Thoughts on the .44 Magnum Desert Eagle?

[mott555]

Currently my most powerful handgun is a Ruger LC9, for concealed use. Not very powerful, but good for its intended purpose.

I want to get something more powerful for open-carry situations, namely to be a sidearm when hunting, and for bear or mountain lion defense while camping in the Rockies. If I had to stop a bear with the LC9 I'd probably die. I also don't like using my 7mm Rem Mag to finish a deer at close range if I find it's still alive when I approach. What a mess. My LC9 works in that regard, but not very well. 9mm is too weak for deer in my opinion.

A 1911 in 10mm or .45 would be an obvious choice, but I've been thinking about a Desert Eagle in .44 Magnum for this purpose. The most fun I ever had firing handguns was with some friends and their Taurus .44 Mag revolvers, very powerful handguns with great accuracy and manageable recoil. Personally I don't care for revolvers, I much prefer a good semi-auto if it'll get used outside the shooting range.

I've been reading reviews online and they're all over the place. However I noticed they tend to fall into two camps: Experienced shooters who say it's a reliable handgun if you know how to handle it; and relatively inexperienced shooters who wanted a Desert Eagle because of Hollywood movies and claim it jams up every third shot. To which the experienced shooters respond that a bad grip or stance will cause it to jam.

I have zero interest in .50 AE at this time, but it's my understanding that conversion kits are available and easy to install.

What say you? Any opinions for or against it?

[gsd]

A friend had one in .44, and I ran about 50 rounds through it. it is BIG. Everything about the gun is oversized. It felt comfortable in my hands once I got used to the weight and balance, but it is not something that I would even bother with trying to shoot one handed.

That being said, i didn't have a single function issue with it when I ran it, and accuracy was surprisingly good. now, i didn't run it past about 20 yards, so beyond that who knows, but inside of that it was a pretty solid shooter, if a bit punishing.

My 0.02 would be to steer you towards a 1911 in 10mm, or even a used S&W 1006. IMHO, the .44 is best served in a revolver platform, semi auto is just too much thump for a followup shot, and if a bear is coming at you, you will want to be back on target asap.

[tobydog]

The Desert I had was a blast to shoot. 44 mag. That said, it was picky on ammo. FMJ would feed fine, lead would not, needed to be clean to function reliably. 44mag on a deer close range would be overkill and messy. I would think your 9mm would be fine to the head. I carried the Desert sometimes deer hunting just to try it, had mags blocked to 6 rounds I think to be sure I was legal. Never got a shot with it, but its heavy to carry all day. You would be better off with a light-weight revolver in 44mag for animal defense IMO. Wish I hadn't traded mine off.

[mott555]

Hmm, good info. Might have to rent one sometime just to see how it handles with follow-up shots.

I know I like 1911's so it might make sense to get one of those first, then think about something larger for camping trips if I'm still worried about stopping power. I only get out to Colorado about once a year anyway, any 1911 would be worlds better than my little 9mm.

[jonm]

I'll second the 10mm. I'd even look at a 10mm Glock. Lighter than a 1911 and holds double the rounds.

[gsd]

I might have a 10mm Glock for sale shortly...

[mott555]

I doubt I'll be making any handgun purchases this year. I live in Omaha and don't want to register so I need my CHP first. I'm taking the class and qualifying this Sunday, but if Nebraska is anything like Missouri was I'll be lucky to have my permit by January.

[RLMoeller]

They have been processing applications in 3 - 4 weeks lately.

[mott555]

They have been processing applications in 3 - 4 weeks lately.

That's not too bad. Took them dang near 3 months in my old state.

[JAK]

A friend of mine had one, made the mistake of firing a box of unjacketed bullets through it and had nothing but problems with it afterwards.  It would constantly jam due to the slide not coming back far enough to fully eject the fired case or pick-up the next round.  I thought it was oversized for what it was and would rather carry a revolver if I need the power of the 44.  Both Taurus and S&W have 5 shot 44 mags in a K-Frame sized gun.

John K

[barmandr]

I'd recommend a 454 as an all around gun for what you've stated your intended purpose will be.  It will be fine on bears and what-not and much lighter than a 44 DE.  By the way, I wouldn't be stating on a public forum that you use/have used a 9mm to finish off a deer because it is a violation of NE fish and game laws as it is not a legal caliber unless it has a velocity of at least 400ft/lbs at 50 yards.  I haven't found any that meets the requirements, even Buffalo Bore +P+.

[mike_p]

I had a Desert Eagle in .44 mag for a few years. I traded it for a S&W 629. It was heavy . I mean really heavy. I don't think it would be fun to carry. It also had feeding issues. It would only feed FMJ reliably. Soft points would hit the feed ramp and jam. If I loaded it with more than 5 rounds in the magazine it had issues too. I will say it had almost no felt recoil. I would not recommend it for anything other than a novelty/ range toy.

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

[newfalguy101]

Never had a .44, but did own a .357 DE ( and stupidly traded it away....sigh ).

Fun gun to shoot, but BIG, BIG, BIG, everything about it was BIG.

Personally for what you are thinking, I would look more towards a revolver ( yea, I know you said you are not a revolver fan, but, sometimes, its the best option )

With factory ammo, my DE was dead reliable, however, with "factory reloads" with lead bullets, it was a singleshot

[gsd]

I'm glad someone caught that he said he wasn't interested in revolvers...

That's why I suggested the 1006.

[JTH]

I'm glad someone caught that he said he wasn't interested in revolvers...

That's why I suggested the 1006.

C'mon.  We all know what .44 Magnum handgun people REALLY want to get...

[gsd]

Ha, that thing looks like a Ruger MKII on steroids...

[mott555]

I'd recommend a 454 as an all around gun for what you've stated your intended purpose will be.  It will be fine on bears and what-not and much lighter than a 44 DE.  By the way, I wouldn't be stating on a public forum that you use/have used a 9mm to finish off a deer because it is a violation of NE fish and game laws as it is not a legal caliber unless it has a velocity of at least 400ft/lbs at 50 yards.  I haven't found any that meets the requirements, even Buffalo Bore +P+.

I haven't hunted with 9mm in Nebraska, just to clarify. I'm fairly new to this state.

[Chris C]

I'd recommend a 454 as an all around gun for what you've stated your intended purpose will be.  It will be fine on bears and what-not and much lighter than a 44 DE.

I would go with that also.  Cabelas often has Ruger Alaskan's chambered in 454 either new or over in the gun library.  Recoil isn't the friendliest but will stop a black bear better than the .44mag. 

[NE Bull]

A bit of review from KJW :

[FarmerRick]

LAR Grizzly in .45 Winchester Magnum.  There's one on Gunbroker right now for under $1k.

http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg/usa/lar-grizzly-e.html