Been thinking about buying one in .50 AE. Does anyone here own one, in any caliber, and what are your opinions/experiences? Obviously this is NOT a CCW weapon, just for fun!

I have an older Mark vII, in 44 & 357 Mag.  Definitely fun gun to shoot, but you have to use jacketed bullets, otherwise the gas port could get plugged and you will get a single shot pistol.  Recoil is fairly mild for a magnum because of the heavy weight of the pistol, of course, the blast from a 44.... is a bit abusive.  The 44 sometimes breaks the little gas piston in the front, last time I check it costs $40 for a new one from Magnum Industries.

Are you trying to be a pimp or something?[:)>]They make gold-plated ones ya know.
[img]www.magnumresearch.com/images/gun_new.jpg[/img]WWW.magnumresearch.com

LOL!!!  Nope, not tryin to pimp any womenz...

Let's just say I like the idea of very powerful pistols. Plus the interchangeable barrel feature might be cool....

They are fun, I have one in 50.

The only problem I had was that after it was chromed, they put .44 springs back in it instead of heavier 50 springs. Customer service was a pain, they kept telling me that it was my fault the slide wouldnt return to battery. Finally I called to just order a set of springs, they ended up sending them free. After that I have had no problems.

They are not for everyone. But, if you want one, you should get one.

Good luck,
Dave

Another question: What is a good price on a .50 AE these days?  Black or stainless would be preferred.

If you go to the firearm auctions on the net there are a ton of 50's for sale. Very few 357 to 44. 50's are a lot more to shoot and harder to find ammo. I just picked up a 44 mark 7. Haven't shot it yet. I will pick up a 10" barrel for it and scope it.
As far as price for the 50 I wouldn't pay over 800.00 for a used one. CDNN has DE's mark 7's for around 689.00 new.

I also own the .50 AE Desert Eagle. I went with the plain Black Oxide finish - in a year or so I will ship it to Robar and have them put their Electroless Nickel finish on it. No problems or malfunctions after (about) 400 rounds.

Tyler

does anyone else find that the brass likes you pop you in the head?

I have Eagles in 40, 45(Baby's) 44, 50AE.  I like the 44 mag.  I don't really shoot 50 much. The 44 mag is good for hog hunting from horse.  The 2 baby eagles I have are alright.  I don't like how difficult the slide is to rack on the small frame.  On the 44 and 50 the slide is easier to get your hands on.

I have an ATN Ultra sites on my 44 and 50 cals.  If you get a Mark VII frame, lose the crappy factory iron sights and get night sites or a holosight type.  
The gun breaks down pretty easy and is therefore not too bad to clean.  You have to hold the 44 and 5o very firmly or you will have cycling problems.

I would say get the 44mag. It is a hand cannon just like the 50, but better on food...

I had a .50 in black oxide as well, & it was definitely a blast (pun intended) to shoot.  I could get ammo for about $1.25-$1.50 a bullet.  It was in incredible weapon, I'd definitely suggest it if you want one.  The only reason I sold it was someone wanted it worse than I wanted to keep it.  I still have ammo in the safe, which is patiently waiting on the Tromix upper.
Just a few more pennies, Tony...[:)]

I have owned almost all of the big bore pistols commercially available, and those that I did not personally own, I shot quite a bit any way.  Here is the list that I have shot extensively.

LAR Grizzly 45 Win Mag, 50 AE, 10mm, 357 Mag, 357/45Win Mag

Desert Eagle 44 Mag, 357 Mag

TDE AutoMag, 44 AutoMag, 41 Jurras Mag, 357 AutoMag, 30 Lomont Mag

Coonan 357 Magnum

Wildey 45 Win Mag

AMT AutoMag V 50AE

Out of all of these, the AutoMag V is the worst followed closely by the Wildey.  The DE is not bad, but overly large and mine had a terrible trigger and jammed all the time.  My all time favorite is the original AutoMag in 41 JMP, but it is not 100% reliable all the time.  So when the chips are down, I'll take the LAR Grizzly in 50AE any day of the week.  Its my choice, hands down, and I happen to have some personal experience with these types of guns.

I got one of the older MKII too in .44 with the 16" barrel and the standard 6" in the usual black oxide finish.
Its one brass chucking, bullet throwing, pig of a pistol.
Recoil is not at all bad, just make sure you have a good grip on it.
I bought mine for whitetail deer hunting and it did a pretty good job, not as good as the XP100, but still it was fun to try it for a year.
I don't really think that I would want to carry it all the time, but it possible with the right clothing and rig.
I've seen it done before.

Gus:

I must admit, it seems to be quite an impractical pistol even for fun shooting.  The things that has kept me from buying a DE is that the newer ones don't seem to be made as well as the originals, they are HEAVY muthas, and they're expensive to shoot.

If it were my money, I would buy something like a 454 Casull which is one big ass bullet and shoots 200 yards FLAT...but is much more practical as a "bear country" gun, etc.  The resell value would no doubt be closer to purchase price and much more easily sold.  Get something like a Ruger Redhawk or something.

Just my pennies...