44 mag in Desert Eagle advice

[ZX10Aviator]

Im using 240gr bullets (not lead), H-110 powder (23.5 grains), Winchester WLP primers (I cant find any magnum primers, but will go to that when I can).

pictures attached of 2 factory 240gr cases I shot, and 3 240gr reloads I did.. Are they too hot? I have a good crimp on it, too much? I didnt take a picture of the round before firing. I will say, it shot a heck of a fire ball, and sure makes the cases dirty.

But look at the reloaded cases, they are beat up! Im middle road on the reload, Ive seen people say they load them hotter, but Im wondering if these are too hot?

Thanks!

PICTURES OF THE BRASS BELOW!

[Shadow9mm]

Factory look like they took more pressure than your reloads. But its hard to say since we cant say for sure the primer brands are the same. But to me the primers on your reloads look ok. Id guess the soot is from a poor burn. The winchester i had stated for standard or magnum loads. Check your box.

Lastly, make sure your shooting jacketed. From what i understand shooting lead, coated lead, or plated is a good way to ruin a barrel. Messes up the gas system as i understand it.

[ZX10Aviator]

Thanks, So I should ignore all the damage to the bottom of the cases after shooting?

[Shadow9mm]

Id take a look at your bolt, extractor and ejector. Might have a burr on your extractor or ejector slot. But with the marks on factory and hand loads id guess its the gun not the ammo.

[GeauxTide]

Semi autos tear up brass heads, but I'd check for burrs on the extractor and bolt head. That's a stiff load of H110 for standard primers. It burns dirty anyhow, but I'd use a faster powder in the interim.

[ZX10Aviator]

Ill look at the bolt after work, but since its not doing it to the factory ammo as much as the handloads, I find really odd, and is what has me wondering whats up.

[44 AMP]

H110 always produces a "heck of a fireball".

Soot on the cases can be from a "poor burn" or it can be from gas reaching the brass either before it seals to the chamber OR after it springs back during extraction. Generally speaking, a "poor burn" (incomplete combustion) will leave partially burnt or unburnt powder granules in the action. If this is not happening, your burn is adequate. It may not be optimal, but that's a different matter.

I noticed that the cases with the damaged rims are CBC brass the undamaged one is WW. It is possible the CBC stuff is a little "softer" and more easily dinged.

Your given load should put you in the 1300fps range. The gun cycled properly, didn't it?

The gas system in the Desert Eagle is fixed, and only one end of it is accessible for cleaning. It is IMPERATIVE that you only shoot jacketed bullets!!! NO LEAD EVER, no plated, or coated, either, and I would recommend that if you have any jacketed bullets with exposed lead in the base, you not use them in a DE, either.

In the DE, gas is ported from the barrel a bit ahead of the chamber, and travels in a tube under the bore to the front, where it enters the "gas cylinder part of the barrel assy, and pushes on the piston.

Lead, bullet lube (including coatings), along with powder gas can CLOG the gas system. Literally, plug it up. Powder residue alone normally doesn't. IF you clog the gas system it turns the semi auto into a manually operated repeater, and fixing it is NOT a warranty covered repair!

I know of one case where the owner "knew better" than the factory and shot lead slugs from his .44 DE. I don't remember exactly but I think he didn't get through two boxes before it clogged. Our local smith (who was a very good smith!) couldn't fix it. It got sent back to the maker. They couldn't (or didn't bother trying) fix it. The gun came back with a new barrel assy, and a bill, and the statement about how it was not a warranty covered repair.
The bill was $285 at a time when the new gun was $600!

I don't use H110, having lived through the era when there were 3 different recognized burn rates on the market, but that was long ago. My old books are not good guidelines for today's powder, one of the old books showing your load slightly below the starting load and two others showing it in about the middle of the range, @1300fps with heavier loads showing 1400fps.

You could load a few rounds a little heavier and see if that changes anything. DE's tend to like loads on the higher end of the range, for best function. I'd say also use a good hard crimp, H110 does better with a firm or heavy crimp.

Primers look ok, not really flattened, so all's well there. Consider going to a different powder if possible, 2400 works but is kind of dirty and not the best choice, WW 296 is nearly H110 but is very picky about being undloaded. I've used AA No.9 with good results in the DE.

Another point, I've had 4 DE's and every one is picky about feeding if there is any pressure on the magazine. Cup & Saucer hold can make them jam, the mag needs to "free float" for best results.

Be aware that not all autoloaders are reloader "brass friendly" My DE's have never beaten up my brass, but I might just be lucky in that regard.

Also be aware of the "trick" too light a load can pull in the DE. Too light a load can move the slide back far enough to cock the hammer, but not eject the empty, and feed it right back into the chamber. I discovered this decades ago firing a (one) .38 SPL in a .357 Mag DE. Round fired, slide cycled, gun was cocked (didn't notice the empty not coming out). Fired again, and "click"! Pulled the slide back and out came the fired case. Discontinued the idea of using .38s in DE's at that point.

I also recommend you keep a log of DE reloads, how many times you reload the brass. I never bothered and one time had a case head rip off during extraction, so now I only use new brass and after 3-4 reloads, use that brass for revolvers or single shots and get new stuff for the DE. Am probably a bit over cautious now, since I had to take my gun to a smith to the a case removed from the chamber...just something to be aware of...

Hope this helps...

[ZX10Aviator]

Yessir, I love everything about the reload, except for how its beating up the brass. It cycled the gun perfectly, and who doesnt love a big fireball from a DE?

I guess I should have stated in the initial post that I don't use lead bullets and never will, I dont care for lead bullets.

With powders so expensive these days I grabbed what seemed to be the most popular for the round, H-110 seemed to be most common, so $59 later I have a pound, and I'm going to use it up at this point. Maybe Ill try something else after this pound is gone.

Thank you for the info, I appreciate it.

PICTURE OF BOLT FACE BELOW

[Shadow9mm]

Can't tell for sure around the ejector, might brush it out, lots of brass shavings. Definitely a burr around the friring pin hole. You can see the marks on your factory primers.

[ZX10Aviator]

Ok, Ill see what I can do to clean it up. I still dont understand fully why the reloaded brass gets so beat up, thats the biggest thing that worries me.

[Shadow9mm]

Look at your head stamps. In my experience CBC is soft. Does no load well in 9mm.

[ZX10Aviator]

Thank you!

[44 AMP]

Little flecks of brass do show up on the bolt face, and should be cleaned off. Pieces large enough to be considered shavings indicate something is not right. Burrs in the bolt face (firing pin hole, ejector, etc) are not right and should be fixed. If they gun is under warranty, have the maker do it, it IS their responsibility if they made it that way.

IF not, a decent smith can do the needed work. Unlike tilt barrel semis, the DE doesn't slide the round up onto the breechface, the round gets pushed into the chamber until it stops, then the bolt moves forward a little more, snapping the extractor over the case rim, and then the bolt rotates to lock shut and rotates back to unlock. This twisting movement might be the reason why brass flecks get in the bolt face...

The DE isn't for everyone, its a special machine designed to run on a high performance fuel, and at that, it does quite well. But feed the big Bird the wrong food and it gets sick, quick.