I've been thinking about a .22 revolver for some time now. I have a couple of .22LR semi-auto pistols, and over the years have accumulated a bunch of .22LR ammo that, for one reason or the other, won't cycle reliably through them. Can't let ammo go to waste - and what better reason to buy a new gun!
I have a copy of John Taffin's "Single Action Sixguns", and browsing through it a week or so ago I ran across a brief mention of the EAA Bounty Hunter. This revolver is made in Germany by Weirauch (HWM), and Mr. Taffin seemed to be pretty complimentary as to its quality. It is available in a .22LR/.22WRM combo, and is a full size revolver - possibly even slightly larger that a Colt SAA or Ruger Vaquero. It has a more or less traditional Colt-style action, but they install a transfer bar and captive firing pin a la Ruger. I looked at pictures on-line, and saw that the frame style and other features are very reminiscent of a Colt Single Action Army.
I found that Bud's Gun Shop in Lexington, KY (about 60 miles away for me) had a six-shot version in stock in their warehouse (they also offer the same gun in an 8-shot version). So I dug out my credit card and did the deal.
The revolver seems to be of very high quality construction. Without actually disassembling it, there are no visible machining marks in places such as the frame window or hammer slot that have not been polished out.
Finish is uniform, with a nice polished blue on the barrel and on both cylinders. The frame, grip strap and trigger guard, and ejector housing are finished in a sort of glossy black that very closely match the barrel and cylinder. The frame does not have a case-colored finish. The sides of the hammer are finished bright, and the hammer spur bears a nicely-done diagonal checkering pattern.
Particularly appreciated is the absence of garish roll-markings on the sides of the barrel or elsewhere on the pistol. The serial number is in the usual place on the bottom of the frame ahead of the trigger guard, and all other markings such as importer, manufacturer, caliber, and the inevitable warning to read the manual appear on the bottom of the barrel adjacent to the ejector rod housing. The rest of the pistol is refreshingly bare, except for an unobtrusive caliber marking on each cylinder.
The wooden one-piece grips are of some sort of European mystery-wood that is a kind of medium brown in color and does not show any figure in the grain. The wood is not covered with any sort of glossy varnish or polyurethane coating, but has a kind of dry feeling to it, and I expect that a few coats of BLO well rubbed in will improve its appearance greatly.
The gun was delivered from Bud's warehouse to the retail store to fulfill my order so there were no handling marks or dings, nor was there any evidence of the pistol having been dry-fired as happens sometimes with rimfire guns that have been sitting in dealer cases for a while.
There are two very minor cosmetic issues that I consider to be really insignificant:
1. The right side of the wooden grip has a small almost rectangular black mark that almost looks like someone touched the wood with the tip of a magic marker. This possibly may be just a mark in the grain - I don't know.
2. The trigger guard is provided with a small hole in it just slightly behind the tip of the trigger which is intended for a tiny padlock that is shipped with the gun. Also where this hole is punched there is a very slight distortion in the otherwise smooth trigger guard contour. I expect that this may be a feature only done to U.S.-destined revolvers.
I gave it the "magnet test" to see which parts are steel and which are of some sort of other "non-ferrous" metal. The barrel and the cylinders are both of steel. The frame, grip strap, trigger guard, and ejector housing will not attract a magnet, and I suspect that they are of aluminum.
The barrel appears to be pinned through the frame by one horizontal pin at the front of the top strap. I am unable to determine if the barrel is otherwise screwed in to the frame or if it is pressed in. The exploded-view in the manual does not show this to that level of detail.
There is a second pin that appears to run at a diagonal through the frame that secures the ejector housing in the frame. The front of the ejector housing is held to the barrel with a screw, as is common practice.
The action is what I will describe as a three-click action - there being no safety notch before the half-cock notch when cocking the hammer. There is a click at half-cock, a click when the bolt drops off of the hammer cam, and a final click (really two clicks that occur almost simultaneously) as the bolt then drops into the locking notch and the hammer reaches full-cock. The timing of the bolt is good, as the bolt first drops into the lead and is thereafter allowed to drop into the locking notch just under spring pressure. According to the exploded-view drawing in the included manual, both the hand spring and trigger/bolt spring are of original Colt style, as is the hammer spring.
The revolver is equipped with a frame-mounted rebounding firing pin, as well as a transfer bar that I understand from Mr. Taffin's writings is licensed from Ruger. Cocking effort and trigger pull seem to be a little heavy, which I attribute to the transfer bar.
When taken out of the box, I was surprised to see no evidence of any sort of grease or other preservative to protect the revolver during shipping. But there was no visible corrosion anywhere, so whatever Weirauch does seems to work. As a matter of fact, the action seemed to be bone-dry and gritty. I dripped a little CLP into the areas that are accessible without dis-assembly, especially in the area of the transfer bar where it slides in the hammer slot, and in the ejector rod slot. I also pulled the base pin and removed the cylinder and lubed the base pin and cylinder bushing with CLP. Things then seemed to free up nicely.
Here are a few pics that I took on Saturday:
The one oddity of this revolver is that, even though it's a three-screw action like the original Colt 1873 Peacemaker as well as the Old Model Ruger Blackhawks, the trigger screw on the EAA Bounty Hunter goes in from the right side of the frame. I suppose this must have something to do with the transfer bar mechanism.
For a size comparison, here is a photo with the EAA .22 on top, and my old (currently broken) Uberti Cattleman .45 LC on the bottom. One of the things that I like about the Bounty Hunter is that it is a full-sized revolver, not reduced in size like the Ruger Bearcat.
By the way, the holster for the Uberti Cattleman fits the Bounty Hunter perfectly, except that the barrel protrudes out of the bottom, of course. So anyone buying one of these should expect to use a "large caliber" holster, not one sized for .22 revolvers.
I got it out for it's first run Saturday afternoon, shooting 15-rounds (three cylinder fulls, leaving one empty chamber each) of CCI CB Longs at about 7 yards, offhand. The forward-balance of the steel 6-3/4" barrel and the steel cylinder seem to cause the pistol to "hang" on target when pointed one-handed. Even considering my 58 year-old eyes, I'm pleased enough with the results:
Without even touching the sights, they look to be regulated perfectly for windage (which is the real bugaboo with these fixed-sight revolvers). I will shoot it more with heavier bullets - these CB Longs were only 29 grains - and I bet the elevation will shift upwards a little. I expect that the sights are right on!
So far I have to say that I'm happy with this revolver. The only thing that is even a little difficult is getting the cylinder to line up properly when trying to insert the base pin.
The instructions say that, due to the transfer bar, it's safe to carry it with all six chambers loaded. But I still practice the old fashioned "load one, skip one, load four", then cock and lower the hammer on the empty chamber. I honestly have to say that I am glad I purchased this revolver over the Ruger. The combination of the "modern" transfer bar in concert with the traditional "half-cock to load" mechanism is a perfect blending of the old and the new.
This revolver is also available in an eight-shot version, but to my eyes the cylinder, with the extra locking notches and flutes, kind of strikes a sour note with me. I like it as a six-shooter, and I think I got the only one that Bud's had - the only ones they show in stock now are 8-shooters.
I have a copy of John Taffin's "Single Action Sixguns", and browsing through it a week or so ago I ran across a brief mention of the EAA Bounty Hunter. This revolver is made in Germany by Weirauch (HWM), and Mr. Taffin seemed to be pretty complimentary as to its quality. It is available in a .22LR/.22WRM combo, and is a full size revolver - possibly even slightly larger that a Colt SAA or Ruger Vaquero. It has a more or less traditional Colt-style action, but they install a transfer bar and captive firing pin a la Ruger. I looked at pictures on-line, and saw that the frame style and other features are very reminiscent of a Colt Single Action Army.
I found that Bud's Gun Shop in Lexington, KY (about 60 miles away for me) had a six-shot version in stock in their warehouse (they also offer the same gun in an 8-shot version). So I dug out my credit card and did the deal.
The revolver seems to be of very high quality construction. Without actually disassembling it, there are no visible machining marks in places such as the frame window or hammer slot that have not been polished out.
Finish is uniform, with a nice polished blue on the barrel and on both cylinders. The frame, grip strap and trigger guard, and ejector housing are finished in a sort of glossy black that very closely match the barrel and cylinder. The frame does not have a case-colored finish. The sides of the hammer are finished bright, and the hammer spur bears a nicely-done diagonal checkering pattern.
Particularly appreciated is the absence of garish roll-markings on the sides of the barrel or elsewhere on the pistol. The serial number is in the usual place on the bottom of the frame ahead of the trigger guard, and all other markings such as importer, manufacturer, caliber, and the inevitable warning to read the manual appear on the bottom of the barrel adjacent to the ejector rod housing. The rest of the pistol is refreshingly bare, except for an unobtrusive caliber marking on each cylinder.
The wooden one-piece grips are of some sort of European mystery-wood that is a kind of medium brown in color and does not show any figure in the grain. The wood is not covered with any sort of glossy varnish or polyurethane coating, but has a kind of dry feeling to it, and I expect that a few coats of BLO well rubbed in will improve its appearance greatly.
The gun was delivered from Bud's warehouse to the retail store to fulfill my order so there were no handling marks or dings, nor was there any evidence of the pistol having been dry-fired as happens sometimes with rimfire guns that have been sitting in dealer cases for a while.
There are two very minor cosmetic issues that I consider to be really insignificant:
1. The right side of the wooden grip has a small almost rectangular black mark that almost looks like someone touched the wood with the tip of a magic marker. This possibly may be just a mark in the grain - I don't know.
2. The trigger guard is provided with a small hole in it just slightly behind the tip of the trigger which is intended for a tiny padlock that is shipped with the gun. Also where this hole is punched there is a very slight distortion in the otherwise smooth trigger guard contour. I expect that this may be a feature only done to U.S.-destined revolvers.
I gave it the "magnet test" to see which parts are steel and which are of some sort of other "non-ferrous" metal. The barrel and the cylinders are both of steel. The frame, grip strap, trigger guard, and ejector housing will not attract a magnet, and I suspect that they are of aluminum.
The barrel appears to be pinned through the frame by one horizontal pin at the front of the top strap. I am unable to determine if the barrel is otherwise screwed in to the frame or if it is pressed in. The exploded-view in the manual does not show this to that level of detail.
There is a second pin that appears to run at a diagonal through the frame that secures the ejector housing in the frame. The front of the ejector housing is held to the barrel with a screw, as is common practice.
The action is what I will describe as a three-click action - there being no safety notch before the half-cock notch when cocking the hammer. There is a click at half-cock, a click when the bolt drops off of the hammer cam, and a final click (really two clicks that occur almost simultaneously) as the bolt then drops into the locking notch and the hammer reaches full-cock. The timing of the bolt is good, as the bolt first drops into the lead and is thereafter allowed to drop into the locking notch just under spring pressure. According to the exploded-view drawing in the included manual, both the hand spring and trigger/bolt spring are of original Colt style, as is the hammer spring.
The revolver is equipped with a frame-mounted rebounding firing pin, as well as a transfer bar that I understand from Mr. Taffin's writings is licensed from Ruger. Cocking effort and trigger pull seem to be a little heavy, which I attribute to the transfer bar.
When taken out of the box, I was surprised to see no evidence of any sort of grease or other preservative to protect the revolver during shipping. But there was no visible corrosion anywhere, so whatever Weirauch does seems to work. As a matter of fact, the action seemed to be bone-dry and gritty. I dripped a little CLP into the areas that are accessible without dis-assembly, especially in the area of the transfer bar where it slides in the hammer slot, and in the ejector rod slot. I also pulled the base pin and removed the cylinder and lubed the base pin and cylinder bushing with CLP. Things then seemed to free up nicely.
Here are a few pics that I took on Saturday:
The one oddity of this revolver is that, even though it's a three-screw action like the original Colt 1873 Peacemaker as well as the Old Model Ruger Blackhawks, the trigger screw on the EAA Bounty Hunter goes in from the right side of the frame. I suppose this must have something to do with the transfer bar mechanism.
For a size comparison, here is a photo with the EAA .22 on top, and my old (currently broken) Uberti Cattleman .45 LC on the bottom. One of the things that I like about the Bounty Hunter is that it is a full-sized revolver, not reduced in size like the Ruger Bearcat.
By the way, the holster for the Uberti Cattleman fits the Bounty Hunter perfectly, except that the barrel protrudes out of the bottom, of course. So anyone buying one of these should expect to use a "large caliber" holster, not one sized for .22 revolvers.
I got it out for it's first run Saturday afternoon, shooting 15-rounds (three cylinder fulls, leaving one empty chamber each) of CCI CB Longs at about 7 yards, offhand. The forward-balance of the steel 6-3/4" barrel and the steel cylinder seem to cause the pistol to "hang" on target when pointed one-handed. Even considering my 58 year-old eyes, I'm pleased enough with the results:
Without even touching the sights, they look to be regulated perfectly for windage (which is the real bugaboo with these fixed-sight revolvers). I will shoot it more with heavier bullets - these CB Longs were only 29 grains - and I bet the elevation will shift upwards a little. I expect that the sights are right on!
So far I have to say that I'm happy with this revolver. The only thing that is even a little difficult is getting the cylinder to line up properly when trying to insert the base pin.
The instructions say that, due to the transfer bar, it's safe to carry it with all six chambers loaded. But I still practice the old fashioned "load one, skip one, load four", then cock and lower the hammer on the empty chamber. I honestly have to say that I am glad I purchased this revolver over the Ruger. The combination of the "modern" transfer bar in concert with the traditional "half-cock to load" mechanism is a perfect blending of the old and the new.
This revolver is also available in an eight-shot version, but to my eyes the cylinder, with the extra locking notches and flutes, kind of strikes a sour note with me. I like it as a six-shooter, and I think I got the only one that Bud's had - the only ones they show in stock now are 8-shooters.
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