I recently bought a used, flat black .44 mag Desert Eagle. Since the gun was used, I did a thorough inspection before I paid for it, and everything looked great. Being in CA, I had a long ten day wait before I could pick it up from the FFL, which I did last Thursday

In those ten days I did a lot of research on the DE and read several interesting points about my new toy...

A. Maintenance is critical. Keep the gas system clean, use grease on all parts that slide and field strip and clean every range trip (or at least every 200 rounds).    

   
B. Ammo choice is critical for a couple of reasons. 1. Velocity has to be sufficient to cycle the action reliably. 2. Jacketed bullets are best to reduce fouling of the gas system.    
     

C.  Shooting technique heavily influences cycling reliability. Elbows locked, firm grip, absolutely no limp wristing.

D.  Hand placement in relation to magazine. Applying pressure to base of magazine or "cupping" the mag while shooting affects cycling.

E.  Regarding reloads, don't use plated projectiles because the velocities needed to cycle properly exceeds the threshold at which the     plating will become compromised and peel away, resulting in exposed lead fouling the barrel/gas system.
     

F.  Regarding factory ammo, expect to experiment with several types to find which cycles reliably. This especially applies to me right now     because I haven't started reloading yet. Just ordered a set of dies that should arrive early next week, this is my first and only 44 mag.

Well, I've taken it to the range twice already. Once on the way home from the FFL on Thursday, and again on Saturday. Both times the only ammo I had was a box of factory American Eagle 240gr JSP.

My observations:

Cycling is hit or miss. I used proper technique as far as I could tell, elbows locked, leaning in, and death grip. Some mags were flawless for all 8 rounds, some had FTFeed. One thing is consistent all the time, the last round on every mag stovepipes unfired. 100% of the time.



Would this be a problem with the mag or ammo? The gun only came with one mag, have to order more.

I stopped by WM yesterday and picked up a box of Remington 180gr JSP and Winchester 240gr JSP to test on my next outing.

I noticed one thing that concerns me. I have huge hands, when I grip the gun, I can't help but exert pressure on the mag from the bottom as my palm and little finger are so large they extend below the bottom of the grip. I tried moving my hand further up the grip to avoid this, but the angle is so unnatural that it is too uncomfortable. I read that the gun can be finicky if pressure is applied to the mag while shooting, and thanks to my gorilla hands, I'm sure I'm doing that.

Does anyone make an aftermarket grip or grip wrap that can increase the size so that I can hold it better?

I'm hoping to make it to the range this weekend to test the new ammo.

Hogue makes grips for the pistol. May also need need to do the spring refresh? Midway has the set for under $50. Also has the special cleaning tool that works well.

i ordered a rubber finger grip for mine, ill let you know how it feels, my hands arent that big, but the grip to me anyways in the front could be a bigger. and i have done lots of reading, the hogue finger grip is supposed to help alot with being able to hold on to it

as for the mag working/not working, did you disassemble the mag and clean it? my mag was filthy inside, and would barley drop out empty, i took it all apart and cleaned the follower and the other 8 parts inside of it, it is byfar the most complicated handgun magazine ive ever seen...so far haha....but cleaning it may help with any feeding issues,

on that jam, was there an empty casing in the chamber?

what i would do if it were me, and i am no professional on these, load the mag with 8 rounds like normal, shoot 6, drop the mag and see what the last round looks like, on my wifes shield, when it strips a round off the top, it will sometimes pull the next one under it forward, maybe that last round is pulled forward a bit or angled up and when the bolt hits it its popping it up and gets stove piped like that

again, im no pro on these, but with my thinking cap on and tongue pointed the right way, thats the only thing i can think of to cause a live stove pipe

Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely look into the Hogue.





Have to admit, I didn't strip and clean the mag, that'll be my next step.

The pic isn't of a jam, it's what happens to the last round on every mag I load. Doesn't matter if I load 8, 5, or 3 rounds. The last round of every mag stovepipes, unfired, 100% of the time.




Since the last round of every mag is stovepiping, I'm not sure if it is an issue with the mag (maybe defective or dirty), or if it is the ammo (?). I still need to get to the range to see how it functions with the other ammo I bought.

Thanks for the input, my next step will be to strip the mag and also look closely at the bolt.

I bought a DE 50 and had ammo issues.  Replaced the springs and it shot everything just fine.

I was noticing that on mine, the top round has a lot of wiggle, and if you slide the round forward with a slight upward angle, like its ramping into the barrel, when the round is almost fully stripped, the round wil snap up and stand up vertically with the rim stu k in the lips of the magazine. I closed the lips in the magazine a little bit with some wide flat pliers, dont know if it helps, and i do have the 50ae round not the 44,

This pistol is designed to use (frequently) relatively high pressure loadings (within SAAMI parameters).

For reasons I don't understand, my DE fires handloads that I make perfectly, and when I put them into my Ruger Redhawk, those same handloads develop split necks.

I rarely use factory loads in my DE.

It's a very special pistol, and not like any other in my collection. It allows me a more "generous" latitude in my handloads, and rewards me with fairly good accuracy.

If there is such thing as a "niche" product, this is it.

Of the 5 or so handguns I have for hunting game, this is probably the best. I probably shoot it the least of any pistol, excepting my 30 carbine AutoMag.

Glad to see someone else hunting with one.  I'm going to try to hunt with mine this weekend!

I would definitely seek out another brand of ammo.  The American Eagle is not very hot stuff and I would find something that is a premium ammo.  I would start with some Speer Lawman ammo or Hornaday XTP.

I bought a used DE 44 and also had to hunt for the right Ammo. Mine will not cycle 180 gr Remington.  Most 240 gr. Works in mine.