Posted: 9/27/2025 9:44:09 PM EDT
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After wanting one for 35 years, the stars (and my finances) finally lined up and yesterday I finally became the owner of a Desert Eagle. After cleaning and lubing it last night as per recommendation of the manual I took it to the range this morning. I enjoyed the hell out of shooting it. It was fun and very accurate. But I did have some feeding issues. The weapon is factory new, and I figure it needs to be broken in. So I guess my question is for those of you with experience, how long/how many rounds did it take to break in a DE, and what have you done to keep it running/feeding. Any insights would be appreciated. |
A very wise man once said, the only difference between a brown-noser and a shithead is depth perception . . .
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I started reloading for mine recently so I'm approaching 3-400 rounds through mine. Feeding issues are often due to limp wristing the pistol. You have to make sure you've got a solid grip when you fire. I clean it pretty often and use a very light layer of lubricant. That seems to help. |
Andrôn gàr epiphanôn pâsa gê táphos - Pericles
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Were these handload or factory ammo? What caliber DE did you get? I've only used federal hydrashock 158gr 357 mag and fiocchi 240gr 44 mag as far as factory ammo. That was only a mag full just to see if it would run it, everything else has been handloaded. You should have a piece of paper in the box with a list of factory ammo that is known to work in the DE. Was the ammo you tried on the list? If they were handloaded, what were they? Powder type and charge... bullet weight? The DE is an excellent platform to demonstrate the differences in powder and bullet weights. |
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As mentioned, what ammo were you using, and also, what malfunctions were you having? If no one has told you, make sure to never shoot solid cast lead bullets. Do not even shoot powder coated lead. If you clog up the gas port with lead, you will have to replace the barrel. Copper jacketed bullets are the best thing to use. Copper plated bullets are ok. I have found that some soft point bullets with a large exposed lead tip have a tendency to have some feeding issues. But not all the time. The smoothest feeding bullet I have found in the desert eagle is the hornady XTP. I have been shooting x-treme plated bullets that are FMJ flat nose, but the profile is almost identical to a XTP, so these feed great and are great affordable plinking bullets. As mentioned above, limp wristing can cause jams. Hold it good and tight. These have a tendancy to torque to the side a little during recoil, causing ejecting brass to hit you in the face/forehead. So if you are getting hit in the face, that is why. You will need to work on your grip and hold it tighter and not let it move so much. |
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It's a 50 AE, and I was shooting Hornady 300 grain XTPS, which i think is on the list. Two of the misfeeds were when I was initially charging the weapon with a new magazine. Probably just need to practice doing that smoother. Two misfeeds were the slide not going completely back into battery. Just had to push it closed. Probably need to lube it better. Was just wondering if things smoothed out after the weapon was broken in. Thank you all for your feedback and help. |
A very wise man once said, the only difference between a brown-noser and a shithead is depth perception . . .
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That ammo should run it well. The last little bit like 1/4" or so of slide movement is when the bolt is rotating to locked. My guess is just that it's new and may have some high spots on the locking lugs that will wear down in no time. With the bolt well lubed (not just the lugs but back in the slide also) try racking the slide slowly without ammo and look for some high spots that the finish is wearing at. |
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I realize "limp wristing" sounds faggy, but it is the usual cause of feed problems in DEagles, and I think we've all done it with our first one so don't feel bad about it. Get a good (not death) grip on your pistol, keep your wrists tight as you fire, let your elbows break to take up the recoil, and I think you'll find that your feed issues resolve themselves. Good Luck!, and have fun with the ultimate hand gun! |
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Yes, I did catch a few in the face. Live and learn. I got a stainless steel XIX 50 AE. Attached File |
A very wise man once said, the only difference between a brown-noser and a shithead is depth perception . . .
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Originally Posted By Spedmaster: Two misfeeds were the slide not going completely back into battery. Just had to push it closed. Probably need to lube it better. Was just wondering if things smoothed out after the weapon was broken in. What you are describing is not uncommon. Replacing recoil springs will sometimes help, but with a new gun, I wouldn’t expect that to be the issue. As noted above, that last 1/4” of slide travel is where the bolt is locking into the barrel extension. So any rough interface between the two can slow things just enough. I bought a new-old-stock .41 Mag barrel & bolt. It had the same issue. I replaced springs, but I also bought a bunch of Berrys plated bullets and started loading up a bunch of mid-range loads. I would say it took around 400 rounds to smooth things out. Initially I struggled to get through a magazine without one or two failures. Now I can typically run through a full box of ammo without issue. |
