tools but are not as secure as the steel clips. They are just fine for general use, tho'.

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Last edited by Dale53; 08-10-2018 at 01:12 AM.
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Old 08-10-2018, 06:28 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by growr View Post
The keys for the internal lock above the cylinder release.
Moon clips (full, not 1/2 or 1/3) are still the fastest way to load 6 and eject 6. I use a 625 JM in USPSA/IDPA matches with NO issues at all.

Some (even on this forum) will tell you that moon clips are a major pain... that you are so much better off using .45 Auto Rim casings...not so at all.
Many home made tools for unloading the clip....I use the California Comp de-mooning tool that is in the Dillon Blue Press to do that...every squeeze kicks out two empties.

I just use a regular pair of pliars open to the widest setting to load them....Easy Cheesy!

Randy
Agreed! Full Moon's are fantastic. T.K. Custom's moon clips are stellar and even the 20+ I got off of Amazon have been great for the range!

I got an Original Precision demooning/loading tool and it is AWESOME! It's so well thought out and handy it makes loading the clips easy and unloading even easier... just about anywhere!

J.D. makes some really nice accessories for you new piece OP! And if you ever want to get rid of that lock... his lock deletes are the best I've seen/used. I have 3 of them.
https://www.originalprecision.com/lo...ete-parts.html


Last edited by HamHands; 08-10-2018 at 06:31 AM.
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Old 08-10-2018, 07:24 AM
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Do you guys shoot this gun with the original grips? I had to replace them early S&W target stocks because the extra skinny magnas that came on it weren’t enough to hold onto. I found that be especially the case with this gun as it is rather light for caliber.
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Old 08-10-2018, 07:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Discus420 View Post
I got a little ziplock like you said but these are not the clips but what are they??

Those are "the keys" for "the lock".
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Old 08-10-2018, 07:35 AM
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Nice old school look.
Just curious who's the "they" that wanted $1200 for a $700 gun?
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Old 08-10-2018, 10:23 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Discus420 View Post
So I was in the market for a Smith and I was out looking at a 686 but they wanted 1200$ and that was just too much for the gun. I posted it here and everyone agreed keeping me from doing something dumb. BUT I ran into this baby online and I could not help myself. I paid 800$ out the door. Not sure if its a good bad or ugly deal but the gun is sweet. I need to get some half moon clips. Can you shoot the gun without these clips? How did I do one the price gents?? Very little info on these and no recent sales
Attachment 352980

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Attachment 352985
I sure like it! (like that matters) Try some RIMZ poly moon clips. Great for range use. No tools needed. I use them for my 625JM. Enjoy your 45 revolver! Bob
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Old 08-10-2018, 01:05 PM
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Wink Replacing original stocks

Quote:
Originally Posted by SLT223 View Post
Do you guys shoot this gun with the original grips? I had to replace them early S&W target stocks because the extra skinny magnas that came on it weren’t enough to hold onto. I found that be especially the case with this gun as it is rather light for caliber.
I personally replace S&W magnas with Pachmayr rubber for guns that get hard use. Many shooters I know tend to use Hogue rubber or wood stocks.
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Old 08-10-2018, 02:04 PM
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Good pickup. For that price I'd have sighed and said, "Put it in my layaway box."

I used to have a Thunder Ranch Model 21 in 44 Special. That gun had the worst grips I've ever used. A set of Hogues fixed the problem, and actually looked better IMHO.
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Old 08-10-2018, 04:10 PM
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I own a model 21 non Thunder Ranch ( did not care for that logo on the side plate )in 44 special and a Model 22 Thunder Ranch in 45 ACP.When the model 22 Thunder Ranch came out some of the guns had a tendency to not shoot to point of aim.Smith and Wesson replaced the Front sites on a number of guns. I’m sure there’s mention of that if you do a search of the forum. Overall both are very nice revolvers the only two lock S&W’s l own.
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Old 08-10-2018, 04:32 PM
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Nice revolver.

Personally, I would replace the half moon front sight with a ramp AND do away with that roll pin!
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Old 08-10-2018, 05:12 PM
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I am moving this to the for sale section I dont want to mess with moon clips or locks or pins I had no clue when I purchased it thats what I get for impulse buying
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Old 08-10-2018, 10:03 PM
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Very very nice!!!!!!!!
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Old 08-10-2018, 10:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Discus420 View Post
I am moving this to the for sale section I dont want to mess with moon clips or locks or pins I had no clue when I purchased it thats what I get for impulse buying
Wait what? In a span of a few days you havent shot it and putting it up for sale?
You dont need to change out your sights just yet.
You can shoot 45 rimmed but moon clips arent a huge deal.
Check ebay
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Old 08-10-2018, 10:58 PM
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I use a lot of auto-rim's in my .45acp revolvers. BTW I also have a 4" mdl 22 with stag grips. It shoots circles around my un-accurate mdl 21.
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Old 08-10-2018, 11:04 PM
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So, why not auto rims if you are not shooting competitively and don't need the fastest reload? Serious question
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Old 08-11-2018, 10:21 AM
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I agree.....auto rims are great. You can buy the brass and Load up your own or Buffalo bore sells some
I keep a few speed loaders of hot 45 AR along with my normal acp in moon clips for my 625. One of my favorites!!....even with a 4" barrel.
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Old 08-11-2018, 10:34 AM
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Congratulations. I picked this one up when they first came out, it's around #87 as I recall. There was an issue with the front sight height on the early ones. I just filed mine to hit POA with my preferred load and touched up the bluing. Been good to go ever since. Never had an issue with.




For those of you having issues loading and unloading full moon clips I guess I don't see/understand the issue. Using metal or plastic rims I simply push the cartridges in with my fingers and using a small piece of wooden dowel I pop the empty cases out. Time to unload and reload a clip, maybe 30 seconds if I really rush, a minute max if I don't.
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Old 08-11-2018, 10:59 AM
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I've been entertaining the thought of having a second ACP cylinder re-bored for 45 Colt. That would be a neat
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Old 08-11-2018, 11:10 AM
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These are great cast bullet guns. I've used ACP cartridges in the clips and bought a couple of the de-mooning tools. Auto Rim cases are far more convenient unless you have a want or need for speedloading with the clips.
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