44 Loads for a Desert Eagle w 140 Gr and H110?

[BWDenver]

Recently picked up a Desert Eagle 44 W/10” 50 AE barrel. Reminds me of the 44 Automag I had in the late 70’s. Got rid of it (and a Python) when the new wife objected to hand guns in the house.

Finally got rid of the wife… Now forever known as ThEx…

The 50 AE works without issue. I have a Red dot sight on it to make it a bit easier to aim. The old Black on Black sights were less than desirable.

Swopped them out for Trijicon's, but then found out only the Israeli 10” barrel works with the tritium sights.

But I digress….

I’m looking to standardize on my powered and it seems like everyone favors H110 for the DE.

Question is a recipe for 140 Gr JHP with H110. I’m looking in the books and the “upper load” favors a quantity that would likely be a compression load for the 140 Gr 44 load. If this is a “safe” load I’m not adverse to it, but would like some recommendations. I also have lots of Unique on hand, which appears to take about a 1/3 of what the H110 load is. 13 Gr tio around 30 Gr.

I have a box of 250 240 Gr Nosler’s that I will be prepping, and have documentation on that bullet H110 combination but not the 140 Gr.

Again, specifically 140 Gr JHP with H110, unless this is a totally unsuitable combination.

Thanks in advance!

Bryan

[44 AMP]

.44 caliber 140gr bullet??? Do you mean 240gr??

For the 240gr bullet, the books are full of data, and its the same for JHPs and JSPs.

I've used WW296 with good results. Last batch I loaded I used AA No. 9 and it ran fine with 180gr bullets. I wouldn't recommend Unique in the Desert Eagle. Pretty sure you could find a load that would run the gun, but Unique tops out at about the level the DE begins working well.

I have heard not to use 2400 (due to unburned powder possibly clogging the gas system. I don't know if its a real concern or just Internet BS. I have shot 2400 in .357s through DE's without issues. Never tried it in the DE .44Mag.

Go with the starting load for your bullet from any of the major manuals to begin with.
I would not load more than a couple magazines worth of whatever load you pick, until after you've tested them for functional reliability.

Good Luck!

And, you know not to use cast bullets, right??

[BWDenver]

My bad, was trying to do toooo many things at once, 180 Gr. Pills.

[Siggy-06]

29gr of H110 behind your 180 pills will be a nice stout round.

[TXAZ]

I have a DE in .44 with a 14" barrel. It's a finnicky gun, but a blast to shoot. (Everyone wants to take 1 shot with it, just make sure they have both hands on it.

I don't reload, but these work the best as far as not FTE / stovepipes:

[BWDenver]

I do love the 50 DE, every time you bust a cap everyone stops and says:

"WAHT WAS THAT!!!"

Bryan

[black mamba]

H110 and W296 typically prefer heavy bullets to help ignition. For 180 grainers I would use Accurate 4100 or #9, or Alliant 2400, all of which are easier to light under that lightweight bullet.

[R.FORTE]

I wonder about 180 gr anyway, what is the history?

[Siggy-06]

180 gr, back in the day, was intended for longer range deer hunting, say with a scoped 44 Mag, either rifle or handgun. Also for use in personal defense, due to the lesser recoil. If I remember correctly Super Vel was the first to offer a 180gr factory load.

Today there are different levels of 180gr 44 Mag loads, the full power load and some reduced loads, meant primarily for personal defense, with less velocity and less recoil. Cor Bon also offers a 165 gr load with a listed velocity of 1300fps, that is mild to shoot, 44 Mag wise.

[silvermane_1]

Well i've been told that DE don't like mild 44 mag loads.

[44 AMP]

Well i've been told that DE don't like mild 44 mag loads.

Mine don't. But, its not the bullet weight, tis the load behind it. Mine run well with light bullets (180 in 44 and 125 in .357) but only if the loads are ..stout.

Midrange loads just don't cycle the action.

And, with good reason. The gas system is not adjustable. It's made to work properly with full power loads, and lower power loads just don't provide sufficient energy to cycle the gun.

They will shoot, but you'll have to work the action by hand...

If you want a .44 Mag that eats everything you can stick in it, get a manually operated one.

[silvermane_1]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

Mine don't. But, its not the bullet weight, tis the load behind it. Mine run well with light bullets (180 in 44 and 125 in .357) but only if the loads are ..stout.

Midrange loads just don't cycle the action.

And, with good reason. The gas system is not adjustable. It's made to work properly with full power loads, and lower power loads just don't provide sufficient energy to cycle the gun.

They will shoot, but you'll have to work the action by hand...

If you want a .44 Mag that eats everything you can stick in it, get a manually operated one.

Well 44 AMP i wasn't talking about "light ball" 44 mag loads, i was talking about "warm 44 spl." type 44 mag loads.

[44 AMP]

i was talking about "warm 44 spl." type 44 mag loads.

I doubt "warm 44Spl" level loads will cycle a Desert Eagle. The hottest data I have for the .44 Spl puts a 240gr jacketed slug to almost 950fps, and most doesn't list anything over 900 and some not even that, and, that's the max listings. So, with a "warm" 44Spl level load what you'll probably get is the round fires, the slide move back enough to cock the hammer again, but NOT enough to eject the empty, and it either jams or feeds the empty back into the chamber. While I've never tried it with the .44, I have done it with .38 Specials in the .357, and that's what happened.

And, of course lead bullets are totally unsuitable.

[silvermane_1]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

I doubt "warm 44Spl" level loads will cycle a Desert Eagle. The hottest data I have for the .44 Spl puts a 240gr jacketed slug to almost 950fps, and most doesn't list anything over 900 and some not even that, and, that's the max listings. So, with a "warm" 44Spl level load what you'll probably get is the round fires, the slide move back enough to cock the hammer again, but NOT enough to eject the empty, and it either jams or feeds the empty back into the chamber. While I've never tried it with the .44, I have done it with .38 Specials in the .357, and that's what happened.

And, of course lead bullets are totally unsuitable.

That's another thing, i would think gas checked lead bullets would work, also 44 AMP don't you own a Wildey?, those are gas operated pistols albeit adjustable gas system operated pistols, and i heard of folks using lead bullets(w/gas checks) in them.

[44caliberkid]

Remington 180 grain JHP's that they sell at Walmart work fine in my 44 DE. Less recoil than 240's. Look up the velocity of that round and load something to duplicate that.

[44 AMP]

That's another thing, i would think gas checked lead bullets would work, also 44 AMP don't you own a Wildey?, those are gas operated pistols albeit adjustable gas system operated pistols, and i heard of folks using lead bullets(w/gas checks) in them.

You might think gas checked lead would be ok, but I wouldn't use them. The problem we are trying to avoid is clogging the gas system, with lead, BULLET LUBE, powder residue, or any thing else.

With a "regular" gun, the gas check protects the base of the bullet from melting, allowing higher velocities without excessive leading. In the Desert Eagle, we are also concerned with the sides of the bullet, as well as the base.

Yes, I do own a Wildey, and the only thing its gas system has in common with the Desert Eagle is that both use gas to operate the pistol. The gas system of the Wildey can be disassembled and cleaned, all the way back to the gas port in the barrel. You CANNOT do that with a Desert Eagle.

In the Desert Eagle, the gas port is just ahead of the chamber. Gas enters the port, and flows down a tube, inside the barrel assembly, underneath the bore, until it gets to the front end, where it is turned 180 degrees, and impacts the piston. pushing the slide back. The only part of the system that can be physically cleaned is the "gas chamber" where the gas meets the piston. If you plug the gas port in the barrel, or the gas "tube" inside the barrel assembly, there is no way to physically clean it.

Unlike other gas operated designs (including rifles) where the gun can be disassembled and the parts, including the barrel, cleaned, poked, scraped, etc, with the Desert Eagle, you cannot do this. ALL you can do is use some kind of solvent, and hope it dissolves the plug.

The DE factory will not clean a gas system plug. (I don't know that they even can). I don't think they try. They specifically tell you what NOT TO SHOOT in the gun, and if you plug the gas system because you shot stuff they told you not to use, it is NOT covered under the warranty!!

I personally saw this happen back in the late 90s. A guy brought his .44 Mag DE into the local gunsmith, with a plugged gas system. He had been shooting cast bullets (because they were cheaper, and he knew so much more than the people who made the gun....) When his gun stopped cycling, and he couldn't fix it, it brought it to the gunsmith. Our smith as a good one, and even he couldn't clear the plug. After trying everything he could, he sent the gun back to the maker.

The gun came back "fixed", with a NEW barrel assembly and the BILL for the barrel assembly (several hundred dollars), and a note that essentially said, "we fixed your gun, this is not covered warranty work, here's the bill (don't do this again!)" (at the time, the guns were selling for $700 or so, and the bill for the barrel assembly was around $300! )

The money that fellow "saved" shooting cast slugs was more than eaten up several times over by the cost of the new barrel assembly. The Desert Eagle isn't like any other pistol. It needs the right "food" and it needs to be held the right way, or it won't fly worth a darn. it's a rare bird that needs special care and feeding, and if you treat it like it doesn't, you will pay the costs.

I don't use cast in my Wildey, by choice, though I am confident that I could, and could clear a gas system clogging issue, IF it happened. With the Desert Eagle, I KNOW I could not, so I don't risk it, ever.

Don't use cast bullets, don't use swaged bullets, and I won't use plated bullets, in the Desert Eagle. ONLY jacketed bullets.

[silvermane_1]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

You might think gas checked lead would be ok, but I wouldn't use them. The problem we are trying to avoid is clogging the gas system, with lead, BULLET LUBE, powder residue, or any thing else.

With a "regular" gun, the gas check protects the base of the bullet from melting, allowing higher velocities without excessive leading. In the Desert Eagle, we are also concerned with the sides of the bullet, as well as the base.

Yes, I do own a Wildey, and the only thing its gas system has in common with the Desert Eagle is that both use gas to operate the pistol. The gas system of the Wildey can be disassembled and cleaned, all the way back to the gas port in the barrel. You CANNOT do that with a Desert Eagle.

In the Desert Eagle, the gas port is just ahead of the chamber. Gas enters the port, and flows down a tube, inside the barrel assembly, underneath the bore, until it gets to the front end, where it is turned 180 degrees, and impacts the piston. pushing the slide back. The only part of the system that can be physically cleaned is the "gas chamber" where the gas meets the piston. If you plug the gas port in the barrel, or the gas "tube" inside the barrel assembly, there is no way to physically clean it.

Unlike other gas operated designs (including rifles) where the gun can be disassembled and the parts, including the barrel, cleaned, poked, scraped, etc, with the Desert Eagle, you cannot do this. ALL you can do is use some kind of solvent, and hope it dissolves the plug.

The DE factory will not clean a gas system plug. (I don't know that they even can). I don't think they try. They specifically tell you what NOT TO SHOOT in the gun, and if you plug the gas system because you shot stuff they told you not to use, it is NOT covered under the warranty!!

I personally saw this happen back in the late 90s. A guy brought his .44 Mag DE into the local gunsmith, with a plugged gas system. He had been shooting cast bullets (because they were cheaper, and he knew so much more than the people who made the gun....) When his gun stopped cycling, and he couldn't fix it, it brought it to the gunsmith. Our smith as a good one, and even he couldn't clear the plug. After trying everything he could, he sent the gun back to the maker.

The gun came back "fixed", with a NEW barrel assembly and the BILL for the barrel assembly (several hundred dollars), and a note that essentially said, "we fixed your gun, this is not covered warranty work, here's the bill (don't do this again!)" (at the time, the guns were selling for $700 or so, and the bill for the barrel assembly was around $300! )

The money that fellow "saved" shooting cast slugs was more than eaten up several times over by the cost of the new barrel assembly. The Desert Eagle isn't like any other pistol. It needs the right "food" and it needs to be held the right way, or it won't fly worth a darn. it's a rare bird that needs special care and feeding, and if you treat it like it doesn't, you will pay the costs.

I don't use cast in my Wildey, by choice, though I am confident that I could, and could clear a gas system clogging issue, IF it happened. With the Desert Eagle, I KNOW I could not, so I don't risk it, ever.

Don't use cast bullets, don't use swaged bullets, and I won't use plated bullets, in the Desert Eagle. ONLY jacketed bullets.

Ah, see i knew that you that you could clean the entire gas system on the Wildey, and i knew that you could partially clean the DE gas system, but i didn't know the exact details, thanks for the info there 44 AMP.