New EAA Bounty Hunter .22 Mag

olyinaz · May 2, 2010, 06:35 PM

Well, I was at the gun show yesterday and saw this .22/.22 mag convertible and just couldn't pass it up for $220. They had a .45 Colt version right next to it and they look to be exactly the same gun, made to the same standard which is to say "just fine for a .22 and not so great for a .45".

The gun is clearly a budget piece, sort of like an H&R from days gone by, but as you can see it's not junk and that's the problem I have had with many other SAA .22s over the years - they were so horrendous as to make it just no fun whatsoever. The frame is clearly aluminum but it's not ugly and a terrible mismatch for the cylinder like some I've seen with the trigger guard being the only place where it really falls down (cast marks and a small hole in the bottom for the U.S. mandated lock). The steel cylinder and barrel both look nice but they have sharp edges (as if they've never seen a buffing wheel) and the bluing looks thin. But again, for a plinker it's not anything off the scale or outrageous. The grips are walnut and plain but absolutely serviceable and at least they're one piece and not some sort of fugly catastrophe.

As far as sizing it appears to be pretty close to clone dimensions because I was pleased to find that it fits my 6.5" rig perfectly. That was a very pleasant suprise because I don't have any other 6.5" single actions at this time!

The only troubling issues I've come across thus far are tight/sticky chambers in the .22 mag cylinder and an ejector rod that wanted to lock back when you ejected a cartridge. The latter I've run across before so I fixed it with about 15 min shop time and was happy to discover that Birchwood Casey's Aluminum Black worked perfectly on the ejector rod housing to refinish the areas where I'd removed some metal. Works like a charm now. The former is my first trouble with this so after scouring the forum for topics on it I took the recommended path and used a jag and a drill to (carefully/conservatively) polish the chambers.

I've yet to shoot it again so I hope that the sticky .22 mag issue is solved but here are a few pics of my Bargain Blaster rig for you:

Wish me luck.

Best,
Oly

Erich · May 3, 2010, 10:32 AM

I hope it works great for you now. I have to say, that's a very nice looking handgun. It looks a whole heck of a lot better than other Bounty Hunters I've seen. I had Hamilton Bowen do an action-tune on my Bearcat and rechamber it for .22 Magnum - I think the cartridge is a dandy out of a SA revolver.

tater134 · May 3, 2010, 07:50 PM

Wow thats a nice looking revolver.

olyinaz · May 7, 2010, 09:14 PM

Thanks,

I think the main problem I've got is that some fool dry fired it and the cylinders are all peened a bit as a result. The lip created by the peening is dragging on the empties.

Oly

laloelmalo · October 14, 2011, 10:47 PM

hi there i know im a couple years late on this 1 haha but i have the xact same gun and the mainspring broke and i was wondering wer i could find another i hav been looking but seem to just run around in circles any help is greatly apriciated

orangello · October 15, 2011, 12:24 PM

http://www.davespawnshop.com/rocking...nty_Hunter.pdf

There is an address & telephone number at the end of that manual. Have you tried it yet? (could be old)

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/...spx?catid=8732
Numrich shows out of stock, but maybe they would order you one if you asked really nicely.

http://www.eaacorp.com/
They list it on their site as a $12 item.

Good luck! I have not used all of these vendors myself, as i don't own that product.

oldwheat · October 19, 2011, 11:07 AM

[quote] need help
"hi there i know im a couple years late on this 1 haha but i have the xact same gun and the mainspring broke and i was wondering wer i could find another i hav been looking but seem to just run around in circles any help is greatly apriciated"

May be a day late & a dollar short here but I'll wager that a mainspring from an Italian 1851 or 1873 clone would fit with minor (if any) tweaking.

Also if have a question: Is the Bounty hunter all steel or is there some alloy in the mix?

May 2, 2010, 06:35 PM	#1
olyinaz Senior Member Join Date: February 24, 2009 Location: Arizona Posts: 877	New EAA Bounty Hunter .22 Mag Well, I was at the gun show yesterday and saw this .22/.22 mag convertible and just couldn't pass it up for $220. They had a .45 Colt version right next to it and they look to be exactly the same gun, made to the same standard which is to say "just fine for a .22 and not so great for a .45". The gun is clearly a budget piece, sort of like an H&R from days gone by, but as you can see it's not junk and that's the problem I have had with many other SAA .22s over the years - they were so horrendous as to make it just no fun whatsoever. The frame is clearly aluminum but it's not ugly and a terrible mismatch for the cylinder like some I've seen with the trigger guard being the only place where it really falls down (cast marks and a small hole in the bottom for the U.S. mandated lock). The steel cylinder and barrel both look nice but they have sharp edges (as if they've never seen a buffing wheel) and the bluing looks thin. But again, for a plinker it's not anything off the scale or outrageous. The grips are walnut and plain but absolutely serviceable and at least they're one piece and not some sort of fugly catastrophe. As far as sizing it appears to be pretty close to clone dimensions because I was pleased to find that it fits my 6.5" rig perfectly. That was a very pleasant suprise because I don't have any other 6.5" single actions at this time! The only troubling issues I've come across thus far are tight/sticky chambers in the .22 mag cylinder and an ejector rod that wanted to lock back when you ejected a cartridge. The latter I've run across before so I fixed it with about 15 min shop time and was happy to discover that Birchwood Casey's Aluminum Black worked perfectly on the ejector rod housing to refinish the areas where I'd removed some metal. Works like a charm now. The former is my first trouble with this so after scouring the forum for topics on it I took the recommended path and used a jag and a drill to (carefully/conservatively) polish the chambers. I've yet to shoot it again so I hope that the sticky .22 mag issue is solved but here are a few pics of my Bargain Blaster rig for you: Wish me luck. Best, Oly Last edited by olyinaz; May 2, 2010 at 06:42 PM.

October 14, 2011, 10:47 PM	#5
laloelmalo Junior Member Join Date: October 14, 2011 Posts: 1	need help hi there i know im a couple years late on this 1 haha but i have the xact same gun and the mainspring broke and i was wondering wer i could find another i hav been looking but seem to just run around in circles any help is greatly apriciated

October 15, 2011, 12:24 PM	#6
orangello Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2009 Posts: 566	http://www.davespawnshop.com/rocking...nty_Hunter.pdf There is an address & telephone number at the end of that manual. Have you tried it yet? (could be old) http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/...spx?catid=8732 Numrich shows out of stock, but maybe they would order you one if you asked really nicely. http://www.eaacorp.com/ They list it on their site as a $12 item. Good luck! I have not used all of these vendors myself, as i don't own that product. Last edited by orangello; October 15, 2011 at 12:30 PM.

May 3, 2010, 10:32 AM	#2
Erich Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 1999 Location: Albuquerque, NM, USA Posts: 2,543	I hope it works great for you now. I have to say, that's a very nice looking handgun. It looks a whole heck of a lot better than other Bounty Hunters I've seen. I had Hamilton Bowen do an action-tune on my Bearcat and rechamber it for .22 Magnum - I think the cartridge is a dandy out of a SA revolver.

May 3, 2010, 07:50 PM	#3
tater134 Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2009 Location: NE,PA Posts: 390	Wow thats a nice looking revolver.

May 7, 2010, 09:14 PM	#4
olyinaz Senior Member Join Date: February 24, 2009 Location: Arizona Posts: 877	Thanks, I think the main problem I've got is that some fool dry fired it and the cylinders are all peened a bit as a result. The lip created by the peening is dragging on the empties. Oly

October 19, 2011, 11:07 AM	#7
oldwheat Senior Member Join Date: June 28, 2005 Location: Dorton's Station Posts: 105	[quote] need help "hi there i know im a couple years late on this 1 haha but i have the xact same gun and the mainspring broke and i was wondering wer i could find another i hav been looking but seem to just run around in circles any help is greatly apriciated" May be a day late & a dollar short here but I'll wager that a mainspring from an Italian 1851 or 1873 clone would fit with minor (if any) tweaking. Also if have a question: Is the Bounty hunter all steel or is there some alloy in the mix?