OK...so WHY was the Desert Eagle born, anyway? And by Israel, of all people?

[k9870]

The .50 is supposed to be fairly reliable, others tend to jam due to the rimmed cartridges, and some .357 models were finnicky with lighter magnum loads.

[Krel]

I posted this in the gun humor thread, but I think that it also fits here.

After the movie "La Femme Nikita" came out, my brother in law just had to buy a Desert Eagle for my sister. My five foot four sister. In .44 magnum. With a silver finish.

I never liked it, being left handed the placement of the levers was very uncomfortable for me, and the grip was just too long. It is a real horse pistol, too large, and too heavy. But my sister was frighteningly good with it. Especially as she didn't go shooting that much.

We were going shooting one day, and so were at the gun shop buying ammo. There was a guy looking at a blued .357 magnum model. My sister asked to see it, and the guy said sure. He then chuckled "perfect gun for you". My sister pulled the slide back and started yelling for the other owner, that this slide is easier to pull back then the one on her's. The guy's eyes got big, and you could hear him thinking "easier than mine!?" His eyes got even larger, and his jaw dropped when she pulled that silver behemoth from her range bag, and they went into the back to measure the spring force. He turned to the first owner, and asked "is that her gun". first owner, "yes". He thought for a second and asked, "Can she shoot it?" The first owner laughed and replied, "yes, and from what I understand, she is a very good shot."

Later a group of us were at a range. I was two stalls over from my sister, shooting my punny little .45 acp Colt Commander. I'm firing away at my target when...KABOOM! I see this jet of flame shooting out, reaching for my sister's target, as simultaneously I feel a wave of heat rolling over the top of the partition of my stall, and my target starts waving in the gale force of her pressure wave. I wait form my target to settle down, I start shooting, when...KABOOM! Lather, rinse, repeat.

We had people stop shooting, and come over to see who was firing the Howitzer in the range. It was wild.

When the .50 DE was released, we were at the S.H.O.T. Show, and the DE representatives told us that there would be a delay on the sale of the .50 caliber versions as the South Africans had bought the entire first run, for the game wardens they were told. They also claimed that the Australian military uses the .357 version, but I can't say so for a fact.

I found the pistol to be reliable, but it kicked like a mule! I would much prefer a revolver than a DE. I'm left handed, and the lever on the left side scrapped my hand raw. I find revolvers in .357, and .44 magnum to be much more pleasant to fire, not as bulky, and they fit my hand better. They are certainly a lot lighter! If they would only manufacture left-handed revolvers besides the Charter Arms snub nose .38, I do believe they would sell.

David.

[Gunmaster45]

While the whole "Mall Ninja" concept makes the Desert Eagle seem like an over rated gun, I can't personally say I hate it. Obviously it isn't a combat handgun, but I think it is still a fun gun to own if you want to shoot magnum rounds without nursing your thumb webbing and wrist back to health and want a decent hunting handgun.

It's heavy, yes, but that kind of helps handle that massive recoil. The .50 AE is not necessarily an incredible round, but it is very powerful and it means something when you can actually fire the round with some control. Also, .357 Magnums and .44 Magnums are a breeze to shoot through one, according to what a few guys I know say.

And everyone rags on reliability. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it more or less have similair reliability to an AR-15? They use the same direct gas inpingment system. And if some asshole drops it in mud and it jams when he fires it, does that make it an awful firearm? Try dropping your gun in the mud and getting excellent consistency with it. If the haters tried cleaning the damn gun every now and then, maybe it would be a little more reliable.

I don't believe the Desert Eagle was first built as a military firearm, or with the military being in mind, so expecting 100% reliability in all conditions is a little harsh for a civie gun designed to fire uber-rounds.

While I don't praise the weapon and would never carry one for practical use, I think some people are too harsh on it.

And Matt, I think the muzzle flash would depend on what time it was. During a nice sunny day you wouldn't see much flame, but as the sun sets it gets very noticable, and by night, it's like a milisecond flamethrower!

[k9870]

A guy at a local gunshow was charging 100 bucks a mag to rent his deegle 50, and he was making bank. People were lining up to fire "that gun from the matrix."

[Gunmaster45]

Still, that doesn't mean the gun sucks per say, just the guy who owns it was a con artist asshole who considered it a big neon sign syaing he has a bigger dick than you. He's the worst type of person who owns Desert Eagles.

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by Gunmaster45

And Matt, I think the muzzle flash would depend on what time it was. During a nice sunny day you wouldn't see much flame, but as the sun sets it gets very noticable, and by night, it's like a milisecond flamethrower!

It's an indoor range. But yeah, I should have figured that Clutch meant at night.

[Clutch]

Originally Posted by MT2008

It's an indoor range. But yeah, I should have figured that Clutch meant at night.

Yeah, that's kind of what I was getting at. One of those loaded with full-power blanks at night is probably like a seven-shot flashbang grenade.

God help whoever's wearing NVGs when one of them goes off nearby.

"Hey, we got a guy with a .50 here--OH GOD, MY EYES! THE GOGGLES, THEY DO NOTHING!!!"

...I couldn't resist.

[Excalibur]

I personally don't hate the Desert Eagle with a passion, but I've held a couple in my hand, the .44 and the .50 and they were just huge. I prefer a 1911 type for the fact that it doesn't weigh as much as a submachine gun. Maybe if I have the money I'll get one to hang on my wall as a nice piece to look at, but I'm not really going shooting on the range with this beast or carry it for conceal.

[Rockwolf66]

It's funny how someone commented on Showdown in little Tokyo that someone of Dolph Lungren's size could only bee shown with a Desert Eagle as their handgun. Well given that the man is 6'5" tall and about 250 pounds....The pistol fits his sheer mass. I mean I have dated women who are about 5' tall and shoot I also have friends who are 6'4"+ and about three hundered pounds. The handguns that fit a small girlfriend are simply put too small for my larger friends. As for some of the larger weapons that are comfortable with my larger friends even I found the weapons a bit too big.

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by Gunmaster45

I think it is still a fun gun to own if you want to shoot magnum rounds without nursing your thumb webbing and wrist back to health and want a decent hunting handgun.

It's heavy, yes, but that kind of helps handle that massive recoil. The .50 AE is not necessarily an incredible round, but it is very powerful and it means something when you can actually fire the round with some control. Also, .357 Magnums and .44 Magnums are a breeze to shoot through one, according to what a few guys I know say.

Everyone I've talked to who owned a DE wound up getting rid of it. The impression I get from talking to enough people is that the novelty wears off pretty fast. There are a lot of guns that are fun to shoot, but after a while, their lack of practicality sets in. That's the issue with the Eagle - once you've had fun with it, what you're left with is a huge paper weight that has little practical use (even in hunting) and cost you a ridiculous amount of money. It's little "bang for the buck".

Also, there's a good reason why the handgun market turned away from Magnum-caliber, low-capacity pistols to lighter, high-capacity, smaller-caliber 9mms and .40-caliber pistols. So the fact that the DE can shoot Magnum cartridges at all (let alone with little recoil) winds up being kind of irrelevant.