I'm thinking of getting a Desert Eagle as a new range toy & to add to my collection.

I'm having trouble deciding between a 44mag and a 50ae, and I don't have any way of trying one out before I buy it.

Which would you recommend and why?

I have shot both and I liked the 44 better. I dug the bullets out of my back stop and the 44 consistently went deeper and caused more damage.

Never shot a fifty version, and although I'm sure it's a blast, I have a feeling I wouldn't find it a dollar per round fun.

I bought a .44 DE a few months ago and have been very impressed.  I was already tooled up to reload .44 mag (also have a SRH) and thought it was just natural.  It's performed VERY well.  Shoots very nice groups, and has been pretty reliable.  Had a couple FTE, but have a feeling it was a case of limp-wristing as it only happened to one buddy of mine using the same batch of loads I had been using with no problems.

I will say this, the grip sucks if you don't have gorilla hands.  Two handed, I can get reasonably comfortable, one handed is worthless,  if not for the grip size, also the weight.  On the flip side, the gun seems to be very well built, and the two stage trigger is AWESOME.

I guess I looked at it this way, if it's a gun you just want to look at and talk about, get the fifty, if it's a gun your really wanna use, I'd look at the .44.

Gundraw

The new Desert Eagle can interchange barrels. You can buy the gun in either caliber and buy a replacement barrel in the other caliber.

So is true ARFCOM fashion, get both.

Quoted: The new Desert Eagle can interchange barrels. You can buy the gun in either caliber and buy a replacement barrel in the other caliber. So is true ARFCOM fashion, get both.

There you have it. Get the .357 while you are at it!

Just curious...

Is all you have to do is change out the barrel?

What about the mags?  I assume you have to use different mags too, right?

Anything else for switching calibers?

Quoted: Just curious... Is all you have to do is change out the barrel? What about the mags?  I assume you have to use different mags too, right? Anything else for switching calibers?

Yep, mags and barrels.  The bolt is the same for both.  After having owned both, I would get the .44 again.  The .50 doesn't really offer me anything.  But you've got to get the Deagle wit da beamz...yo!!

get the .50

I get ammo from these guys for $.85 a round delivered.  

ammo link

I had a .375 and a .44 DE. Loved 'em both. Shot the S@#t out of the >357,(silly me, I thought .44s were expensive!) If you must have a "hand cannon", get the .50, if you like to shoot a lot, get the .44, or even a .357. Twenty years ago a .357 DE was $650...

i have the .44 magnum mark vII that i purchased in 1992 it is a great gun, fun to shoot, VERY accurate. i just shot 50 rounds this weekend lots of fun! i cant speak about the .50 but i know a few guys that had one in the .50 and the most complaints i heard about it was the ammo costs to much=(cheap-skates).. you MUST get a spring tune-up kit (costs like 50 bucks or so) after 5000 rounds and / or every 3 years, if you dont you will have ftf problems. also, use high end ammo, my eagle likes corbon, and starfire hp's. ABSOLUTLY NO LEAD OR FMJ'S!   .44 or .50 you will enjoy either one.

Get the 50AE and then get the 50AE Tromix upper for your AR15.

I have a .44 XIX.  Best of both world's IMO:  can upgrade to .50 with just a new barrel and mag, but I can shoot "cheaper" .44 mag ammo.

.44 mag, cheap(er) and deadly.

M

Quoted: i have the .44 magnum mark vII that i purchased in 1992 it is a great gun, fun to shoot, VERY accurate. i just shot 50 rounds this weekend lots of fun! i cant speak about the .50 but i know a few guys that had one in the .50 and the most complaints i heard about it was the ammo costs to much=(cheap-skates).. you MUST get a spring tune-up kit (costs like 50 bucks or so) after 5000 rounds and / or every 3 years, if you dont you will have ftf problems. also, use high end ammo, my eagle likes corbon, and starfire hp's. ABSOLUTLY NO LEAD OR FMJ'S!   .44 or .50 you will enjoy either one.

]

The lead warning I understand with the gas system, but why do you say no FMJ??  THat said, I've never shot a .44 FMJ load in my life and wasn't really planning on starting.  Just curious though.

Gundraw

Quoted: Quoted: ABSOLUTLY NO LEAD OR FMJ'S! ] The lead warning I understand with the gas system, but why do you say no FMJ??  THat said, I've never shot a .44 FMJ load in my life and wasn't really planning on starting.  Just curious though. Gundraw

 ooops! i made a small error,
from page three of the magnum research manual that came with the pistol, " full metal jacket bullets may be used IF they have a gas checked (fully encapsulated) base."  

44 mag for use
50 for show

the 44 mag will bring just about anything down. But I would use the 50 if I hunted bear.
Just to be safe.

Hmmm never really read the manual. I had my friend reload 250+ round of 44 mag for me. Some are lead tipped and some are full metal jacket. Also had around 200 loaded with Hornady bullets, they really tear stuff up.
For the most part the gun is fired outside. The lead tip can be a bit of trouble on feeding every now and then. Mainly use them shooting steel plates, nice smacking sound.

Info on the Hornady reloads:
13.6 grains (not sure of the brand of powder)
240 HP/XTP bullet
1,350 fps
(specs call for 10.2 grains)
You can tell it is a bit hotter ammo, but feeds thru ok.
I can't do it my one of my friends can hit a 15"x15' steel plate at 300 yards with this ammo. He has shot a lot and mainly 357 and 44 mag is what he usually shoots.

Just get all 3.

The standard black oxide finish sucks, Gets rusty...

Quoted: The standard black oxide Finish sucks,Gets rusty...

Oddly enough, so does the Matte Chrome finish on my .44 MkVII...

Oh, and to keep this on track, I chose .44 because it's less expensive, but more importantly, ammo is consistently available everywhere.  .50AE can be troublesome to find at times.

How are they getting Rusty? Just sitting there!?

Yes, all of mine have rusted just sitting in the safe, with a light coat of oil.

And the one I keep out of the safe has had rust form on it in just a few hours, indoors, very low humidity...

Black oxide really, really sucks.

Quoted: I'm thinking of getting a Desert Eagle as a new range toy & to add to my collection. I'm having trouble deciding between a 44mag and a 50ae, and I don't have any way of trying one out before I buy it. Which would you recommend and why?

I would vote for the 50AE, but that is because I have had mine almost 12 years. I have fired so many different handguns and machine guns up to and including 105mm (M60a3) and 120mm on M1 tanks in the Army. The shear power of the 50 blasting off, to me is fun as hell! I am not a little guy, but I will never fire more than 42 rounds in about 10 minutes....why? Well there is big-time recoil from the 50AE and even shooting with both hands, in a modified weaver stance, the monster 50 dislocated my shooting elbow for about 6 months. The recoil is tamed a little by the gas system, but it does have some kick ass recoil anyway.
As others have noted here, you can interchange between the other calibers, which is sweet.
I love my DE50, pure and simple. I got it originally to kaboom-yow the mean and nasty wild hogs that roam the jungle area about 30 miles East of my house. A good shot from a 44 or 50 will do some serious damage to a mean hog, or possibly a bear, if the shots are well aimed.
Another side effect from getting and firing the 50AE, is all of the people who come up to ya and want to know "what the hell is that damn monster"? A few of my military friends have fired my 50, and they are usually amazed at the shear power of it while blasting away. I have gotten to the point that I can rapid fire mine, while still keeping the shots pretty close at 25 yds without it trying to walk up on me.
Another mistake that I found out early was that I was not able to cup/hold the underside of the magazine with my non-firing hand, as this would %99 of the time cause a round to get stuck, after firing the 1st shot. The remedy to that is to not touch the bottom part, or the underside of the plate with any part of my hands-problem was solved. At least that is what happens on my older Desert Eagle 50 AE.

Go with the 50AE. Part of owning a Deser Eagle is saying I've shot a 50 cal handgun.

It's an impractical pistol anyway.  You might as well get the 50.

My XIX's black oxide finish is not getting rusty at all.  

It is expensive to shoot it much but frankly 20 rounds of 50ae is all the fun I'm looking for even is it's only a penny a round.

Isn't the MK VII .44 grip frame smaller than the .50/MK XIX frame?

.357 or .44Mag -> AMMO PRICE/AVAILABILITY

And the older .357 pistol does show up fairly cheap on Gunbroker every so often...

Quoted: Isn't the MK VII .44 grip frame smaller than the .50/MK XIX frame?

Nope.

Click

Heres a pretty good deal...

M

height=8

Quoted: Isn't the MK VII .44 grip frame smaller than the .50/MK XIX frame?

No, the frames can be interchanged between the MK VII and the MK XIX.  In all calibers.  There are only slight differnces.   The 50 AE may seem larger because many  people add the  thicker and softer  Hogue greps on a .50 AE for better control.  I don't because my hands are small.

I own both a 44 mag VII  and a 50 AE MK XIX.  Either slide and barrel assmbly can be use with either frame, but the barrels are NOT interchangable between the slides.   The current MK XIX 44 magnums use the same slide  as the .50AE and have the same dimensions.  The 44 Mag barrels on the VII were slightly smaller diameter.  The VII had 6" 10" and 14" 44 mag barrels available  THe XIX only has 6" and 10".   I have all those except the 10" 44 Mag.   The 44 mag and .50AE bolts and carriers are the same on both models.  The magazines  are different for 44mag and 50 AE, and I've found the  44 mag  XIX MRI magazines don't work well in my MK VII.  It's a minor problem with the slide catch on the last round, not the fit.  
 
Of my two guns I most enjoy  shooting the 44mag VII with the 14" barrel for silhouette or plinking.   I don't hunt but it would be my choice if I did.    None of them are very practical for CCW but I have a shoulder rig which fits either the 6" MKVII or MKXIX  which conceals fairly well under a jacket, barrell pointed down.   The bad  side is that it weighs  about  7.5  pounds with a loaded magazine and two spares.   It feels very lopsided without the two spare mags.    

Quoted: It's an impractical pistol anyway.  You might as well get the 50. My XIX's black oxide finish is not getting rusty at all.   It is expensive to shoot it much but frankly 20 rounds of 50ae is all the fun I'm looking for even is it's only a penny a round.

It all depends on what you consider practical.  I consider mine very practical.  I have won many bowling pin matches with mine and in IN where you cannot use a rifle to hunt with it is a great option.  These are very accurate pistols, not the easiest to shoot, but they are practical for any use of a .44mag and many of a .357mag.  

The Desert eagle comes in at as my third favorite pistol.  (No 1 Smith 41, No 2 Kustom Ballistics Caspian .40cal No3 Desert Eagle .357 No 3.5 Desert Eagle .44)  I also like taking it to the indoor range when it is crowded.  If I want to make a scene I put the .44 upper on it and shoot a 240gr JHP loaded with 23.5gr H110.  It can be a real spectical.  

Get whatever you are more comfotabloe with.