Took my new 10" DE50 out today. Ran 40 rounds. What is the normal ejection pattern? Several times the brass came right back into my face & forehead. 1 case hit my lip & hurt like a SOB. Is this an indication of a problem?
Also, what is the proper way to hold this gun? I tried my normal thumbs forward grip but that wasn't working because the slide kept scraping my thumb. I eventually crossed my thumbs at the rear under the slide release.
Finally I had 3 failures to chamber a round completely. Although I think this was the ammo. I was trying the Federal Fusion softpoints, & it seems like the tips were hitting something & getting hung up on chambering. I took them out & saw the lead was pushed back a little. They did chamber & shoot fine 1 rd at a time from the mag.
The 1st 20 rounds of the Hornady XTP ammo was flawless.

My 1st time with this gun I did pretty well. Grouped decently & the recoil wasn't that bad. It was controllable enough to do some slower rapid fire. But after 40 rounds my wrist was done.

I don't own one, but the one I shot ejected right at my forehead. Owner warned me about that and advised pulling the brim of my cap down.

Ejecting into the forehead with a .50 caliber DE is a sign you're not supporting the gun firmly enough. It doesn't seem to be an issue with the .44 and .357 version, though.  Even though it is a gas-operated gun, you still have to keep the frame essentially immobile so the slide can move.  If you don't hold the gun firmly enough, the whole gun recoils backward and the slide doesn't move far enough.  (does that make sense?)

If you keep the frame relatively immobile and let the slide do all of the moving, the brass will fly over your right shoulder.  

I usually shoot a modified Isosceles stance, thumbs forward, gripping the gun side-to-side, with my left hand providing around 60% of the gripping force.  With the .50 DE, I find I do better with a Weaver stance, providing a front-rear gripping force, with the typical Weaver push-pull grip on the gun.  This seems to hold the gun more solidly.  I can also feel it in my wrists a lot sooner.  

You can see here how I'm not doing it right with the .50 barrel, and I think that's what's causing my issues with this caliber.  Another good indication is that the .50 isn't locking back the slide after the last shot.  I really have to think about grip and stance with the .50, where the smaller calibers I can get away with gripping / shooting like with a Glock or a 1911.  

Great post, spot on, same issues I had with my .50 DE when I had it.

Oh yeah, you can swap just the barrel and magazines and shoot .44 Magnum. It makes for a cheap less expensive ammo alternative that is more gentle on the wrists.

You will have to swap bolts as well to shoot .357 Mag. But after shooting .44 or .50, that one feels like you're shooting a .22LR.

Interesting... I didn't have any issue with the 1st 15 or so rds then after that I was getting the BTF...I might have just gotten tired in my grip.
I'm getting the finger groove grips this week that should help me a little.
Thanks for the suggestions.

Yes that can happen if you limp wrist it. Make sure you got a very firm grip on it and your arms are extended properly. Happened to me a couple of times when I am lazily shooting it. Think of it as a wake up call.

If it is your very first time shooting the springs may be a bit stiff so give it some time. However occasional slaps may occur if you're not gripping right.

Don't know if my experience with the DE will be of any interest to anyone here, since it's a tad different from "normal". I'm a left AK (above knee) amputee in my early '70s. as a result, almost all of my shooting is done from my vehicle or ATV; some from the bench. Being right handed shooting the DE from the drivers seat is only possible with the door open, window down, shooting from about 230 to 270 degrees or so when oriented to the North. Even better is with the door open halfway, and trying to balance myself when shooting "semi-supported-doorjamb" since the empties fall about ten feet in front of the truck and two feet left. I have noticed that I can "get away with" some pretty sloppy gun handling in the "balancing" position with the .44. Empties are a lit more scattered. With my handy dandy brass picker upper (Really! Google "brass picker upper"!) I can live with that. Naturally, neither of these "positions" are terribly accurate, but with a little practice, good enough for me (perhaps not you, of course) to keep trying.

Also have made a couple sets of crossticks of different lengths for the sitting position, and they work very well, allowing for great accuracy but it's a real PITA getting down to the ground and then having to drag my fat butt back up to the seat. Am currently working on solutions involving modifying a 2 rung stepladder.

I guess my point is, if someone else out there is having problems, give them some thought,figure out how to overcome them and just DO it!