Bought a desert eagle 44 magnum

[coolbreezy]

Finally bought myself a desert eagle XIX 44 magnum used for 900 dollars. I had a a early XIX in 50ae, but i didnt fired it much and it sat in a safe for a little while. It actually belonged to my father, i held on to it for him until he sold it. I was going to buy it from him with my tax returns, but it just didnt happen. I have wanted one of the cannons for my own for years but never took the plunge due to supposed reliability issues, ammo pickiness, etc. I shot the gun today and i can say i am thoroughly impressed with it. I only fired 100 rounds of HPR 240 gr jhp's through it but it was very accurate with minimal recoil and no failures. I still need to test 3 other types of ammo (wwb, fed premium and american eagle, the most readily available ammo at dicks or walmart). Here is a picture of my latest acquisition.

[jackstrawIII]

Sweet gun.

That's on my "Tier 3 Gun" list... meaning that if I ever find a good deal on one and have some extra $ laying around, I'll probably buy it.

Have fun!

[FNS-40]

Awesome! Congrats on the new shooter.

[geetarman]

I think that gun would be fun. I can tell that my experience with a Desert Eagle 50AE was NOT fun.

[nhyrum]

Originally Posted by jackstrawIII

Sweet gun.

That's on my "Tier 3 Gun" list... meaning that if I ever find a good deal on one and have some extra $ laying around, I'll probably buy it.

Have fun!

I'm in the same boat. I have more practical guns I need before I buy a hand cannon

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Targa]

Congrats!! There will be a lot of people that think to themselves...why? But there will be even more at the range thinking about how they would like to try it..

[44 AMP]

Congratulations!

I have wanted one of the cannons for my own for years but never took the plunge due to supposed reliability issues, ammo pickiness, etc.

There's nothing "supposed" about the reliability issues and ammo pickiness.

The gun is NOT an omnivore, and was never meant to be. They have to be fed the right stuff (and ONLY the right stuff), and held a certain way, or they will malfunction.

If you want a gun that will run on anything you feed it, get a revolver. Or a single shot. I've got a T/C Contender, Ruger SuperBlackhawk and a S&W M29-2, as well as a Desert Eagle, and of them all, the DE is by far the most pleasant to shoot. Toughest to hold up, but easiest to shoot.

I have more practical guns I need before I buy a hand cannon

I fully understand that, but I would caution you not to wait too long. I got my .44 Desert Eagle in Feb 1990, and could not easily replace it today.

Just in case no one has mentioned it, DO NOT SHOOT LEAD BULLETS in your Desert Eagle.

Enjoy!

[nhyrum]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

I fully understand that, but I would caution you not to wait too long. I got my .44 Desert Eagle in Feb 1990, and could not easily replace it today.

Just in case no one has mentioned it, DO NOT SHOOT LEAD BULLETS in your Desert Eagle.

Enjoy!

Oh, I don't plan on getting a 44. 50 se all the way, In titanium nitride. Gotta fulfill some of my childhood dreams

[coolbreezy]

Thanks for the replies everyone, practicality went out the window when i bought my first X frame. I have plenty of practical handguns like my sig p220 match elite, hk usp 45 and sw 686+ among others. 44 amp, thank you for the tips, you seem very knowledgable about desert eagles. Proper grip and shooting stance is essential with the desert eagle. I would never shoot a full lead or lead based bullet, dont want to have to replace the barrel. This is my 6th 44 magnum, and i still have 3 44 magnum revolvers. This is a great range toy, and is a literal blast to shoot. Ive minimal experience with the desert eagle, a older XIX 50 ae. I prefer the 44 for ammo availability, as i dont reload.

[44 AMP]

Proper grip and shooting stance is essential with the desert eagle. I would never shoot a full lead or lead based bullet, dont want to have to replace the barrel.

It's a good thing you recognize this! I've had 3 DE's (2 .357s & a .44) and all of them needed the magazine to "float" (no pressure on the bottom of the mag) or feeding issues would result.

When it comes to lead bullets (or exposed lead base bullets) the Achilles heel of the DE is the gas system. Unlike some other gas operated guns, the DE gas system is extremely difficult to clean, if you plug it up with lead, bullet lube & powder fouling. The maker specifically says do not do that. They WON"T cover it under warranty!

I knew of one fellow, back in the 90s, who was convinced he knew better than the people who made the gun, and shot cast bullets from his .44 DE. I have no idea how many it took, but he DID turn his semi auto into a single shot.

The local gunsmith tried everything he could, couldn't get it unplugged. Sent it back to the factory. Gun came back with a new barrel assembly (the factory couldn't or wouldn't unplug it, either) and the BILL for the new barrel assembly. (and while I don't know about today, back then the cost of a new barrel assembly was over half the retail price of the gun!)

The only ammo you can count on running well in the DE is the ammo the maker recommends. They WILL run on some others, but if they don't you have no grounds for complaint.

Don't shoot BLAZER or any other brand of aluminum case ammo, either!

It makes no difference in a revolver, but in the (long) semi auto action of the DE, the difference between aluminum and brass cases can cause feed & extraction issues (like case rims being torn through), and this assumes that the aluminum case stuff is actually powerful enough to work the action.

The DE needs full power loads to run, anything less will give you issues, if it even works at all.

And forget about shooting .44 Special (with a JACKETED bullet) as anything other than a single loaded round. While I haven't personally tested this with the .44, I did try it with my .357 soon after I first got one (84).

Was kind of neat, in a surprising way. I chambered the round, and fired it, and the gun seemed to work, hammer was cocked for the next shot. However, when I "fired" the next round, all I got was a click. When I opened the gun by hand, the fired case came out. .38 Special was enough to push the slide back enough to cock the hammer, but not enough to eject the fired case, and it simply fed the fired case back into the chamber when it closed. I'm sure the .44 Special would do about the same thing.

Since you're not handloading for the DE, I'll skip details and tricks about that, for now.

Enjoy!!

[Road_Clam]

Sweet! A DE 44 mag is the last handgun on my list of must haves. Saving my pennies hopefully have one by the end of spring.

[aarondhgraham]

That's a gun I wish a friend would buy,,,
So I could occasionally buy a box of ammo and shoot it.

I've only fired one a few times,,,
I was amazed by how gentle the recoil was.

Well, perhaps gentle isn't the correct term,,,
But I was expecting a wrist breaking experience that never occurred.

Have fun with your new boomer.

Aarond

.

[Model12Win]

I found the "fo-fo maggie Deagle" I shot back in the day to be mild in the recoils. Plenty o' thump.

[FNS-40]

I bought my de .50ae back in 1990 and shot it quite a bit back then. Probably haven't put 20 rounds through it in the last 10 years though. Won't ever sell it....

[KEYBEAR]

My DE has shot a bunch of lead bullets with no problem at all . Yes you need to clean it but it is not lead but bullet lube in the gas system .

[44 AMP]

My DE has shot a bunch of lead bullets with no problem at all .

So, are you advocating shooting lead bullets in the DE? or just reporting that you do it, and haven't had a problem? (yet??)

Its your gun, treat it the way you want. DE's are still in production, and anything that goes badly wrong can be fixed for enough cash.

Somewhere out there is someone running 9mm+P (or +p+) through a WWI Luger, and hasn't had "a problem". Or running .45acp through a converted Webley, "without a problem".

the point about doing things you are advised not to do with guns & ammo is that you won't have a problem, until you do.

Maybe you own and shoot the gun for the rest of your life without a problem, or maybe you have a critical failure, the very next time you pull the trigger.

With a DE (and a lot of other things) I simply don't see where the benefit outweighs the risk.

[Legionnaire]

Nice. I've always wanted to shoot one. If I still lived in PA, I might consider one now that they allow semi-autos for hunting. For me, high on coolness factor, low on practicality. But one doesn't buy such a thing for practical reasons I am sure.

[peggysue]

Good gun...I have one,,use kick ass 44 for it

[GarrettJ]

Mine wasn't big enough. So I put a suppressor on it.

[scubadown]

What about plated bullets such as these?

44- 240 RNFP X-Treme Bullets

http://www.xtremebullets.com/44-s/48047.htm

[44 AMP]

My guess is that it would depend on the quality of the plating. Not all are equal, and some are just crap. Others are pretty good.

The point for a Desert Eagle is the bullets not be anything that will plug up the gas system AND that they survive the feeding cycle.

Personally, I'd spend a few more pennies and use quality jacketed bullets.

[GarrettJ]

What about plated bullets such as these?...

I've used Xtreme and Berry's in .357, and Rainier in .50AE, and I've had no issues with plugged gas ports. Accuracy generally isn't as good as with jacketed, and you may have to watch your velocities with some of them. But they're fine for plinking ammo.

Otherwise, I shoot a lot of XTPs in all three calibers. But there is a definite savings with the plated bullets.

I tried some poly coed bullets as well. Again no pluggage, but I started getting some color on the gas piston. That tells me I am getting some of the poly coating going through the gas tube, which could eventually lead to issues. So I don't shoot those in the DE any more.

[John D]

Big gun. Bigger knife!!

[scubadown]

Thanks for the response on the plated bullets. I also got some Hornady HP XTP .44 240-Grain Bullets.

I have purchase this DE, but it won't be here for a week or two.


http://imgur.com/mNNDYRW
[IMG]http://imgur.com/mNNDYRW[/IMG]

Guess I can't post a pic.

[Skans]

Mine wasn't big enough. So I put a suppressor on it.

And a full-sized Eotech sight - I guess it was too small to notice?