The bird's-head grip is what distinguishes the Thunderer from every other SAA-pattern revolver in this catalog. The shape — narrower at the top, flaring outward into a rounded butt — rolls in the hand under recoil instead of slamming back. Colt offered the original Thunderer in the late 1870s and 1880s in .41 Long Colt as a more concealable alternative to the standard SAA, and the modern Cimarron reproduces the configuration in a more practical chambering. The shorter 3.5" barrel and 38 oz weight place this in mid-size revolver territory rather than the full-size SAA-pattern class.

The package adds up to a more concealable, more pointable .45 Colt sixgun than the 5.5" barrel mainstream SAAs. The grip-rolling recoil behavior is something owners either love or never adapt to — there is no third option. Compared to a 4.75" or 5.5" SAA-pattern revolver, the Thunderer trades sight radius and ballistic performance (the shorter barrel reduces muzzle velocity meaningfully) for handling that's closer to a defensive belt revolver than a traditional sixgun. For shooters who already know they like a bird's-head grip and want something that handles unlike anything else in the .45 Colt category, the Thunderer is the answer; for everyone else, the standard plow-handle SAAs are more familiar.