Hey everyone, picked up a burnt bronze .44 within the past month. Ran into usual new guy issues today trying to burn through some 240 grain. I was using Magtech flatnose, which I have since read that DE's prefer as rounded bullets as possible. I was also curious as to which company makes the "J" stamped mags. I've also read that Checkmate is the go to for these things. Not gonna give up on the gun, just a frustrating outing.

Any good jacketed round will run fine. The issue with the DE is grip and limp wristing. It doesn't just recoil with a unique impulse, but it torques towards the left, pointing the ejecting case right at your forehead if you are not heavy on the grip.

Thanks for the input. I wonder if the fact that the only ammo i've run through it is "semi-jacketed". Also just bought some 07/08 stamped mags off the Bay. I do have a pretty firm grip and even tried to stiffen up on the gun between reloads. My buddy, who is not used to anything above 9mm, was noticeably loose while shooting.

Any normal factory load thats got a jacket (just no full lead or coated lead bullets) should be fine.. JSP or similar are fine. Clean and lube well and shoot a few boxes thru! Enjoy!

my personal experience with the Magtech 240gr flatnose .44MAG is it doesn't have enough oomph to reliably cycle the Desert Eagle.  it was almost 100% successful extraction, ejection from chamber, but slide didn't come back far enough to strip a round off the mag, slide went into battery on an empty chamber, click, no bang.

I was kind of bummed, I had bought a whole case of the Magtech, had to let it go at a loss just to offload it.

also had the same problem with Fiocchi 44 Mag, SJHP, 44D500, and HPR 44Mag 240gr TMJ, and also the aluminum-cased Blazer 240gr JHP.  ammo is good for doing a lot of malfunction clearing drills, though, just about every round.

this is with a brand new Desert Eagle.  I'm thinking the recoil springs are maybe not broken in enough, don't have enough mileage on them, to soften them up.

sofar, my 44Mag go-to ammo for my DE is American Eagle 240gr, 100% reliable, like a swiss watch.

YMMV.

Your DE should have a what factory ammo works paper included in the box.

The only factory 44mag I've used is fiocchi 240 JHP and that was in my 10" barrel and it cycled fine. I do have some left somewhere here and I'll try it out in my 6" next time I hit the range, can probably this weekend.

As said already avoid cast lead and add open base jacket bullets to things to avoid. I use xtreme copper coated 240 RNFP in my 44 hand loads. They work fine depending on the powder. Unique can cause coating flaking in my experience with them, the only issue I've seen yet.

Thanks again guys. I’ve read that fiocchi behaves well in the DE. I’ll try to get some American eagle as well. I’ll give it a good cleaning here soon and try again shortly. Also had a slightly modified glock not behaving and my 10mm Vector’s factory mag extensions jamming up. Frustrating day! The DE was the least of my problems with those two acting up. I’ll keep at it. Previous largest pistol is a GP100 so I’ll keep climbing the big bore ladder.

WOW! I have never seen one do that! That must be a hell of a burr in that gas port.
How old is it? I would almost be tempted to send it to MR to see if they could repair it.


As far as the OP question....
Like others, the more pointed or rounded the bullet the better. I have actually found hornady XTP bullets to feed the best of all I have tested so far. But FMJ round nose flat points have been feeding very good for me too.
I have been using x-treme plated 200gr and 240gr with very good results. However, I reload, so I have not shot any factory ammo in years.

Like mentioned, you might just have to get some rounds through it to help break things in. Keep it clean and well lubed. Stay away from solid lead bullets.
I have had unreliable feeding from soft point bullets in the past. I found the soft lead nose was catching on the edge of the chamber, causing a feeding issues.

From everything I have found online, checkmate is the OEM supplier for desert eagle magazines. I also bought a few and they are 100% identical to my factory magazines.