Desert eagle in 44 Mag Ammo

T

tynman

New member
I bought my DE used and it came with american eagle ammo (2 boxes of 50) and I had 1 out of 8 FTL in all the mags I put in it. It was 5th or 6th round in the mag.
So I was thinking of buying 500 rounds of 240 grain Freedom munitions ammo for it.

1. Have you ever used this ammo in your DE and how did it work?
2. What is the best 44 mag ammo that you have used for your DE?
 
I'm not a DE owner and I'm unfamiliar with Freedom Munitions. However, I've somehow wound up participating in several recent DE ammo threads, so here goes. :)

I'll let MRI do the talking. From their FAQ:

http://www.magnumresearch.com/faq-DE.asp#q8
Q. What ammunition is recommended for use in my Desert Eagle pistol?

A. Remember that ammunition is very important with the Desert Eagle pistol. Defective ammunition will keep you from chambering. Check the type of ammunition you are using. If ammunition is underpowered it will not reliably cycle the action of your Desert Eagle. Shooting lead or full-metal jacket with an open lead base will not only foul the recoil spring assembly crosspiece and the rods, but it will also carbon and lead-foul the piston and solder it to the barrel. You should stay with good, semi-jacketed ammunition. We do suggest trying as many commercial, manufactured, semi-jacketed Magnum cartridges as possible and see which one works the best for you and your pistol.
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(Emphasis mine)

IOW you should use JHP or JSP ammo whenever possible. Additionally, most DE shooters seem to recommend sticking to full-power loads. This is potentially significant because there are a number of less-powerful "Low Flash" and/or "Low Recoil" .44Mag loads on the market, generally geared towards personal-defense use in short-barreled revolvers. These loads may lack the oomph to cycle the pistol properly.
 
Magnum Research also recommends a specific technique when shooting as well, essentially locking your elbows. See their website for details. Improper shooting technique may cause malfunctions as well.
 
Yes I saw that in the link carguychris shared. Thanks

My friend that I got the DE from said he never had a problem with it so Im thinking its the old ammo stored improperly in his hot/cold attic. And my wrists could have had something to do with it also. But I have to get new ammo to run the test and pay attention to my arms.

I just read (I cant remember where) but they said the freedum munitions ammo didnt work with his DE. That is what Im worried about with the ammo. Cause I want to order 500 rounds when it comes back in stock.
 
I have had a .44 Magnum Desert Eagle since 1990.

They DO need full power loads to cycle reliably.

They DO need something to recoil against. (proper hold)

They DO like to have feeding issues if there is any pressure (at all) on the magazine base.

DO NOT use any non-jacketed bullet, or any jacketed one that does not have the jacket covering the base and bearing surfaces of the bullet.

Personally, I would avoid plated bullets as well.

Sorry I can't help with what factory load, I've been running mine on my handloads since I got it. Currently, a 180gr JHP and a full charge of AA#9. Mine runs like a champ on that load.

Even though the DE looks and feels like a Mack truck, running it is more like a high end sports car, for fuel. You don't run a race car on gasohol, you use the correct fuel.
 
my recommendation is to try a few different types of ammo manufacturers and grain loads before you buy 500 of anything. go for full power and lower grained bullets. no lead, hard or soft. JHP is fine, but as 44 AMP already said, make sure that the areas that contact the rifling are encased and not exposed.
 
44 AMP's post...

One note and one question re: 44 AMP's post...
44 AMP said:
DO NOT use... any jacketed [load] that does not have the jacket covering the base and bearing surfaces of the bullet.
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Tynman, just so there's no misunderstanding, be aware that this rules out conventional FMJ. You can, however, use FMJ with an encapsulated base, which may be marketed as TMJ (Total Metal Jacket) or using a catchphrase like "Range Safe".
44 AMP said:
Personally, I would avoid plated bullets as well.
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44 AMP... why? Just curious.

My guess is that it's a velocity problem; after leafing through a load book, it appears that few full-power .44Mag loads would stay under the 1,000-1,200 fps velocity limitation of most brands of plated bullets.
 
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Originally Posted by 44 AMP
Personally, I would avoid plated bullets as well.

44 AMP... why? Just curious
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One of the reasons I would avoid plated bullets is just general principles. While I have used them, I don't really care for them much, as they are neither fish, nor fowl, nor good red meat, as the saying goes.

Each maker of plated bullets seems to make them a little differently. Sometimes they are good cast bullets, with a copper wash/plating, Including the grease groove and grease. Sometimes they are rather soft, under the plating. And sometimes they are ever something else. Also sometimes the plating is "fragile".

This doesn't matter much, if any, really when shooting them out of revolvers, BUT in a Desert Eagle? Probably ok, but why risk it?

And there is the real likelihood that any load with plated bullets simply won't be a good one to cycle the action. As you noted, the recommendation from the makers is usually 1200fps or less for plated bullets.

The Desert Eagle is a magnum autopistol, and needs magnum level loads to run right. Its even picky enough that it needs the right magnum level loads, otherwise its balky. I'm not saying you can't make a plated bullet load that will run in a Desert Eagle, I'm saying I won't bother to try, and don't think you should, either.

Again, the analogy is something like "you get issues if you try to run a jet plane on biodiesel"....
 
I bought an ammo can full of Georgia Arms 240 grain GDHP loadings ( their 'Canned Heat' promotion) for my Desert Eagle. It functions just fine in the DE and in my S&W 629 and Marlin 1894SS. I must say the DE is easier and more fun to shoot of those three choices I have.
 
Glad you found a commercial load that works in your DE. Not everything is suitable, and not everything that is suitable, does.
 
The one ammo my DE44 absolutely hated was aluminum cased Blaser. I think the box I had was undercharged and just didn't have enough "oomph" to cycle the action.
 
Just have to go with what carguychris and 44amp said about ammo type. I have a friend that has one, got the gold plating and all and he even reloads for it. IT is also picky with powders as well, just because there is data for reloading 44 magnum does not mean it will feed and cycle well or even be good for the gun. Shoot some dirty loads and it will gum up the gas system fairly well.

BTW, have you tried to hit anything past 20' with it ? Something with the sights being so big I think but we shot it @ 25 yds (45') And was lucky to hit the paper. My buddy is no slouch either...Just swear it's the sights.?!
 
Blazer aluminum cased ammo is definitely WRONG for he Desert Eagle.

The combination of the load lever not being what the DE wants to eat, PLUS the added complication of Aluminum cases is almost certain to cause trouble.

The stuff works ok in a revolver. Not so much in an auto pistol, in magnum calibers. Blazer aluminum usually works ok in autos firing the "traditional" short auto pistol rounds (9mm Luger, .45ACP), but in the long revolver round cases, the difference in the performance of aluminum vs, brass makes a difference. And while I haven't used Blazer aluminum in a .44 Mag Desert Eagle, I have tried it in a Coonan .357.

Feeding, and primarily extraction issues, including torn case rims was enough to put Blazer Aluminum on the ban list for autos in my house.

BTW, have you tried to hit anything past 20' with it ? Something with the sights being so big I think but we shot it @ 25 yds (45') And was lucky to hit the paper. My buddy is no slouch either...Just swear it's the sights.?!
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It's not the sights.:D
it might be how you (and your buddy) look through them, but its not the sights. ;)

I can ring the 200yd gong on the rifle range, offhand, with the stock sights. And I can do it with any handgun you give me, not just the DE. Its just a matter of learning how the gun shoots.:D
 
It's not the sights.
it might be how you (and your buddy) look through them, but its not the sights.
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Reason I say that is that we shot 6 pistols that day including an H&K P7, Walther, Colt anaconda, M&P 9, M&P 9c and most shots were hitting inside the 10 ring from 15 yds. Ran two magazines of reloads and one factory with the eagle. He might have had his sights off. At least that makes some since? But they were the biggest sights I have seen on any pistol or civilian rifle for that matter. I'll ask him about it, he might have a clue, but we were both pressed for time ( had places o go an wanted to continue shooting) and I never really got the chance to figure out what it was. Ill let you know.

The anaconda was fun, and I put y first shot through the center bulls eye...:D
 
I couldn't tell you what the best ammo is, but I can tell you what happened with my son's .44 Desert Eagle a few years ago: He was using Federal .44 Mag, and was having repeated failures of the hammer to drop.

I studied the gun for a while and it dawned on me (as a last resort) to measure the specs of the cartridges themselves. I found that the rims were grossly out of spec regarding thickness, enough to cause the disconnector to engage, thus not allowing the hammer to fall.

As a side note, when I was working as a gunsmith in the 80s, I had more customers who would bring new guns in with various problems only to find out the problems were linked with (you guessed it) Federal ammo.

Hopefully things have changed in the last 30 years, but I have always avoided using Federal ammo after observing any number of problems with it.
 
It's not the sights.
it might be how you (and your buddy) look through them, but its not the sights.
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Actually I should have said, "its not the SIZE of the sights.";)

It is certainly possible the sights could be "off". But, generally speaking, if the front & rear sights are essentially centered in the dovetails on the barrel & slide, you should be able to hit things, and fairly close to center.

As to Federal ammo, other than a few boxes of .22s over the years, the only Federal stuff I can remember using is a few boxes of .45ACP back in the 80s. Not only was it flawless feeding and very accurate, I'm still reloading the brass a couple decades later.

As to the rest of their ammo, in all the years since, I can't say, never used any.
 
I have made my loads for my DE with either H110 or IMR 800x currently 800x is the new one I am using it burns real clean and has good power to cycle the action for 200gn bullets its 14.5 gn of powder and it works well roughly 1300fps I have ran them at 15.5 as well and it works the smaller bullets need to run faster to cycle.
 
I found most feeding issues are related to poor crimp on a lot of factory ammunition, this can be solved easily if you are a reloader. Either by making sure you have good crimp, or by using a dremel and polishing the feed ramp/throat, removing any sharp edges who tend to catch on the round.

With the 10 inch barrels you can run weaker loads reliably as more gas get to build up in the system instead of burning outside the barrel.
 
Well I can tell everyone that the freedom ammunition 44 mag 240 grain does NOT have enough power to cycle the round out. Out of 50 rounds I had to cycle the round out 46 times for it. So I don't have to tell you that was no fun at the range. But know that puts me back on the hunt for new ammo that will work in the gun. Any idea's please let me know. I don't reload don't have the equipment or the time.
 
When I had my .357 mag DE, I tried numerous brands of factory ammo. Back then I didn't have any inclination to reload, so factory ammo was all I used. Federal American Eagle was the worst ammo I tried. The absolute best ammo I found that would run my DE 100% reliably with no issues was Magtech. You can usually find it in bulk boxes, but I would start small. Every gun in different is some way and there is no guarantee you will have the same success I did.
 
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