ok... so I got my Bounty Hunter in yesterday that I won at GunBroker.com.... brought it home and started the initial inspection... well... it is rather on the large side for a SAA and .357 ... the frame and cylinder seem to be on par with the "old" Ruger Vaquero in size ... in otherwords, beefy... I know why it went for such a low price... the finish is well worn and lots of surface "pits" and handling marks... well.. it is 30 years old (I checked with EAA on the serial number)... and seems to have been a working gun or maybe a "truck gun" and not a safe queen... and I intend to use it as a daily around the farm toter anyway so perfect appearance is not a "heavy" issue... it will however be a working gun and not a "safe queen" ... to it's credit... functionally... the cylinder lockup is TIGHT ... no endshake at all... the bore is clean and shiny... no pits or residue.. and there is no turn drag marks on the cylinder.. the cylinder stop comes up just before the notch ... just like it's supposed to.. so far the only functional question is that the loading gate spring seems a bit weak, the loading gate opens and closes to easily in my opinion (might flop open under heavy load recoil)... otherwise, functionality seams top notch... next step is to take it apart and start all the internal inspections and cleanup ... will take it out for a test run on the farm gun range soon... photos will follow later... as for appearances... I plan on removing the tattered finish on the grip frame and extractor rod housing (similar to Jim Taylor's Ruger Blackhawk Packing gun), since they are of alloy construction and not steel... should look "ok" with the color case frame and blued cylinder and barrel... my "old .44" back in the 70's had a brass grip frame... so a multicolored gun is not a issue but will make the Bounty Hunter a bit more unique and give it "character"... will look into getting a set of cartridge strips from Rob Leahy, and possibly a couple of his cartridge pouches... specially the ones with the snaps as they can easily be slipped onto the belt with the belt on the pants... gotta start savin my pennies...

speedloader for it.

Bud's Gun shop seems to have the best price.

--
Of the Troops & For the Troops

several other like it, such as Arms Unlimited for Colt black rifles, Springfield, Trijicon optics, Beretta tactical. You pays your money, and you takes your chances.

Many times slow arrival while one is rounded up from somewhere in the US, and although personally good experence with either (gotta love a factory sealed box), others have had problems such as receiving an obvious floor sample. Personally, also have received gun parts and magazines simply pitched loose into tyvek unpadded mailer envelopes.

So, be advised, to anyone new to the names.

Thanks... I forgot that the Desert Eagle shoots .357 mags... I used to use 1911 mags for my old Ruger Blackhawk in .45 acp.

I'm wondering if this thing has been shot much at all... there is no blast ring around the throat of the barrel or the face of each chamber... seems almost mint... internally, I did find some rust on the spring for the cylinder bolt and trigger, but everything else was fine... I stretched the spring for the loading gate and screwed the retaining screw in a bit and that took care of the loose feeling gate... may order a replacement spring later from EAA... the ejector housing is very badly pitted... will have to put a coarse paper to it to get all the pits out... decided to order a replacement from EAA for $25... will only have the grip frame polished out... will take it out to my range later this week... will post the results ... coon-fingering and taking this thing apart takes me back to my youth when I used to hunt with my 'old .44' SAA in Arizona... learned a lot from that old gun on tuning and using a SAA.... been a soft spot in my heart ever since.

Spring from a Bic lighter cut to correct length, if the stretched loading gate spring gives out. I have replaced quite a few Ruger ,rusted in place, hand springs with Bic springs over the years.

and tinkers with them?! I remember doing that and gave it up long ago...except maybe this past weekend, the safety swap on a Mossberg 930...and the refinish of an old 88 Cruiser barrel muzzle....uh, after I cut it to 16 1/4" for 26" total length...oh, and faced and crowned it....oh yeah, and moved the bead.
But, tinkering days are truly over, I swear, even though some of the best moments of my life.