Help with Desert Eagle .44 Reloads

Thanks for the suggestions GarrettJ. New primers come it today.

For some people, going to a lighter load helps, as it is easier to control the recoil.
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Can you suggest what is a lighter load that will still cycle the pistol?
 
I’ve been shooting my DE .44 for a few months.
My initial loads with WW296 were too light for the gun and I worked up to 23.5 gr with the Norma JHP and Win LP primers in Starline brass.
It still failed to go into battery every now and then, so I polished the inside of the mag lips (600 grit sandpaper) and knocked off some minor burrs on the follower. Now it fine.

An alternate load is the 180 gr Hornady XTP over 28.5 of WW296. Oddly enough, it shoots to the same POI as the 240 gr load at 50 yds.

I need to chrono these loads.

All in all, the gun’s a pussycat to shoot. True, there’s a lot of recoil, but it’s totally manageable and there’s no pain, so the recoil isn’t an issue.

A common problem that I’ve read about is the gun shooting low with most any load. I ramped and serrated the front sight and went to the range with a file. 20-odd rounds later, it was shooting right on the sights at 50 yds.

Holsters for this thing are a problem. The ones I’ve seen advertised are either crap or the dumb, “tactical” leg holsters. I wanted a cross-draw for hunting. I found a local guy who made this one for me. Cost $100 and certainly worth it.


 
Usually when I press the mag release button the mag drops a bit and the round chambers.
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Ok, lets be clear, the bolt is in it's proper place behind the case when it jams? It's NOT riding over the round and jamming against the case body??

Any chance you are putting pressure on the magazine bottom when shooting your reloads, and didn't when you shot factory ammo?? The DE mag needs to "float" or feed issues result.

I'm not sure what the date on the magazine represents, but I don't think its the actual date of manufacture. Possibly the date of the design. I've got mags dated 2-86, 1-90, and a new one (still in the package) dated 7-08. Only the new one has the larger cutout at the front of the mag body. All my old ones work fine, so far.
 
So Magnum Research had me send a pic of my old magazine and after seeing it they said send it back and they would give me a new one. So they must of had problems with the version I have.

It will have to been next weekend when I try the DE again. New mag, magnum primers for the win!

Thanks for all the suggestions.
 
Now I have to check my mags. Cause I was also having a problem with my DE 44 mag. But I know you cant limp wrist them cause if you do those problems can happen. But I also found that the only ammo that ran the best in the pistol was the magtech 240g semi jacketed and the 240g american eagle. I had a couple of other ammo brands that I tried that I couldnt get thought 1 mag with out FTF or FTE.

Let me know how the new mag works for you.
 
Sent the magazine back to Magnum Research and they determined it is not a Desert Eagle mag but a Pro-Mag magazine. As such they won't replace it but gave me a good deal on a new mag and are throwing in a extractor spring to boot.
 
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