In a reloading class I took, I asked the instructor about any issues that one might encounter reloading for the Desert Eagle in either .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, or .50AE.  I was asking as a friend of mine has one, and I was considering purchasing one as well.

The instructor said that a Desert Eagle will "take a big chunk out of the rim of the cases when it extracts them." It has been some time, and this may have been in response to the .50AE specifically, I don't recall.  I need to e-mail him and double-check.

I was wondering if this was perhaps a past issue with them, or perhaps it may have been only with the pistol the instructor tried.  I wonder this because I did get to try my friend's Desert Eagle when it was set up for .44 Magnum, and the casings seemed fine, no deformation or damage that I noticed.  I didn't get to try .50AE as the range didn't allow it, and we didn't take any .357 Magnum to the range.  

I have, however, stumbled across the occasional spent casing from a .50AE cartridge when policing brass at the range, and it was the same story as with the .44 Magnum.  No damage or deformation that I could tell, other than what one would expence in any other caliber casing fired through any other semi-automatic pistol.  I don't know for certain that it was fired in a Desert Eagle, though.  What else is even chambered for .50AE?

So what's the scoop?  Did the class instructor just have an experience with a bad pistol, was this an issue with older Desert Eagles, or something else?

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I have a Mark I .357, and a friend has a MVII .50 and a .44 bbl for it.

Neither of us have any issues with the rims getting torn up, nor the mouths getting crushed (I've seen that complaint occasionally).

Only thing you have to watch out for is don't use soft plated bullets in the Eagles.  The high pressure and their polygonal rifling will strip right through that plating.  I almost turned my MkI into a single shot doing that.  

They're great guns.  You'll see all the non-DE owners come in and talk about how they jam all the time, aren't accurate, and a myriad of other issues.  But mine is a tack driver, never jams with proper ammo and grip, and of course, is quite the attention getter!

I suppose if one wanted to reload with some bullets, an after-market barrel might be required.  

My friend's Desert Eagle was quite accurate, and we had only one FTE due to limp-wristing.  I was shocked when I first handled it ages ago, because my hands are not what I would consider to be large, but the Desert Eagle fit them better than my full-sized first generation H&K USP-40 did.

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I've got a MkI in .44 and reload for it.

No issues with the rim that I've seen.

Besides the "soft plated bullet" issue ARinKCMO noted, you'll need to know that DEs prefer reloads at the top end of the velocity envelope.  I use H110, and the load that makes the pistol function reliably is at nearly max charge for that powder.  

Which, incidentally, produces a beach ball-sized muzzle flash when shot––always a crowd-pleaser.  

I have 150 pcs of 1x fired 50ae brass, it all looks fine.  Use heavy jacket bullets and you won't have any issue. I use h110. Muzzle flash is pretty awesome.

I have reloaded both 50 AE and 44 Mag. brass multiple times with no issues.  

As mentioned, and if the barrel is shorter like 6 inch.  It will need hotter loads to cycle the slide.  Also depending on how you grip your gun with 50AE, you can make it hang or get stamped with 50AE brass on your forehead.

Manual shows guides you shooting stance or on the man. web site maybe...can not remember - it has been while.

Reloading is a good way to save money when you have a DE.

Shooting 50AE reloaded with 296 or H110 makes nice fireball Donuts five to six feet away.  use a camera to capture the shots - you see what I mean.

NJ

My .357 barrel really beats up the case mouth.  It leaves some scratches on the rim as well.

These were chambered 10 times each (no powder or primer) to check for bullet setback (there was none). But notice how the rims and case mouths look. Or rather, just below the case mouth.  It was enough to leave an indent on the plated bullet as well.

My .44 barrel doesn't seem to have the same problem, though.  Go figure.

I have the Mark VII 44 and it does not rip the case.

Only "gouge" my .50 DE ever left was the crecent shaped one on my forehead where an empty case pegged me right between the eyes.  That'll teach me to limp wrist it.  

My DE.44 MAG is the old 1980's version.  I have shot around 500+ rounds and my brass looks fine.  No damage at all.  I shoot the regular Federal 240gr.  Haven't shot any reloads yet.

Buffman_LT1....Nice fireball.   I get those also on my old DE.44 mag.   I have the tritium sites on mine and tried shooting my DE at 2:00AM in the morning at the steel plate at 50 yards.  Super fireball.