Desert Eagles. Do they or did they ever serve a purpose?

I don't have any data, but you are probably right. Total Auto Mag production (all makers) is estimated at about 5,000 by a couple of sources and ~10,000 by one source.

Coonan, I don't know, totals there were 1,500 Model A's, considerably more model B's. Currently the Coonan Classic is in production, no idea of the numbers.

No idea on the Wildey or LAR Grizzly numbers, but I would expect at least a few thousand, each, maybe more.

The Desert Eagle has been in continuous production since 84 (.357) with the .44 a few years after that.

Without a doubt, I believe that fact that the DE takes the rimmed revolver round has helped them as much, if not more than its cinema and video game exploits.

Dirty Harry was a tremendous marketer for the S&W .44 Magnum, and the .44 Auto Mag's price jumped by 1/3 after Sudden Impact.

I can't say how much Barb Wire did for the DE, but the sight of that blonde wielding a pair of them did have a sudden impact on me, a bit of stunned disbelief, :D:rolleyes:

The DE has starred in a number of films since, and cameo roles in even more shows. It's the current ruling badass handcannon of large screen and small.


 
The indoor range I am a member of has a DE 50AE as one of their rental guns. I had taken a group of my employees to the range and one of them rented the DE. While we were shooting it the senior range officer (great guy, really funny too) came over. With a serious face he asked everyone if they knew what the DE 50 was made for. When everyone said "no" he says "They have two uses: 1. if you want to shoot the bad guy hiding behind the refrigerator......3 houses away, 2. to compensate for a small......" :D

It was fun to shoot though.
 
I don't know it's original purpose, other than as a BBQ gun and a moneymaker, but you would be hard pressed to find an easier-to-shoot .44 Mag in a COMMON production gun. Recoil is really no issue with these, and the ones I have shot were accurate indeed. A fine pistol for deer hunting, if that is one's game.
 
They do serve a purpose - great videos on YouTube of small women getting knocked down when they fire one on camera.
 
The one I shot was very accurate. It would make a good hunting handgun for someone who wanted something that would soak up a little more recoil than a revolver but still fire a powerful round.
 
Purpose of a DE 50AE

I submit that THE purpose of the DE 50 AE is purely for the satisfaction of the owner. I "lobbied" my bride for two years for a "50" on my fiftieth. I gave her a magazine ad, she carried it for two years. I got my nickel plated Desert Eagle 50 A.E. on my 50th birthday. I am now 64 and the gun has yet to be fired. But it gives me great satisfaction knowing it rests on the top shelf of my safe. And yes I have fired other DE 50's, just not mine. I find the recoil to be quite manageable but the muzzle flip is extreme. With the fixed barrel, accuracy is very very good. Plus, with that big ol' bullet, it is real easy to see impacts on target at 25 yards. No spotting scope needed. The weight is not tough to deal with; I'm of the XXL size, 6' 2" @ 295. I use a shoulder holster to manage the weight when I carry. It's biggest drawback; costs to shoot. A buck and a half if I use factory Samson ammo and $.65 if I load my own with used brass. Oh, and noise: use double ear protection!
 
The Desert Eagle was designed to be macho and look cool.
Click to expand...

I think this is true.

Regardless, I have owned a DE 44 since the 1990's - It was one of the first XIX models to come out. This was a "panic buy" - Clinton was banning handguns based on their weight at the time, and I thought the DE was going to make the list. I couldn't imagine living life without ever being able to shoot one of these, so I bought it.

I have shot my DE a handful of times, mostly I bring it along when me and my buddies are going to be shooting bowling pins - it's great for that! Other than that, it sits in my safe and I have to say I wonder from time to time why I still have it. When I bought it, I fully intended on buying the .440 Cor Bon barrel. But, the elusive barrel was next to impossible to find, and when I could find one, it was out of my price range.

If the design wasn't so interesting and a well-made firearm, I would have sold it years ago. But, for some reason, I can't seem to part with it....just yet!

For those interested I found the following from an American Rifleman article regarding the .440 CorBon:

"5. Wasn’t the Desert Eagle Chambered for the .41 Magnum and .440 Cor-Bon? Where did they go?
The short-lived .41 Magnum cartridge was an ideal fit for the Mark VII platform. The caliber conversion worked reliably but it was a frustrating product from a marketing standpoint. When the .41 barrel was out of stock, customers asked for it, but when it was in stock, no one would buy it. Since the .41 Magnum was not a commercial success, the barrel was discontinued.

The .440 Cor-Bon round consists of a .50 AE cartridge case necked down to accept .429-caliber bullets. It is a fast, flat-shooting round with less recoil than the .50 AE. However, the .440 Cor-Bon pistols and barrels were discontinued because the ammunition was unreliable. Cor-Bon had difficulty creating and holding the shoulder position on necked down .50 AE brass. This resulted in rounds with varying headspace and thus poor function in the pistol."

http://www.americanrifleman.org/art...-know-about-the-magnum-research-desert-eagle/
 
Last edited:
Here's a caution I just remembered (since I don't ever use any)..

DO NOT USE BLAZER (aluminum cased) ammo in the Desert Eagle (or the Coonan, or the Grizzly).

While Blazer works fine in revolvers, and in "short" semi auto pistol rounds like 9mm and .45ACP, it does not do well in "long" cartridge autoloaders.

The differences between the properties of aluminum and brass make a difference here, torn off, and torn through rims, even ripped off heads have been reported in .357 semis shooting Blazer (Aluminum) cases.

While I do not know of any (.357 or .44), I would also say never to use steel cased ammo in the DE or other magnum autoloader, if you did happen to have some.

It would make a good hunting handgun for someone who wanted something that would soak up a little more recoil than a revolver but still fire a powerful round.
Click to expand...

Felt recoil is, entirely, a subjective perception by the individual shooting, but for me, the DE soaks up significantly more than "a little" of the recoil, compared to shooting a revolver.

The heavy weight and the difference in the shape of the grip make a huge difference to me. I have yet to find any grip that makes shooting full house .44 Mag in the S&W something other than painful. Pachmayers help a lot, but even with them, 1400fps level load just hurt a bit. In my 29, I run in the 11-1200fps range for comfort, more than power.

In my Super Blackhawk, top level loads are not painful with Pachmayer grips, due to the shape of the grip, more than anything else, I think.

The S&W (6.5") weighs about 47oz. The Ruger (7/5") weighs 47oz. The Desert Eagle weights 68oz. 4.25lbs empty! Also a tad heavier when fully loaded, 8 (or 9) .44Mag rounds, vs. 6.

This, and the "straight" shape of the grip, compared to the "curved" shape of the revolver grip makes a HUGE difference in the felt recoil, to me.

Even unported, the DE offers the least amount of felt recoil for the power delivered over any other handgun shooting the same ammo.

Providing, of course, you are strong enough to lift it!:D
about 1/3 heavier than the common magnum revolvers, and DOUBLE the weight (and then some) of many current "duty class" semi autos it's not a piece for everyone, nor was it ever intended to be.

The Desert Eagle is not a graceful, elegant design. It's a massive brute force approach, but it works!, and that, creates its own kind of beauty. :D
 
DO NOT USE BLAZER (aluminum cased) ammo in the Desert Eagle (or the Coonan, or the Grizzly).
Click to expand...

I recall buying 2 boxes of Blazer aluminum cased 44magnum and trying to run it through my DE. It would not cycle the action! Either they cartridges were underpowered or the aluminum didn't make a good enough gas seal. All I know is that I still have a box of this stuff that my DE will not run! I don't know whatever happened to the other 1/2 box - probably laying around somewhere.
 
Purpose of coolness. :)

But seriously, the 50ae version had a lot of malfunctions. Which I would use as a woods gun, but if it doesn't work on an attacking grizzly then I'm toast.
 
I submit that THE purpose of the DE 50 AE is purely for the satisfaction of the owner. I "lobbied" my bride for two years for a "50" on my fiftieth. I gave her a magazine ad, she carried it for two years. I got my nickel plated Desert Eagle 50 A.E. on my 50th birthday. I am now 64 and the gun has yet to be fired. But it gives me great satisfaction knowing it rests on the top shelf of my safe. And yes I have fired other DE 50's, just not mine. I find the recoil to be quite manageable but the muzzle flip is extreme. With the fixed barrel, accuracy is very very good. Plus, with that big ol' bullet, it is real easy to see impacts on target at 25 yards. No spotting scope needed. The weight is not tough to deal with; I'm of the XXL size, 6' 2" @ 295. I use a shoulder holster to manage the weight when I carry. It's biggest drawback; costs to shoot. A buck and a half if I use factory Samson ammo and $.65 if I load my own with used brass. Oh, and noise: use double ear protection!
Click to expand...
This is a neat story but it's also a little bit confusing to me.
If you don't mind...

You campaigned for two whole years and your lovely wife bought it for you. Very cool! But now that was some -14- years ago and you have NEVER shot it? But you have carried it around in a shoulder holster? And you price out both the ammo and handloads -- for a handgun you have owned 14 years AND carried out in the wild that has NEVER been shot?! :confused:

Yes, I see where you have shot other Desert Eagle .50AE pistols. But unless either you or I have gotten way off track... it almost sounds like you go out in to the woods toting your favorite handgun but if a shot presents itself or you get the urge to light up the sky -- a good pal hands his over and you stoke it with your best handloads...?! :confused:

:p I think something is lost in translation.

I had a .44 Magnum for a good bit and decided I could live without it, and later had a .50AE for an even shorter amount of time and forwarded it on also. Both were enjoyable to shoot but quite simply, the components for handloading were FAR easier & affordable for the .44 Magnum. I never cared for the looks of a Desert Eagle but the rakish looks got even more difficult to stomach when they started offering the "Pimp in a Box!" specials... gold finish, tiger stripe... I mean, c'mon. :rolleyes:

I absolutely agree that they are a marvel in design... while the gas system doesn't excite me (the Wildey's gas system TOTALLY excites me!) I do totally love the Desert Eagle's rotating bolt and locking system. I have never shot the .357 Magnum version and I have no intention of buying one, but I bet I would really enjoy it.

I feel a bit of sympathy pain for the Desert Eagle "true believers" who absolutely love the gun for what it is and especially for those folks who owned or loved them before they totally blew up in pop culture. You almost cannot present one at any shooting range without looking like a cartoon idiot -- because the aura and reputation of the pistol in pop culture has gone so far beyond almost anything we've seen. At least anything that I can think of.

Let me try to re-phrase that^. I don't mean that you must be a jerk when you pull one out of a box or case... What I mean is that it's almost to the point where the appearance of a Desert Eagle has most on-lookers defaulting to the concept of: "well, look over there, another idiot that had $1,200 to spend so people will look at him." Of course this isn't necessarily the truth... but the reputation of the big thing precedes it and perception is reality when folks don't take the time to chat and have a conversation with the other shooters.
 
Sevens

Sevens, I said I have not shot MY DE. I have carried AND fired friends DEs with some regularity. They were the "cosmetically" inferior blued models. Mine is just to shiney to get scratched and smokey. Many of my firearms are now relegated to safe queens as they have appreciated far above my purchase prices. Someday, the collection will pass to firearms appreciative children. Best regards.
 
Price check on black 44 magnum. FWIW, it looks like a used "Made in Israel" model will sell north of $900 on gunbroker in the next few hours. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=538969437

I believe this particular model sold for about $650 +/- back when it was new. So, it looks like there is still healthy demand for DE's and you can get a tad bit more than what you paid for it, if you bought it many years ago.

PS: Sold for $1,050. Now I know what mine is worth, or there about.:)
 
Last edited:
Wasn't the DE made in response to a short-lived IDF request for a 357mag service pistol that would defeat armor/barriers, or something? Like, they asked for a Coonan, but got the DE instead? :p

TCB
 
My .44 Mag DE was $650 NIB in Feb 1990. My .357 was $425 in 84.

No idea what that is in today's dollars, sorry.
 
If they made a 357 carbine it would sell like crazy. Would probably drive sales of the pistol also. To me, one of those "duh" products that just never materialized.

Otherwise, I don't think I'd ever consider one.
 
Are they just supposed to be novelties for those with extra cash?
Click to expand...

Want a short list? Take EVERYTHING you own, and make a list of what doesn't fit in the novelties for those with extra cash category.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top