Review EEA 357 mag.

Doc Holliday 1950 · October 15, 2017, 08:16 PM

I finally received my nib EEA 357 magnum 2" revolver last week. It was delivered to my FFL in very good condition. The only exception was the cylinder needed a quick clean & lite lube. I went to my FFl's range and put a box of 50 -38 special 130 grain fmj ammo thru it. My target was at 15 feet and 25 feet . "ALL of my shots where either dead on or within less than 1" from where I was shooting. Mind you, this is a 2" snub with set sights. I think the big difference was that this is a solid steel frame with a very generous rubber grip to handle recoil. The DA is very close to my Ruger DA and the SA is excellent.
This is no S&W, Ruger, Colt etc. et al. This is a $300 revolver or less made by a German mfg. that delivers an excellent carry. It's not beautiful nor elegant, but
That's not why I bought it. It can be the most beautiful or elegant revolver in the
World, but if it can't shoot dead on under 25 feet, it's a useless piece of junk.
I bought it because it does exactly what it's supposed to do. Period. I don't care about 10,000 or more rounds thru it. At my age this revolver will outlast me.

shurshot · October 16, 2017, 06:37 PM

I figured you would be as happy with it as I am with mine. Good, solid weapon for about $300.

Dan-O · October 16, 2017, 07:03 PM

I would have stuck with the Rossi, personally. Glad you found a six shooter that works for you.

unclenunzie · October 16, 2017, 07:52 PM

I too picked one up very recently, and I am considering keeping it if it continues to function OK live fire, because I like it. But, I have found the following:

From NIB, I did dry fire with snap caps probably several hundred times. This reduced the trigger pull and/or hammer spring weight. It also made my trigger finger raw from the thin and sharp vertical checkering.

It seems to have struck the rims of the snap caps as if it were not locked by the bolt at least several times out of those hundreds of dry firings. Yet try as might to reproduce this I haven't been able to, and I cannot see how mechanically the cylinder would be out of lockup when the hammer falls. fast fire, slow fire, can't force it to happen. But the marks in the snap caps are there. This disturbs me, yet I went ahead and...

Range tested it with a box of 357 mag first and a box of 38 special second. All rounds fired with well-centered primer strikes only.

After several cylinders full, I began to feel the trigger pull become more difficult, which went away after a wipe down and time too cool. I think the fit of the cylinder to the crane is tight and that any lead or fouling buildup causes binding.

Afterwards I made sure nothing obvious was wrong with it mechanically - extractor rod is straight, lockup is tight, charge holes line up with bore, cylinder spins freely when bolt is retracted.

So my feeling is let it continue to prove itself in range firing, which I found enjoyable because it is reasonably accurate and the grip and weight don't beat my hands up.

My recommendations:

Make sure the grip screw is tight, mine was not so tight NIB.
If the cylinder seems too tight, take the screw out and pull out the crane and cylinder and clean it. Mine was gritty but was better afterwards. I do not know the torque setting for that screw but I figured to tighten it about the same as what it took to take it off, using a proper screwdriver tip.

Doc Holliday 1950 · October 17, 2017, 11:32 PM

Uncle N,
SO I reversed the order of shooting straight out of unwrapping it NIB. I shot a full box of Winchester 130 gr. 38 spec then 2 loads of Magtech 158 gr 357 mag. That was a tad hard on my hands. Other than the barrel got hot, it performed as expected. I'm going to try and get a box of Gold Dots & see how that works.

October 15, 2017, 08:16 PM	#1
Doc Holliday 1950 Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2014 Location: Bout as south as it gets Posts: 1,238	Review EEA 357 mag. I finally received my nib EEA 357 magnum 2" revolver last week. It was delivered to my FFL in very good condition. The only exception was the cylinder needed a quick clean & lite lube. I went to my FFl's range and put a box of 50 -38 special 130 grain fmj ammo thru it. My target was at 15 feet and 25 feet . "ALL of my shots where either dead on or within less than 1" from where I was shooting. Mind you, this is a 2" snub with set sights. I think the big difference was that this is a solid steel frame with a very generous rubber grip to handle recoil. The DA is very close to my Ruger DA and the SA is excellent. This is no S&W, Ruger, Colt etc. et al. This is a $300 revolver or less made by a German mfg. that delivers an excellent carry. It's not beautiful nor elegant, but That's not why I bought it. It can be the most beautiful or elegant revolver in the World, but if it can't shoot dead on under 25 feet, it's a useless piece of junk. I bought it because it does exactly what it's supposed to do. Period. I don't care about 10,000 or more rounds thru it. At my age this revolver will outlast me. __________________ Shoot well and be Accurate, Doc

October 16, 2017, 07:52 PM	#4
unclenunzie Senior Member Join Date: July 5, 2016 Location: Texas. Posts: 140	I too picked one up very recently, and I am considering keeping it if it continues to function OK live fire, because I like it. But, I have found the following: From NIB, I did dry fire with snap caps probably several hundred times. This reduced the trigger pull and/or hammer spring weight. It also made my trigger finger raw from the thin and sharp vertical checkering. It seems to have struck the rims of the snap caps as if it were not locked by the bolt at least several times out of those hundreds of dry firings. Yet try as might to reproduce this I haven't been able to, and I cannot see how mechanically the cylinder would be out of lockup when the hammer falls. fast fire, slow fire, can't force it to happen. But the marks in the snap caps are there. This disturbs me, yet I went ahead and... Range tested it with a box of 357 mag first and a box of 38 special second. All rounds fired with well-centered primer strikes only. After several cylinders full, I began to feel the trigger pull become more difficult, which went away after a wipe down and time too cool. I think the fit of the cylinder to the crane is tight and that any lead or fouling buildup causes binding. Afterwards I made sure nothing obvious was wrong with it mechanically - extractor rod is straight, lockup is tight, charge holes line up with bore, cylinder spins freely when bolt is retracted. So my feeling is let it continue to prove itself in range firing, which I found enjoyable because it is reasonably accurate and the grip and weight don't beat my hands up. My recommendations: Make sure the grip screw is tight, mine was not so tight NIB. If the cylinder seems too tight, take the screw out and pull out the crane and cylinder and clean it. Mine was gritty but was better afterwards. I do not know the torque setting for that screw but I figured to tighten it about the same as what it took to take it off, using a proper screwdriver tip. __________________ I reject your reality and substitute my own! this space for rent

October 17, 2017, 11:32 PM	#5
Doc Holliday 1950 Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2014 Location: Bout as south as it gets Posts: 1,238	Uncle N, SO I reversed the order of shooting straight out of unwrapping it NIB. I shot a full box of Winchester 130 gr. 38 spec then 2 loads of Magtech 158 gr 357 mag. That was a tad hard on my hands. Other than the barrel got hot, it performed as expected. I'm going to try and get a box of Gold Dots & see how that works. __________________ Shoot well and be Accurate, Doc

October 16, 2017, 06:37 PM	#2
shurshot Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2006 Posts: 1,819	I figured you would be as happy with it as I am with mine. Good, solid weapon for about $300.

October 16, 2017, 07:03 PM	#3
Dan-O Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 2011 Location: Northern Colorado Posts: 969	I would have stuck with the Rossi, personally. Glad you found a six shooter that works for you.