Magnum Research announced the Desert Eagle L5 which is a lighter pistol at 50oz with a shorter 5in barrel. Unfortunately none of 'journalists' at Shot Show felt it was necessary to ask the release date or price

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHGQEmXpBqc

The lightweight "Diet" Eagle.



For some reason, reminds me of:

Yeah it does!

Nice

I called Magnum Research this morning regarding the release date.  They stated Fall 2015 was the projected release date.  They did not know the MSRP yet.

I'd be more upset if I wasn't holding off buying anything new this year :) If I do buy this pistol it's only use would be for fun at the range as I already have a home defense and CCW pistols.

New news! So... who is going to buy one, especially after seeing the price?! I would be interested a .44 model but the price for the .357 is absurd!

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/12/21/lightweight-desert-eagle-pistols/

Don't know why people freak out over "suggested retail price"?  I have always paid $300 or $400 less and sometimes more.  I am a nut for all things .357 mag and will definitely be getting one of the L5's when the price is right.  I am going to be at the SHOT show next week and will probably be able to play with one there.

Played with the L5 at SHOT yesterday.  All I can say is "I will be getting one" as soon as they are available.

Nuff Said

Any word on a .44 model?

The guys I talked to at SHOT says yes, there will be a .44 but will be released sometime "after" the .357 is on shelves.  They said the .357 version will be in the hands of dealers by mid second quarter.

I'm looking at getting one just because. A buddy of mine got one and said he's had nothing but problems. I think I'm going to wait a bit for any issues to be worked out and the price to come down.

TTAG was supposed to have a review but I think they delayed it because of issues with the L5 as well.

Two L5's are now on sale on Gun Broker.

So buy one already and give us an assessment!

Used the L5 money a few weeks ago for something else because I couldn't find one.  Now I have to wait until December to get one.

Im really digging the look of the new ones.  I'm kind of regretting picking up this VII.  Atleast I got a good price on one right?

Saw two Desert Eagle L5's on GB last month, now there are none.  Haven't seen them for sale anywhere so I guess I will use this money for a 308 upper and save for the L5 in January.  Maybe some will be available the first of the new year.

I picked an L5 up in May 2016 from a vendor on Gunbroker.  It has quickly become one of my favorite pistols.  The weight is substantial but not overwhelming like the DE50's.  Recoil is unbelievably tame due to the weight and the ported barrel.  Once a lady in her 60's wanted to try it out and had no problem with the weight or recoil.  She and her husband were both impressed.  

I have had no problems with it whatsoever.  I did have my gunsmith smooth out the trigger for me (I'm not patient enough to let it smooth itself out after 1000 rounds).  It's a great firearm.  I highly recommend it if you're at all attracted to the DE platform.

They announced the L5 in 44 magnum.

http://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2016/11/kahr-firearms-group-pistols/#de44l5imb-l

I am actually somewhat intrigued. The size and weight is somewhat reasonable for a 44 mag. If they are reliable it might be worth it.

I came across a deal on one a month or two ago and decided I couldn't pass it up.  The look kind of grows on you after a while.  It's quite a bit lighter than the "full-size" MK-XIX guns.  And shooting the two side by side, the XIX seems almost sluggish.  The L5 is more snappy - not snappy recoil, just seems to recoil faster.  Not a bad thing.

The 5" barrel is a nice size.  With the integral muzzle brake you effectively have 4" of rifling.  I get a 125 to 150 fps. loss in velocity going from the XIX to the L5, shooting the same .357 ammo.  There does not appear to be anything that interchanges between the two guns (other than mags and maybe a few small parts).  The barrel locking surfaces are different.  You can't just swap top ends completely either.  They are different guns.  






I'm not to the point of saying "nothing but problems" yet, but it's not exactly flawless either.  Ultimately, I think it's an engineering issue.  The recoil springs were shortened a bit, which makes sense as the whole front end is shorter.  However, as the slide closes the last 1/4" or so when the bolt is locking, there seems to be very little spring pressure pushing the slide forward.  The XIX has noticeably more spring tension at this point in the slide travel.  



Because of this, the most failures I have experienced have been where the slide fails to close completely.  It needs a slight push with the thumb on the rear of the slide to get it all the way into battery.  Even worse, there is a point where the slide has moved far enough forward that the hammer disconnector is disengaged (trigger will release the sear), but the hammer block is not disengaged.  This results in a "click" as the hammer drops on a live chamber, but is not allowed to hit the firing pin, resulting in a "dead" gun.  

I think the solution here is to keep the gun clean, use "hot enough" ammo, and use a firm hold to allow the side to cycle fully against the frame.  All of this is true with any Desert Eagle, but apparently even more important with the L5.  

I'm currently playing with 180 gr. bullets and Vhitavouri powder, to see if that keeps it running clean enough for longer.  

For comparison, here are the two guns.  You can see less muzzle flip with the L5, but the "feel" of the two is more pronounced than just what you can see on the screen.  This was with Federal 158 gr. JSP ammo.

Picked up these beauties a few months ago.  Now I just have to purchase an L5 to put them on.  They are aluminum and the graphics are anodized on them, not hydrodipped.

Update: it was a design issue. I had emailed MRI and described the issue I'd been having. They asked for the serial number and confirmed I had an early production gun and they had made some design changes since that time.

They sent me a pre-paid shipping label and had me send it to them. I had it back in hand in just over two weeks. The issues I reported above appear to be no more.

The paperwork accompanying the gun indicate they replaced the slide, barrel, recoil spring assembly and gas piston. They ran 2 mags (18 rounds) through it with no reported issues. I ran several more rounds and did not have any of the previous issues.

Way to go MRI!

Without having the old slide to compare, I can't tell what is different. The barrel and gas piston have obvious differences. The gas piston is noticeably shorter. The front of the barrel is also different. The lower portion of the barrel front is cut back at a sharper angle.

Notice how ".357 Mag" is printed in a single line on the old barrel.


but printed

.357
Mag

on the new barrel.



Actually, looking at the two pictures it appears the new slide is slightly longer. The overall length of the gun / barrel is unchanged.

And here you can see all of the new parts.

Just got my L5 and only have 250 rounds through it but it has run 100% so far with five or six different types of ammo.  It even likes semi jacketed lead flat points.  The only problem I have had so far is operator error.  I am left handed and a couple of times the first knuckle of my trigger finger engaged the extended slide stop on recoil with rounds still in the magazine locking the slide back prematurely.  I talked to the head gunsmith at the factory who is also left handed and he said this happened to him as well.  His remedy which I am going to do is to mill the bottom serration off of the extended slide stop so it does not stick out so far and touch the trigger finger.  I ordered an extra slide stop so that I can mill the spare and keep the original stop intact in case I don't like the results.

The Factory told me that if the modification does not work I should call them and they will send me another slide stop free of charge so I can try a different modification.

Now that's CUSTOMER SERVICE.