I've got 3 thoughts on these.

1. Cool that they're gas operated, and use unusual calibers for a semi-auto,

2.  Kind of turned off by the Pimped out finish options they offer, and they were doing this well before "pimping out" and "Bling" were common phrases in the English language.

3. Extremely expensive, and have read alot about them being fussy with ammo.


If I were a millionaire I'd get one, just to muck with and oogle the unusual gas operation of the system, and yes, I'd probably get a Gold finished pimp model, though I'd feel silly about it.

We all know Hollywood loves them, but what's your feeling on this unusual gun?

I have never shot one, but I would have to go with both "pimp gun" and "overpriced toy."  If I came across one in .44 or .50 that was dirt cheap I might buy it, shoot it a couple of times, then it would be retired to the safe for years occasionally pulled out to show someone a "big mean handgun."  

The things are about the funnest pistol you will ever fire in your life. I have fired  my neighbors on two different ocassions and I loved it! He had a .50 AE Brushed Chrome Model that was extremly fun to shoot. I have never had that much fun shooting a pistol in my life. One other time I fired a .50 AE in the regular blued model that somone had at the local indoor range. The thing is an absolute beast and the flame that erupts from the muzzle is like a fire breathing dragon. When you tap off a round the entire range immediatly STOPS.

Then about one second later, you tap off another round. It sends a shockwave down the entire group at the range. Everyone there is drawn towards the gun. I can guarantee that you will get some looks if you go the range with it. Everyone I have have ever been around while fireing the weapon was amazed. It is really a cool piece.

After firing about 20 rounds and you sit back down to your little .40 S&W USP it feels like a little pea shooter. .

In my opinion they are a novelty gun. Serves little use outside of the shooting range, although my neighbor keeps his .50 AE loaded on his nightstand. They are alot like tricked out AR-15's, serves little pratical purpose, but the dang things sure are fun to shoot.

As for reliablity, the one I shot worked great. The only problem was that I teneded to go with the recoil and the slide wouldn't cycle the next round. IF you kept your elbows locked it worked 100%. Great gun.

(You could also use them for deer hunting.)

Good luck!

Quoted: The things are about the funnest pistol you will ever fire in your life. I have fired  my neighbors on two different ocassions and I loved it! He had a .50 AE Brushed Chrome Model that was extremly fun to shoot. I have never had that much fun shooting a pistol in my life. One other time I fired a .50 AE in the regular blued model that somone had at the local indoor range. The thing is an absolute beast and the flame that erupts from the muzzle is like a fire breathing dragon. When you tap off a round the entire range immediatly STOPS. Then about one second later, you tap off another round. It sends a shockwave down the entire group at the range. Everyone there is drawn towards the gun. I can guarantee that you will get some looks if you go the range with it. Everyone I have have ever been around while fireing the weapon was amazed. It is really a cool piece. After firing about 20 rounds and you sit back down to your little .40 S&W USP it feels like a little pea shooter. . In my opinion they are a novelty gun. Serves little use outside of the shooting range, although my neighbor keeps his .50 AE loaded on his nightstand. They are alot like tricked out AR-15's, serves little pratical purpose, but the dang things sure are fun to shoot. As for reliablity, the one I shot worked great. The only problem was that I teneded to go with the recoil and the slide wouldn't cycle the next round. IF you kept your elbows locked it worked 100%. Great gun. (You could also use them for deer hunting.) Good luck!

Why would limp-wristing affect a gas operated weapon?  Honest question, as I have no experience with these guns.

In my opinion they are a conversation/show piece, and not very practical.  While they might scare the hell out of a home invader, I would feel better armed with a Glock, HK, Sig, or 1911.  If I were a millionare I would have one, but I would have everything else too.

Cheers

I do not own one, but my father owned years back and a good friend of mine owns one currently. I have to agree with everyone else, they are strictly novelty/fun and serve absolutely no practical purpose. Both guns being .44 Mags the grips were extremely large and are even tough for me to get a good hold on and I have large hands. I have put a couple hundred rounds through them between both handguns in my life and I personally would not spend the money on it. The grips are horrible and just a little bit of sweat makes them very uncontrollable in my opinion and the recoil is still pretty heavy even though it is gas operated.

Mags are expensive, they are snobbish when it comes to ammo and just plain huge. I'd rather spend the money on a well built 1911 or a Sig something like that and have money to buy mags and ammo that is much cheaper. Their neat and makes a good "what the hell is that thing" type of gun or a show off to your buddies gun, but I honestly would not use it for personal defense. Their just too damn huge and heavy, I could not imagine trying to use that thing to clear your house or even try to shoot even semi accurately one handed if need be. I'll stick my 1911s, Glocks, Sigs and XD's. Could you imagine having that bastard slung off of your hip in a holster?? You would need 1/4 steel cable as suspenders.

ETA: They are dependable as long as you use good ammo, I guess that would be like most handguns. But I am fairly used to Glocks and XD's that will eat practically any trash ammo and ask for seconds and thirds.

Not much of a fan of the full-sized guns.
I put 20 Rds through my buddy's .50AE, and I was done.

The Baby Eagle line are CZ clones with a very good reputation.

DaddyDett

Once you get to the BFCs [Big F--kin calibers] revolvers rule. Even the .454 is running +55,000 PSI pressures. With them it makes no diference if they have a 3" BBl or a 9" BBL, as no power from the cartridge is being used to work them. I can use a cowboy load at 600 fps or a 300 grain at 1800 FPS and the gun will function. I can use lead, HP, SWC, full WC, jacketed, snakeshot, ANYTHING I want as long as it is in the proper caliber and charge range. Most of the big pistols are set for a very specific load and any deviation from it causes problems. Besides, if magnaported correctly a revolver will be just as fast if not faster to recover after a shot and the handgrips are usually 10x better then the huge lumps that DEs have. DEs are cool looking but not very practical if you really shoot a lot.

Quoted: Quoted: The things are about the funnest pistol you will ever fire in your life. I have fired  my neighbors on two different ocassions and I loved it! He had a .50 AE Brushed Chrome Model that was extremly fun to shoot. I have never had that much fun shooting a pistol in my life. One other time I fired a .50 AE in the regular blued model that somone had at the local indoor range. The thing is an absolute beast and the flame that erupts from the muzzle is like a fire breathing dragon. When you tap off a round the entire range immediatly STOPS. Then about one second later, you tap off another round. It sends a shockwave down the entire group at the range. Everyone there is drawn towards the gun. I can guarantee that you will get some looks if you go the range with it. Everyone I have have ever been around while fireing the weapon was amazed. It is really a cool piece. After firing about 20 rounds and you sit back down to your little .40 S&W USP it feels like a little pea shooter. . In my opinion they are a novelty gun. Serves little use outside of the shooting range, although my neighbor keeps his .50 AE loaded on his nightstand. They are alot like tricked out AR-15's, serves little pratical purpose, but the dang things sure are fun to shoot. As for reliablity, the one I shot worked great. The only problem was that I teneded to go with the recoil and the slide wouldn't cycle the next round. IF you kept your elbows locked it worked 100%. Great gun. (You could also use them for deer hunting.) Good luck! Why would limp-wristing affect a gas operated weapon?  Honest question, as I have no experience with these guns.

No clue. Honestly no clue at all. I can only speak from experiece. But from shooting the gun, the slide would lock back. The only thing I could attribute this to was the fact that I was limp-wristing. It worked perfect for my neighbor, but like I said it just locked back most of the time for me. Other times it would cycle the round all of the way like a normal semi auto, but the only thing we could think of that caused that problem was me, operator error. The only thing it seemed I was doing wrong was "going with the recoil" and not keeping a steady base for the weapon to recoil on.

If you look at it from the fact that it is gas operated, then perhaps it wasn't me that was causing the problem?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The things are about the funnest pistol you will ever fire in your life. I have fired  my neighbors on two different ocassions and I loved it! He had a .50 AE Brushed Chrome Model that was extremly fun to shoot. I have never had that much fun shooting a pistol in my life. One other time I fired a .50 AE in the regular blued model that somone had at the local indoor range. The thing is an absolute beast and the flame that erupts from the muzzle is like a fire breathing dragon. When you tap off a round the entire range immediatly STOPS. Then about one second later, you tap off another round. It sends a shockwave down the entire group at the range. Everyone there is drawn towards the gun. I can guarantee that you will get some looks if you go the range with it. Everyone I have have ever been around while fireing the weapon was amazed. It is really a cool piece. After firing about 20 rounds and you sit back down to your little .40 S&W USP it feels like a little pea shooter. . In my opinion they are a novelty gun. Serves little use outside of the shooting range, although my neighbor keeps his .50 AE loaded on his nightstand. They are alot like tricked out AR-15's, serves little pratical purpose, but the dang things sure are fun to shoot. As for reliablity, the one I shot worked great. The only problem was that I teneded to go with the recoil and the slide wouldn't cycle the next round. IF you kept your elbows locked it worked 100%. Great gun. (You could also use them for deer hunting.) Good luck! Why would limp-wristing affect a gas operated weapon?  Honest question, as I have no experience with these guns. No clue. Honestly no clue at all. I can only speak from experiece. But from shooting the gun, the slide would lock back. The only thing I could attribute this to was the fact that I was limp-wristing. It worked perfect for my neighbor, but like I said it just locked back most of the time for me. Other times it would cycle the round all of the way like a normal semi auto, but the only thing we could think of that caused that problem was me, operator error. The only thing it seemed I was doing wrong was "going with the recoil" and not keeping a steady base for the weapon to recoil on. If you look at it from the fact that it is gas operated, then perhaps it wasn't me that was causing the problem?

Someone smarter than me is going to have to answer this one.  I always thought a gas operated system was immune to such things since the energy needed to cycle the weapon came from the expanding gas, not kinetic energy recoil.  In my mind, if the slide is going far enough back to lock open it is going back far enough to fully function. This may me a malfunctioning pistol.

I've wanted one since I was a kid, and will probably buy one for shits and giggles, but never carry it, strictly for range fun.

[shrug]

I shot a .44 DE at an indoor range.  Virtually no recoil (compared to my 629 mountain gun), but the flash was absolutely blinding.  It was "fun", in that it was loud and attention-getting without much recoil, but it's not my cup of tea.

Why would limp-wristing affect a gas operated weapon? Honest question, as I have no experience with these guns.

The gas is enough to blow the slide back, but it has a super heavy recoil spring. Trying to absorb the recoil yourself will take the momentum out of the slide and cause it to ateempt to go into battery prematurely.

I suppose if you could jerk an AR15 back fast enough you could cause the same thing to happen. Just harder to do.

ETA-The grips are big and hard plastic. Getting the hogue grips for the DE is pretty much mandatory

-Foxxz

Quoted: Why would limp-wristing affect a gas operated weapon? Honest question, as I have no experience with these guns. The gas is enough to blow the slide back, but it has a super heavy recoil spring. Trying to absorb the recoil yourself will take the momentum out of the slide and cause it to ateempt to go into battery prematurely. I suppose if you could jerk an AR15 back fast enough you could cause the same thing to happen. Just harder to do. ETA-The grips are big and hard plastic. Getting the hogue grips for the DE is pretty much mandatory -Foxxz

Thanks! I knew me not locking my elbows and giving the weapon a stable platform to recoil on was the cause of the slide not cycling fully, just couldn't explain it!

+1 on the grips. The Brushed Chrome I fired had the houge grips and they were wonderful. The blued .50 AE model that I fired, didn't have the houge rubber grips and it was terrible.

I have one in 50ae.  I is not plain jane dull blue, but I don't know if I would consider it "pimped out".  It is black chrome.  As for being too expensive, traded my used Glock 30 plus some cash for it.  The seller was asking $900 for it used with some mags.  A lot of 1911s cost twice that.  Would I want it to be my only handgun?  No.  But since I have some good polymer pistols, 1911s, and long guns, why not?  It is pretty reliable, but you do have to keep it clean and hold it right.  Ammo is also a consideration, but I keep my eyes peeled for mail order sales and I have a reloader.

In conclusion, I say if you have at least one good 1911 (in .45acp and 10mm), polymer auto, shotgun, AR, and AK, get a DE.  Here's a pic of mine (don't laugh at the outdated carpet):

They seem like fun guns to me.  The price tag will probably prevent me from ever owning one.  As far as being practical, I don't look at gun purchases that way.  I'm not going to war, the commercial gun market is largely about pretty looking TOYS that have some type of novelty and the DE seems to fit that description.  Its a big ass pistol that fires an artillery shell.

Then again a .357 Magnum wouldn't be that un-practical.

When that Scagnetti guy from Natural Born Killers pulls out a Desert Eagle I about laughed my ass off.

seeing as how YOUR pistol says replica down the side, and MINE says Deasert Eagle point five oh...

Had one in 44magnum.  They are accurate, long range pistols.  Heavy as hell, and there are tactical leg holsters for them too.  I ended up trading it for a Para-Ordnance P12 and Browning Buckmark Micro Standard.

Id get the gold tiger stripe one, just cause....50 AE also, gotta get the .50.

Quoted: I have one in 50ae.  I is not plain jane dull blue, but I don't know if I would consider it "pimped out".  It is black chrome.  As for being too expensive, traded my used Glock 30 plus some cash for it.  The seller was asking $900 for it used with some mags.  A lot of 1911s cost twice that.  Would I want it to be my only handgun?  No.  But since I have some good polymer pistols, 1911s, and long guns, why not?  It is pretty reliable, but you do have to keep it clean and hold it right.  Ammo is also a consideration, but I keep my eyes peeled for mail order sales and I have a reloader. In conclusion, I say if you have at least one good 1911 (in .45acp and 10mm), polymer auto, shotgun, AR, and AK, get a DE.  Here's a pic of mine (don't laugh at the outdated carpet): sincitypitbulls.freeservers.com/DE50AE.jpg

Three times as much if you get a 50AE.

My thoughts are
The pimped out ones are pimped out and the non pimped out ones are not pimped out just like 1911s
I would love to have one in 50AE or 44mag. A 357 would be a waste to me. I would rather have a smaller 10mm.
It would be great for hunting where I grew up because rifles are not allowed and it could be used for self defense although I would rather have my Glock, 1911 or a Sig ect...
You could use one for about anything you would use a .44mag revolver for but have a semi auto.
Big Giant hand canons are neat.

can't say since I have never owned or shot one. Too big for my hands anyway

I have shot one. I wasn't impressed or excited to shoot it. It just didn't feel right. Recoil wasn't nearly what I expected either.

Buddy shot it and wants one very badly. Guess to each their own.

if they had one in .454 casull i would be all over it. who doesnt want the alucard pistol?




or maybe one in 13mm?




then i could run with akimbo pistols killing vampires. WEEEEEEEEE.

Desert Eagles are not a one-handed firearm.

I have large hands... XL if you believe the size tag on my gloves.

Howerver, I cannot maintain grip position and reliably disengage the safety on these "hand" guns.

To me, that makes them more show than go, and completely worthless when I need to use it NOW.

I only keep guns for use in realistic situations and I can't imagine such a situation in which I could use a Desert Eagle. They are fun to play with and the .357 is a pussycat, but you can get .357 power in a compact 9mm package. I do know a very large guy who keeps a DE in .440 Cor-Bon in his car. He calls it the "ultimate car gun." The .440 is a pretty damn impressive round.

I shot a .44 mag version once.  Jamomatic.