I'm sure they're around, but who else here has a Desert Eagle? Just picked up one in .44 magnum. It's a beast. Thinking about getting the conversion kit so I can blast 50ae also, but not sure that it's worth it. Any thoughts or opinions on the subject?

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Proverbs 21:2

I've had the .44 and the .50 AE. I didn't keep either but they were both a certain amount of enjoyment. Quite accurate and I never did have any trouble with either. Shot the .44 much, much more than I ever shot the .50. I never got around to setting up to handload for the .50 but the .44 only ever ran my handloads.

For me, handguns are a full, visceral experience. I don't mind if anyone finds it superficial... but for me, the looks count for a lot. My guns don't all have to be gorgeous, but it does help if I find them visually attractive. I found the Desert Eagles (then and still now) to be some of the absolute ugliest contraptions ever put together. Cartoonish is the word I use.

So the love was never there for me and neither felt like a gun I needed or wanted to keep. But I can certainly report that they were well made, ran well and were accurate.

I had a first gen .357 mag,to me it was the biggest waste of material in that caliber the .44 mag is best and the .50 would be good if you want a hand held auto cannon but I never got another.

Aside from that it's a useful handgun and about the only two things that I could nitpick are the weight...try carrying it,it's almost four pounds of handgun and then the whole safety/single action arrangement i.e. it's just about impossible to use the safety in a combat manner since you have to shift so much you almost drop the gun.

I guess if you do Israeli carry you could get around the safety issue but I prefer to carry loaded.

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Life's a grave,dig it!

I've owned three.two .50 AE.one 44 magnum. All made by IMI.I still own the .50's and would never part with them.My black one which I shoot is rather big and Ugly. My un- fired bright nickel is big and gorgeous .The .50 AE is the round to have in a Deset Eagle.Next best is the .357 magnum.The .44 tend to jam quite often if it's not standard 240 gr jacket bullets.

I have an IMI 9mm Dessert Eagle, great handgun and well built!

Here's my IMI Desert Eagle 50AE. Very heavy gun so the recoil isn't too bad, but the muzzle blast is incredible. People don't like when I shoot it at the indoor range.


Here it is beside my 500 Magnum Hunter.

congrats on your new pistol . I always thought they were an awesome looking handgun. not beautiful , but not ugly to me . just awesome .handled one at a gun show and it was just to big for my hands . a good friend has one and he loves it . he's yet to invite me to the range to shoot it even after a hint or two . Kenny , texas

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Too good

I had my 50 AE from 1991 until about 3 years ago. My experience is that Sampson Ammo is better than Speer/CCI. 300 grains are the minimum (If you want smaller go 44 mag!), but 350 grain shot more accurately. Hawk made 365's and they were even better, but I'm not sure about availability these days.

These guns are designed to be run at FULL POWER! Don't try for softer shooting loads. There is a noticeably greater sideways torque with heavier bullets, if this bothers you stick to 300's.

I waited for over 20 years, but Ohio never opened the long awaited Transit Bus Season, so I sold my gun. My Ammo was sold a year later to a guy with a standard 44 Mag, that added a 10" 50 AE Barrel. He bought all 500 rounds of my Factory Sampson 300's and 200 of my Speer 325's.

Ivan

I would love one in 44, but I don't think I'd ever lay down the cash for one. They are a bit spendy for a toy IMO.

I got a Gen 1 44 when they first came out. Still have it. Heavy but fun to shoot with full power rounds. My oldest likes it so much he's getting a 50 AE.

Kids these days.

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SWCA #3356, SWHF#611

This was always my opinion also. I ran into a deal too good to pass up from a guy I met that needed to put some scratch together for a down payment on a car. Was also selling a FN 5.7 with 4mags and 500rounds of ammo for 1100. Wish I had more $$$. I would have made a deal on both. Not the same guy, but I ran into my S&W 500 performance center the same way, and a NFA registered bolt UZI. I wasn't looking for them, they found me and we're offered at a irresistible price.

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Proverbs 21:2

I wanted one for a little bit, in .44 or .357, but then I realized that since they weighed over 50 oz, they're an uber-bad assault weapon in my god-forsaken state. They make a legal "lightweight" version with an aluminum frame and a ton of slide cuts, but it's hideous and lightening it sort've defeats the purpose.

Hilariously, my bullseye .22 weighs in at 48.5 oz.

I wanted one for a little bit, in .44 or .357, but then I realized that since they weighed over 50 oz, they're an uber-bad assault weapon in my god-forsaken state. They make a legal "lightweight" version with an aluminum frame and a ton of slide cuts, but it's hideous and lightening it sort've defeats the purpose.

Very nice gun! Not to be confused with “dessert eagles”:

Mine have always been IMI manufactured

My first Desert Eagle fell 8000 feet in a 1995 plane crash. The frame was torques and the magazine could not be removed Magnum Research was unable to fix it. I guess it could have been used as a single shot My HK PSP was in the same crash and still works just fine to this day . . . Love that German over engineering

My 50 caliber Desert Eagle has been with me for about 25 years now

My 41 Magnum Desert Eagle has been with me for about 20+ years now

I probably need to get them out and do some photos

Every Desert Eagle I have fired has been very accurate and Very reliable

The one idiosyncrasy of the Desert Eagle is that they MUST be fed FULL POWER ammunition to be reliable. Mile all love BIG charges of H110 powder. NO mid-range loads for these guns.

Also do not be shooting lead bullets in these big beasts

Somewhere in the moving boxes, I have a factory original leather shoulder holster that may have never been used. It needs to get unpacked and put in the For Sale area

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"Acta non verba"

I liked taking my .41 Magnum to the games once in a while. Got off to a slow start but after a good lubing it worked good.
At about 3:17 and 5:10

YouTube

I have the 50AE and 44Mag - 50AE runs great. 44Mag will occasionally fail to go into battery. i.e the slide fails to go all the way forward.
I am continuing to play with loads to see if I can rectify this.

I do like to take my "three-fifties" out together now and again - the DE 50AE, the S&W 500 and the Barrett M82 in 50BMG

I forgot in case any doesn't know and why as mentioned above that these guns need full power ammo and no lead bullets:

The Desert Eagle is gas operated there's a little port up by the muzzle and a piston in the slide area under it-no full power no worky and lead can clog the port and be seven kinds of a b**** to clean out.

It really is a very interesting handgun.

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Life's a grave,dig it!

The Desert Eagle is just one of those awesome guns that just about any honest person is willing to admit that they'd like to own one.
Unfortunately, they're expensive, and most folks can think of something else that they need or want more, so not everybody has one.

They may not be practical, they may not be tactical, but they're undeniably radical.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

I have always wanted one, just never could make myself spend the money. Recently saw one in 44 magnum for $800 and almost bought it. Someday i will buy one just for fun.

I have heard that before. Full power loads and hold on like you mean it. Limp wristing is going to cause you malfunctions. It is not meant to be shot one handed as you can't get a good enough grip.
I find it to be a very interesting, and ingeniously designed gun. I had to take mine completely apart to check it out, and clean it up. Has a rotating bolt inside of the slide, similar in design to the AR's bolt, and a gas operated system like a rifle would have. Not like any other beast.

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Proverbs 21:2

I bought an IMI built 44 Mag back around 1992 and sold it earlier this year so that I could buy myself a nice 25-2. It was a fun gun to shoot, but I rather shoot my 29/629 revolvers, since I can shoot from mild to wild with the revolvers. With the DE it's pretty much full bore to be reliable. I did find mine to be very reliable with a wide assortment of bullets. It was even reliable shooting some 165 grain JHP bullets that were an overrun for Corbon I had bought off of Midway some years ago. Those bullets were made for Corbon by Sierra and loaded down with a big dose of H110 or Blue Dot they were just awesome out of the DE. They would literally light up the lanes at an indoor range I used to shoot at.

Here's a pic of the DE I sold to my SIL's cousin.

I don't know about the one handed thing since I shot my .357 one handed,and I'm sure you could with the .44 and the .50 of course I started out shooting a .44 mag as a teen so recoil is different to me.

There is one thing the .357 is not just good but spectacular at: mag dumps! You could empty it so fast it'd make a person's hair stand on end the weight combined with the gas operation and the cartridge made it rather similar to firing a .22 handgun.

I kinda wish they'd have made the safety frame mounted like the 1911 then you could conceivably use it as a carry gun...but yea you'd have to be a wee crazy to do that

ETA:

I know of one other gas operated handgun for sure which is the HK P7 squeeze cocker,I think there were a couple others but not sure one is the Styer GB18 I think it was and maybe the HK P70?

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Life's a grave,dig it!

Kronos, the Wildey is another big bore gas gun too.

Oh yea that one too,there's been a few gas operated handguns some more successful then others.

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Life's a grave,dig it!

Get the .380 micro just to see the looks on people's faces when you tell them you pocket carry a Desert Eagle.