The Bounty Hunter’s trigger guard is flat on the bottom and has a hole for a trigger-lock in it. I do this with all my Ruger SA’s too, incidentally. Fortunately it is also of carbon steel, so you can cold blue it and avoid negative attention. I keep a few spare Ruger parts on hand and I’ll accumulate a few spares for the Bounty Hunter, as well. This is not an indictment of New Model Rugers rather an observation that they usually need tuned and occasionally require parts replacement. The little spring-driven plungers that operate the bolt, cylinder pawl etc. Ruger’s transfer-bars break too and are often so poorly fitted that firing pin protrusion falls well under the 0.050”-0.055” industry standard. If there is a weak link it is probably that trigger extension. This transfer bar pivots on the trigger extension via an easily replaceable pin, which you could make yourself in a pinch. The EAA/Weihrauch transfer-bar system is said to be less robust than Ruger’s. These are noticeably better than the JP Sauers that preceded them.
Weihrauch knows how to build a good revolver and more importantly, they are making a concerted effort to do just that. Trigger pull aside, the Bounty Hunter exudes the hallmarks of fine machining and careful fitting. The finish of all internal parts was excellent.Īssembly and disassembly of the Bounty Hunter is straight-forward, with the internals being Colt in all aspects except the obvious ones.Ĭylinder throats are 0.454” and so uniform I could not read a thousandth of an inch disparity between them. It collected no leading that wasn’t easily removed by a couple of passes with a dry brush.īarrel to cylinder gap was just under 0.004” and the cylinder lockup is snug. The bore is very will finished and has good strong rifling. The forcing cone is deep and perfectly executed. After considerable dry firing (during the trigger work) and another 100 or so reloads, the cylinder has no wear line.
The 45 Colt version uses the same frame and cylinder dimensions as the 44 Magnum version so it is strong enough for moderately-hot 45 Colt loads*. My single actions do double duty as carry guns so to me, this is a big plus. The Bounty Hunter has a transfer bar and may be carried fully loaded. We have also discovered this revolver really likes the old Lee 452-255-RF, as cast by Ed at Maplewood Bullets, over 8.5 grains of Universal. If it shoots this well with a downright awful trigger, I believe it will shine with a little work.ĮAA Bounty Hunter 45 Colt Excellent 50 Yard Sight Regulation, Right Out if the Box! Like earlier versions I’ve owned, it shot precisely to the sights. The Bounty Hunter liked them all and the smooth grip handles recoil like a champ. I shot the gun with my two most used 45 Colt reloads* a 250 grain RNFP factory duplication load and my ‘Linebaugh Load’, a 255 grain SWC over enough HS6 for about 1075 fps. This one had a long, gritty pull of about seven pounds. The downside to the transfer bar is that the fine trigger was sacrificed. Otherwise, the internals are basic SAA and they load & eject on half-cock like God and Sam Colt intended. European American Armory imports these updated Western Marshals as the ‘Bounty Hunter’.
Weihrauch GmbH of Germany acquired manufacturing rights for these revolvers and procured a license from Ruger to include a transfer bar mechanism. I prefer it to any Ruger except the Bisley. I owned several in the 70’s-80’s, in 44 Mag & 45 Colt they had smooth actions, good triggers and they all shot precisely to the sights- by no means a given with fixed-sight revolvers, by any manufacturer. They have a comfortable grip frame similar to the Single Action Army, but with lots of room for the knuckle of the middle finger. They were essentially Colt copies built on a slightly larger frame capable of handling the 44 Magnum. Hawes contracted them out to JP Sauer & Sohn.
These guns take their lineage from the old Hawes ‘Western Marshall’ series of revolvers.
For basically what is a $400 revolver, these are very well finished with nice bluing and bright case colors. This a new European American Armory ‘Bounty Hunter’ with a 4 1/2″ barrel, in 45 Colt.