MARYVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 27, 2026)—Smith & Wesson is reaching back to the First World War for its newest Classic Series revolvers. The company today announced two .45-cal. N-frames, both built on the lines of the M1917 service revolver. One, the Model 22 of 1917 Classic, stays as close to the original as a modern production gun can. Its sibling, the Model 22 Classic, cuts the barrel to 4 inches and adds a second chambering.
The original came out of a supply problem. When the United States entered World War 1 in 1917, Colt and Springfield Armory could not turn out M1911 pistols fast enough for a rapidly growing Army. Ordnance officials turned to large-frame revolvers from Smith & Wesson and Colt, chambered for the same .45 ACP round as the pistol. A rimless cartridge gives a revolver’s extractor nothing to push against, so engineers devised the half-moon clip, a stamped steel crescent holding three rounds, two to a cylinder. That workaround outlived the war. Moon clips are why .45 ACP wheelguns such as the Model 625 later became fixtures in action-pistol revolver divisions, where a full clip drops into the cylinder as fast as a speedloader and far more reliably.
Smith & Wesson attached the Model 22 name in 1957, when it moved to numbered designations and applied that number to the postwar .45 ACP N-frame descended from the 1917.
The Model 22 of 1917 Classic sports a 5½-inch blued barrel with a 1:16-inch right-hand twist, a half-moon front blade and a rear notch cut into the topstrap. Smooth walnut stocks and a lanyard ring at the butt finish the military profile. The cylinder is cut for moon clips and takes both the three-round half-moon style and modern six-round full-moon clips. Five come in the box. The revolver weighs 36.6 ounces and measures 11 inches overall.
Its shorter-barreled counterpart is meant to be shot as much as admired. A 4-inch barrel brings the Model 22 Classic down to 9.38 inches and 34.6 ounces, and a black serrated ramp replaces the half-moon blade for a sharper sight picture. The bigger change is in the cylinder, which handles .45 ACP in moon clips or .45 Colt loaded directly into the chambers. That gives owners a clip-free option when they want one and a choice of two widely available cartridges. The lanyard ring, walnut stocks and five included moon clips carry over from the 1917.
Under the bluing, both revolvers are quite similar. Each is a six-shot, double-action/single-action revolver with a blued carbon steel frame and fluted cylinder, 1.71 inches wide and 5.38 inches tall. Neither has an internal lock.
| Specifications | ||
| Model 22 of 1917 Classic | Model 22 Classic | |
| SKU | 14057 | 14058 |
| Caliber | .45 ACP | .45 ACP/.45 Colt |
| Capacity | 6 rounds | 6 rounds |
| Action | Double/single | Double/single |
| Frame | N-frame, blued carbon steel | N-frame, blued carbon steel |
| Barrel | 5.5 in., blued steel, 1:16-in. RH twist | 4 in., blued steel, 1:16-in. RH twist |
| Front sight | Fixed half-moon | Black serrated ramp |
| Rear sight | Integrated frame trench | Integrated frame trench |
| Cylinder | Fluted, moon-clip cut | Fluted, moon-clip cut, multi-caliber |
| Grips | Smooth walnut | Smooth walnut |
| Overall length | 11 in. | 9.38 in. |
| Height | 5.38 in. | 5.38 in. |
| Width | 1.71 in. | 1.71 in. |
| Weight | 36.6 oz. | 34.6 oz. |
| Moon clips included | 5 | 5 |
| MSRP | $1,299 | $1,299 |
The Smith & Wesson Model 22 of 1917 Classic and the Model 22 Classic both list for $1,299 and are available now. Go to smith-wesson.com.
