Lone Eagle

[andy52]

I picked this up yesterday and I'm still questioning my sanity. It's a Magnum research Lone Eagle in .444 marlin. It was cheap enough at 150 bucks but it has a broken firing pin and the red dot doesn't work. I spent 3 hours today searching for a firing pin and finally found a newly made titanium pin that shouldn't break for 50 buck including shipping. After I get the pin installed it will be the largest caliber handgun I've ever fired, I did get a box of shells in the deal.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Well, before you fire it make sure nobody is standing near you! .444 MARLIN???!!! Holy jumping catfish! That's gotta have some serious recoil!

It is cute, though, very racy!!!

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

If you go hog hunting, make sure you have them lined up 2 or 3 deep!

Ivan

 

[andy52]

Well, before you fire it make sure nobody is standing near you! .444 MARLIN???!!! Holy jumping catfish! That's gotta have some serious recoil!

It is cute, though, very racy!!!

Honestly I'd never seen one prior to buying it. It's got a weird sort of cannon breach system that locks the shell in place. I do agree I'm sure it will be a handful to fire.

 

[gwpercle]

Yeah....$150.00 is an offer you can't really walk away from .
I would have had to buy it too....like I have any need whatsoever for a 444 Marlin handgun .
When you go to the range you will be noticed.

Awesome Deal !
Gary

 

[RobertJ.]

Interesting!

Please let us know how it shoots!

 

[andy52]

This may be a handgun that requires ear plugs and muffs.

 

[Peak53]

This may be a handgun that requires ear plugs and muffs.

...and maybe a football helmet

 

[andy52]

...and maybe a football helmet

Or maybe a catchers mask to keep from getting smacked in the face...

 

[FL45acp]

That should be fun! I've got a Savage Striker in .308 and it's my favorite range toy. The recoil on mine is about equal to a full house .44 magnum from a 4" revolver. Please let us know how it shoots.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[6string]

The design has been around a while. Magnum Research bought it from the developing company. I'd have to dig to find it. There was originally a wood stock model. It sold for about $300 in stores back around 1989 or so.
There were a few chamberings including 308, 30-06, 7mm-08, maybe 45-70, etc.
It shoots well, but did not catch on with IHMSA shooters nor hunters. The breech works well but can be slow.
One cool feature is that the barrel is removable with a spanner wrench, and calibers are an easy switch.
I'll bet you can find some cheap barrels with a bit of luck.

Watch out for recoil! A lot of people have gotten badly rapped by the rear breech extension hitting their forearm.

I'd start with light handloads and workup....

Good deal!

Jim

 

[M E Morrison]

Oh, I don't know. I have a TC Contender Super 14 in 45-70. It is one of the earlier ones, without Magnaporting. Recoil of the 405 gr loads isn't horrible, but thhe 300 gr loads are pretty snappy....

 

[H Richard]

I have fired the TC super 14 in 45-70, and it is more of a handful than I am interested in any longer. I'm getting too old for that kind of punishment. A good friend bought a Marlin lever action in 444 and fired 3 shells and traded it off for a 45-70 which he claimed was a *****cat next to the 444.

 

[indigo22]

I had a Lone Eagle in 308. It was a lot of fun and very accurate as long as I kept the bullets below 150 grains. The 180 grain hunting rounds hurt my wrist, and I never dared to touch off any 220's.
Good luck with that 444...

 

[H Richard]

Mark: We expect a report back on the first range session.

 

[andy52]

Mark: We expect a report back on the first range session.

I will do that right after I get back from the ER after getting my wrist bandaged... It will probably be a week or so before I get the replacement firing pin.

It might not be as bad as the Contender you talked about. I had a contender back in the 80s and the biggest problem with heavy recoil was that pointy trigger guard digging into my hand.

 

[andy52]

Well I got the firing pin yesterday and it was easy to replace. I don't have the optics replaced yet but I did take to the range to fire it for function. All I can say is OMG this thing is brutal, when they built it probably should have been ported or had a muzzle break because the muzzle blast is horrendous. If I lived in California I'd get arrested for starting a wildfire with the 4 foot flame that it spouts. The recoil was really heavy but using the bi-pod made it manageable.

 

[LVSteve]

All I can say is OMG this thing is brutal, when they built it probably should have been ported or had a muzzle break because the muzzle blast is horrendous. If I lived in California I'd get arrested for starting a wildfire with the 4 foot flame that it spouts.

Sounds like you need the following for your next range trip:

1) Friend with a video camera

2) YouTube account.

 

[one eye joe]

I picked this up yesterday and I'm still questioning my sanity. It's a Magnum research Lone Eagle in .444 marlin. It was cheap enough at 150 bucks but it has a broken firing pin and the red dot doesn't work. I spent 3 hours today searching for a firing pin and finally found a newly made titanium pin that shouldn't break for 50 buck including shipping. After I get the pin installed it will be the largest caliber handgun I've ever fired, I did get a box of shells in the deal.

I CAN READILY UNDERSTAND WHY THAT RED DOT MIGHT NOT BE WORKING. THE VIOLENT RECOIL OF THE .444 MARLIN PROBABLY TURNED THE INTERNALS TO JUNK.....

IN ANY EVENT, THAT'S A VERY INTERESTING WEAPON. THEY ARE PROBABLY VERY SCARCE---AND DEFINITELY WORTH THE $150. YOU PAID FOR IT, AND THE $50. FOR THE FIRING PIN.....

GOOD LUCK WITH IT, AND DON'T FORGET THE RANGE REPORT---IF YOU MUSTER THE COURAGE TO SHOOT IT.....lol.

 

[Hairtrigger]

I have several Lone Eagle handguns, from an early SSP-1 in 223 to a 22-250 and a 7br. The newest was made by Magnum Research and is in 308 with a break, it is accurate but also a handful for me
You can dry fire it but you must leave the breech open
U gave a copy of the manual if you need one
Competitor made a visual close copy buy is very different

 

[andy52]

I have several Lone Eagle handguns, from an early SSP-1 in 223 to a 22-250 and a 7br. The newest was made by Magnum Research and is in 308 with a break, it is accurate but also a handful for me
You can dry fire it but you must leave the breech open
U gave a copy of the manual if you need one
Competitor made a visual close copy buy is very different

Thank you for the offer of the manual but the design is rather simple and even though I had never seen one before replacing he firing pin was really easy. The pistol is not something that I'm going to invest a lot of time in.

 

[shouldazagged]

What's next for you, a ten gauge magnum derringer?

 

[Chukar60]

I had a TC in 7-30 Waters. Wonderfully accurate.
It had a 14” barrel with a muzzle break. Recoil was substantial, but not horrendous. Muzzle blast was brutal.
Friend had a TC with the 10” 30-30 barrel. With factory loads it was punishing.
Could not pay me to shoot your beast OP.

 

[oddshooter]

I have had the Magnum Research Lone Eagle for several years and really enjoy it. I paid $500 and wouldn't sell it for twice that. Too much fun. I think you stole yours at $150, except for that firing pin. You could easily have had a wall hanger.

The cannon breach loading is a hoot. Makes me feel like I loaded an old style cannon when I twist that lug on the back. and for those new to Lone Eagle, watch that empty brass case flying straight back at you. My ejector works great and can put a bump on your forehead.

The best part of all is that it shoots 357 Maximum, my favorite caliber. This Lone Eagle weight tames that recoil and is very pleasant to shoot.

I've freaked out a couple of indoor range masters when I brought that beast out. They weren't sure whether to classify it as a rifle or handgun. The "357" moniker made it handgun, but the Maximum was new to them.
Outdoors, 100 yard steel sings and sings and sings

Prescut

 

[H Richard]

Chuckar60, I have also a 7X30 Waters 14" TC, (still have it haven't shot it is several years), and it has no muzzle break but the recoil isn't that bad. I have been told by bystanders that the concussion from it is substantial, it doesn't seem to bother me. Brass life with it has been short, maybe 4 loading's and you get head separation. I made a tool to check fired brass for potential head separation, from a paperclip. One end bent at 90 degrees and filed to a sharp point. Running it inside the case and "feeling" the inside just about where the case web is. You can feel a groove burning into the case wall.

 

[gwpercle]

Now I see why $150.00 bought it.....
Take into consideration the buyer had never seen or fired one, possibly there's not a huge demand for them.
I wonder how many rounds it takes to demolish a scope or red dot sight ?
When the OP looks to sell it maybe he can find another unsuspecting buyer .
Gary

 

[andy52]

Now I see why $150.00 bought it.....
Take into consideration the buyer had never seen or fired one, possibly there's not a huge demand for them.
I wonder how many rounds it takes to demolish a scope or red dot sight ?
When the OP looks to sell it maybe he can find another unsuspecting buyer .
Gary

I bought it as much out of curiosity and to tinker with fixing the firing pin as anything.
Even though you are correct that I'd never seen or fired one I don't consider myself as "unsuspecting" I pretty knew what I was getting into.
.444 Marlin vs cheap red dot probably didn't take many rounds to destroy it.

 

[gwpercle]

I bought it as much out of curiosity and to tinker with fixing the firing pin as anything.
Even though you are correct that I'd never seen or fired one I don't consider myself as "unsuspecting" I pretty knew what I was getting into.
.444 Marlin vs cheap red dot probably didn't take many rounds to destroy it.

I really didn't believe you were "unsuspecting" just a little attempt at humor... no offense intended .

$150.00 for a Magnum Research Lone Eagle in 444 does seem like a mighty good deal. I would have bought it too and my big magnum shooting days are long over .
Gary

 

[andy52]

I really didn't believe you were "unsuspecting" just a little attempt at humor... no offense intended .

$150.00 for a Magnum Research Lone Eagle in 444 does seem like a mighty good deal. I would have bought it too and my big magnum shooting days are long over .
Gary

No offense taken.

Considering the gun was pretty much useless when I bought it I though 150 was a pretty fair price. When I got home with it and started looking for the firing pin replacement I starting think I may have screwed myself because it was very difficult to find one. I even contacted Magnum Research to see if they might have some parts on hand....nope. I did a little more looking around and found a lot of info on how susceptible the pins are to breakage and luckily found the place that was making them out of titanium.

 

[Chukar60]

Chuckar60, I have also a 7X30 Waters 14" TC, (still have it haven't shot it is several years), and it has no muzzle break but the recoil isn't that bad. I have been told by bystanders that the concussion from it is substantial, it doesn't seem to bother me. Brass life with it has been short, maybe 4 loading's and you get head separation. I made a tool to check fired brass for potential head separation, from a paperclip. One end bent at 90 degrees and filed to a sharp point. Running it inside the case and "feeling" the inside just about where the case web is. You can feel a groove burning into the case wall.

I only shot it once without ear protection. Got all excited about a coyote that presented itself. Dropped a round in the chamber, closed the action and took the shot. My ears rang for several days. Probably the reason “what was that?” Is now one of the most often used lines in my conversations.