Cimarron Thunderers

[Don Nix]

I just  bought a pair of Cimarron Thunderers with 43/4" barrels. They have had an action job and the cones cut to 11 degrees.
Although used they appear to be in excellent shape and they shoot really well.
i just ran 10 rounds through them and they seem to shoot where I point. I really like the fit of  the grips and the overall feel .
I dont know much about these guns or cimarron other that what I have read here on the forums . if there is something I should be aware of please let me know. if I've bought a pig in a poke dont hesitate to tell me ive got a thick skin.

[Abilene]

The Thunderer is a Model P (SAA Clone) with the Thunderer grip.  The Model P is tried and true and should give good service.  As for the grips, they look cool but are not for everyone.  Some people love the way they fit the hand and others don't.  I love them myself.  I've got a 3 1/2" Thunderer in .44 Spcl, and have Thunderer grips that I sometimes install on a pair of Navy conversions just for fun.

One thing to keep in mind is that the frame of the gun is modeled after the "black powder" Colt frame, which means that the base pin is retained with a screw in the front of the frame.  When you are re-installing the base pin after cleaning or whatever, that screw needs to be precisely in the groove of the base pin, or it can come loose and the base pin can move forward and/or you can lose that screw.  And if your gun has the original base pin, it has two grooves so that if you push it in all the way it becomes a safety and prevents the hammer from falling fully forward.  I prefer to grind off 1/8" from the rear of the pin to remove this "safety feature".  Then when you push the pin all the way into the frame, the gun still fires and the groove in the pin is perfectly aligned for the screw to hold it securely.

Enjoy your new shooting iron!

[RattlesnakeJack]

Agreed .... the Cimmaron Thunderer is really just a '73 SAA action and barrel mated with a significantly different gripframe ..... and you either like that feature or you don't ...... 

Several years ago, a shooting buddy and I (both of us shoot .45 Colt) each acquired a Thunderer on the same day from the same dealer.  Although I like the looks of the Thunderer and still have mine, I don't like the "ergonomics" and have very seldom used it.  On the other hand, he absolutely loved his and soon acquired another - since then he has continued to use them almost exclusively as his main match pistols - and frequently suggests I  trade mine to him for a backup .....

[Don Nix]

I just checked and the cylinder pins have only one groove and there is no evidence that the pins have been ground down.
I really like the way this guns fit my hand. I am a retired LEO and Tactical Team member and I spent years honing my instinct shooting skills and these little pistols seem to work well for me I was imptessed as they shot right with my line of sight at 7 to 10  yds.
i think I am going to like them.

[Abilene]

Howdy Don,
It is possible that someone replaced your cylinder base pins with Colt pins or they could be older Thunderers iwth the "hammer block safety", which is a small wedge-shaped piece of metal under the firing pin with linkage down to the safety notch of the hammer (that's the way my Thunderer is).  Either way, that's good if you don't have to worry about wiggling the pin forward and back to get it perfectly positioned for the screw.

[Don Nix]

These pistols seem to have had considerable work done.
there is no hammer block but the slot is there where it once was installed.
the fellow I bought from told me the weapons had been extensively redone with an action job by"XYZ' I did not know the name and promptly forgot it but they are as slick as can be.
I think I got a pretty good deal $625 for the pair shipping included. I was satisfied so I guess thats what counts.

[Professor Honeyfuggler]

I'm shooting now with a pair of Cimmaron Thunderers, and I must say I like them quite well. I have small hands, and not a lot of manual strength due to an accident, and I found it quite challenging to find a SA peaceshooter that I could hold comfortably. I started with the bird's head Cimarron Lightning, which is about 20% smaller than the P frames, until I built up my hand strength some and could step up to a larger model.

One thing I noticed about the bird's head grips that nobody ever seems to mention is that the top of the grip is just as different from a standard cowboy grip as the bottom is. There's a fairly flat area on the frame coming back from under the hammer that then rises a bit to form a kind of spur that fits into the crotch between my thumb and index finger very well, and helps to anchor the gun in my hand better than the more traditional shape. And besides that, I just think they're real purty.

From what I've read, I think the rounded shape was designed to be a little more easily concealed under a coat, and a little less like to catch in the clothes in a desperation draw. That's part of the reason they're so associated with The Pinkertons, who were early adopters of the style.

One thing to watch on these is that both of mine had a tendancy to jam at first. The cylinder would lock up if the hammer was cocked with the barrel raised above the horizon. Never if it was pointed down slightly. Quite a mystery for a while. Then I discovered there was a microscopically small horizontal ridge on the face of the frame at 9:00 (looking from the rear) that would catch and dig into the brass cartridge cases as they came sliding by. Why only when the barrel was up a tad? Because in that position the cartridges would slide back against the face to make contact. Barrel down they didn't Over the phone my gunsmith clearly thought I was a little demented when I first described the problem. But then another customer shipped two back to him with the same issue. And then he got a shipment of 3 more and they all had the same ridge. It was a fairly quick fix to stone down that tiny ridge, but it ruined the color case hardened finish in the area. And it was annoying to hear back that "Cimmaron is aware of the problem," but hadn't done anything to correct it. So check for that ridge. You probably can't even see it if it's there, but take the cylinder out and you can just feel it when you run your finger over it. Make it flat and you won't have the problem.

Other than that they've been great. The action slicked up nicely and they shoot tight groups... at least from a bench rest. Not as much at SASS shoots. 

Besides, they sure are purty.

[Danny Bear Claw]

A side note...  the Lightning and Thunderer models were Colt's first double action revolvers.  The Cimmaron models are, of course single actions as they were made for SASS competition.  I don't own either of them but have fired both.  I liked 'em.   

[Professor Honeyfuggler]

A side note...  the Lightning and Thunderer models were Colt's first double action revolvers.  The Cimmaron models are, of course single actions as they were made for SASS competition.  I don't own either of them but have fired both.  I liked 'em.   

Yup. Called the Lightning because the Double Action made firing the first round in a quick draw faster. And the Thunderer was the larger caliber version. .36 and .41 caliber repectively, as i recall, but then again my recall isn't what it used to was. 

In a way I kinda wish they had gone for the authenticity of the original action, since it was pre-1899, but then again SASS would have had to change their name to something like SA&DASS, and there's the expense of ordering new stationary and all. Or they just coulda made it a legal model as long as it was only shot SA, and i promised I wouldn't cheat or anything. Heh.