My friend has a desert eagle in .44 and wants to shoot  the .50 with it as well.  Is the barrel and the mags all he needs to switch to a .50?

Yep, don't forget the ammo too...

Edited to add...

Wait, is it a MK XIX?

If it is a Mk XIX (19), then all you have to do si switch the barrel, magazine and ammo.  If it is an earlier model- no dice.

I do not know. I think it is a few years old. How do I tell if its a Mk XIX?

Quoted: I do not know. I think it is a few years old. How do I tell if its a Mk XIX?

A Mk VII will have a skinny little(3/8") rail on top, the Mk XIX will have a full size(1") rail with two cross-slots.

It also says on the side of the slide whether it's a XIX or not...

Thanks guys. It has the full size rail on top but i can't find where its says MK XIX on the slide. The .50 barrel and mags came in today. I got them home, took the .44 barrel and put the .50 in it's place. Eveything functions good and the new barrel and the old one both look the same(larger rail on top with the two slots). The only thing is the new barrel was tighter where the barrel attaches to the frame at the front. I had to push it on hard to get it all the way on. Is this a problem? Everything lines up right inside and outside, but since I know nothing about the Desert Eagle I just want to double check.

There are going to be roll mark differences between the IMI, Saco and IWI DEPs'.

I called Magnum Research the other day - thinking I had received a Mk7 with a Mk19 barrel when I originally ordered a Mk19.  The service rep said that it really depends on who's manufacturing the weapon that day - that will account for what is roll marked on the weapon...  WTF ?

If figured this was a BS answer, however, I've checked out several photos of the Mk19 and many of them do have different markings in different locations. The "IWI" pistols read "Desert Eagle Pistol, Mag Research, Min MN" on the left side of the frame and  "IWI" / "Made in Israel" on the right hand side. The "IMI" pistols read the same info but, located on the opposite side of the frame compared to the "IWI pistol. Another pistol will have "XIX" marked above the trigger and another Mk19 won't have the "XIX" roll marked at all. Some of the older Mk19s had a skeletonized hammer, and the newer ones do not.

I have a brand new IWI (Israel Weapon Industries)  Mk19 .44 Mag, and nowhere on the frame does it say "XIX". If you check out a recent production owners manual, the pic of the Mk19 doesn't have "XIX" roll marked on it either.

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It's all about different factories producing different pistols at different times.  At this rate, who knows what anybody has...

 

Beats the Hell outta me, mine has MK XIX on the side...