I tried Hornady Critical Defense .357 125gr and some Fiocchi 158 JHP. Both eject the round but doesn't pick up the second. On rare occasions it would half pick up the second.

What ammo you recommend? I'm planning to test out the 158gr Remington HTP SJHP, and the Federal 158gr Fusion.

Anything that is a sure fire?

I have been reloading mine for years and haven't been able to get a 125gr to work the slide properly.  Even going a bit past maximum the slide would not lock back.

Where as the 158gr I am below maximum and everything works fine.

Bill

There is a list of recommended ammo here.

I've used Federal Champion JSP, Magtech JSP, and PMC Bronze, all in 158 gr. bullet weight. They all worked well.

As noted, the lighter bullet weights usually don't run as well.

Hey thanks for the list. I emailed magnum research and they told me my pistol should have came with a card listing the recommended ammo. I could not find the card, however, I did remember with my .50AE it did come with a card. However finding variations with .50AE is a bit hard unlike .357 which seems to have mostly milder loads.

Anyway I ordered up some American Eagle .357 that is on the list. I also got some Federal Hydra-Shok which is also on the list.

I'm a bit surprised the Fiocchi 158gr JHP didn't work in my DEP. However, I did managed to find the website you linked and do not see the particular Fiocchi I had listed.

I also got some might Buffalo Bore .357 158gr SJHP rounds.  From what I understand the Buffalo Bores are the hottest commercial loads so if these things don't work, I don't know what will.

How do you know you got a full powered .357 magnum round?

BTW, I did check to make sure my gas system isn't plugged. I went ahead and blasted some gun scrubber down the gas port near the chamber and liquid came out of the bottom. So it should be all clear. Otherwise it wouldn't be extracting?

I managed to go to the range and shot a few ammo listed on the recommended list and the gun ran flawlessly.

I bought a few extra boxes of different ammo to test.

I got a box of Buffalo Bore 19C/20 .357 158gr. This round was a bit disappointing. It didn't felt any more powerful than the box of American Eagle 158gr.

Surprisingly I managed to get a box of Black Hills D357N2 .357 125gr ammo. It is the only 125gr that I managed to cycle in my Desert Eagle. Now here's the real kicker: it is also the strongest recoil out of all the ammo I tested. The recoil and sound were much more severe and managed to turn a few heads at the range.

I think I might try the HSM bear load one day.

This is a bit strange as mine runs perfectly on 125gr ammo. Mine is ported & I bought it used, so I don't know if any of these things factor into mine liking the 125gr?

What 125gr ammo do you use? I so far tried Hornady 125gr flex tip, and the Winchester 125gr PDX1. They don't work. The only one that did work was the full powered 125gr from Black Hills.

Virtually all of my .357 ammo is GA Arms stuff. Never had an issue with them, ever.

Got it. I'll see about them but I think for now I'm fairly happy with the performance of my DEP. I was a bit worried it might be sent back.

I actually got a really terrific deal on my .357 DEP because the previous owner could no longer locate factory ammo that would function reliably in it.  That said, I've never tried any factory loads...

I reload all of my ammo for my DEP's.  Using data from the Accurate Arms reloading manual, I've loaded using AA#9 from the minimum to maximum loads in both .357 and .44 mags with 100% functioning.  I'd read several years ago that the DEP was designed around Accurate Arms #9 and my results using it have been perfect to the point that it's about the only powder I will use in my DEP's.  It's burns clean with NO unburnt powder kernels, leaves little soot, and gives NO blinding muzzle flash.  Firing only 50 rounds (using the AA#9) leaves the gun looking so clean as if it's not even been fired.  Once in a while the big muzzle flash and blast can be fun - so I'll load some up with WW296..

If you can get someone who reloads to help you find the best load, I'm sure that you could find a smaller commercial reloader that would "load to order" from your specs so long as your willing to buy 500 - 1K rounds or more.

I was having trouble getting factory ammo to cycle my DE also.  I ended up reloading my own, using a Speer 200gr bullet (kinda big bullet, but hey it's FMJ and the price was right) and VV 3N37 powder.  Clean burning load and the brass ejects quite well, about 8'.

I have been shooting some HSM Bear Load 180gr lead nose. Now I know it's not recommended to shoot unjacketed rounds because it'll clog the gas but what I done is alternate between the federal .357 and the HSM. Seems to work very well but the gun get so dirty. I put it in the ultrasonic and the water came out dark black and I still had to get carbon off the gas port areas.