I've got a Desert Eagle MK VII .357 magnum pistol. The gas piston is pinned into the front of the slide. A couple of weeks ago, at the range, the pistol stopped functioning. I pulled it apart and found the gas piston had sheared off from the 'tail' that is pinned into the slide. Ok, no big deal, I'll ring up Magnum Research and order a new piston and roll pin (and some new springs as it's probably time to change them anyways). Should be easy enough to get the gun up and running again... Nope. They do not make nor carry the pistons for the MK VII pistols any more. I asked what the best way was to get my gun functional again and here is what they said:

"Unless you find a gas piston somewhere or have one made from the original
pieces there isn't a way besides upgrading it to the Mark XIX. Thats about
a 1200.00 conversion. I would have a gunsmith extract the part stuck in the
slide and then maybe see if there is a machine shop around you that would
measure and make one"

So now it is up to me to figure out how to get my $1000 gun fixed. To say I'm a little pissed off is an understatement...

This bodes not well for either my friend's Mark VII or my really old Mark I.