Thanks for the response, Jim!
I would have thought that this pistol and question would have engendered more opinions, as there are very strong feelings posted on the net.
I had wanted something chambered in 22 mag since the late '80s, when I got a big quantity of 22 mag ammo at a 22 lr price.
My first and obvious choice was the Ruger Single Six convertible in stainless steel.
I'll be darned if, for all this time, the Ruger price didn't manage to stay about $150-$200 more than I was willing to spend to burn up some cheap ammo.
I eventually scratched that itch a couple of years ago when I was able to snag a new Savage 93 rifle in stainless for a great price.
In my heart of hearts, I truly believe the 22 magnum advantage over the 22 lr is wasted in a handgun, but my wandering eye for a single action convertible never truly went away.
The price of the Ruger stubbornly remained out of my self imposed reach, but the Heritage Rough Rider combo looked interesting.
Unfortunately, the recoil shield mounted manual safety, the odd relationship of the component sizes (as compared to the SAA), and the blued steel cylinder (it gets mighty sweaty during the summer around these parts) on the Heritage, was off putting for me.
Then this Chiappa 1873 combo appeared on my radar.
About the only thing I knew about Chiappa was the Rhino, which was visually hideous, but very well made.
Taking a closer look at the Chiappa 1873 (and comparing it to the Heritage Rough Rider) showed me that Chiappa had done a very good job of honoring the Colt SAA in size and heft.
The Chiappa 1873 is built from an aluminum alloy (ZAMAK?) which many don't like, but I discovered that all the "rustable" steel parts (the barrel and cylinder chambers) were encased within the alloy shield.
Even the hammer and trigger are alloy!
Remember what I said about sweaty?
So I made the short drive to the Farm & Home store to make the purchase.
Mine is the six shot model with black plastic, checkered grips, but the counterman offered me the option of wood grips at the same price.
The wood was an unexceptional, completely unfigured, uncheckered, "poopy" colored, dry looking "wood" of some unknown species.
That grip was unappealing (to me) and I could just imagine how it would look after soaking up a combination of gun oil and dirty palm sweat. Ugh!
The NICS zen was with me as the whole transaction took less than 30 minutes, with the filling out of the forms requiring more time than the NICS check.
I'll take it out in the back yard in the next couple of days and let you know how it shoots.
For $182.00 out the door, so far I'm happy.
By the way, it is pronounced kee-ap-pa (like chianti) and not chee-ap-pa (like cheap).
We'll see.
John
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