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.