Post by AKService on Oct 8, 2004 23:58:04 GMT -5
Hello all... This is my first post on this forum, and it being so I am proud to bring you my Desert Eagle review.
Before we delve deeply into this firearm, let me give you several Pros/Negatives in a numerical sequence so that you can easily see them from my point of view. I will try to be as impartial as possible.
Pros
1) Gas operation and semi-automatic operation cut down recoil
2) Some calibers can easily be swapped out by simply swapping barrels and magazines
3) Accurate with polygonal rifling and locking rotating lugs
4) POWERFUL
5) Sturdy and well made (lots of metal for you guys that don't like polymer frames)
6) Accessory rail built into top of barrel
7) LONG barrel life
8) Basic dissasembly is easy
9) Adjustable trigger pull length
10) They are currently made again in Israel
Cons
1) Expensive
2) Larger calibers hard to control and can degrade reliability
3) Low clip capacity
4) Large grips
5) Requires tool to completely dissasemble bolt assembly
6) Sensitive to cleanliness and foreign objects
7) Hard controls to operate
Now, with that said... lets go into the operation of this firearm. The Desert Eagle (all calibers) is a semi-automatic gas operated pistol that is chambered for high power cartridges (EI. magnum). The rotating bolt mechanism looks and operates very similarly to that of the M-16 rifle in that when fired, a portion of gas escapes through a pressure build up behind the bullet and moves backwards to operate the rotating bolt. Thankfully the DE (Desert Eagle) doesn't have the exposed gas tube that the M-16 series has BUT due to this type of operation she can get dirty very quickly. Also, let it be known that the actual tube that the gas passes through is quite small in comparism to that of the M-16 rifle.
The rifle is chambered in .357, .44, .50AE, and the new .440 Corbon (Just found out they discontinued production of the .440) magnum rounds. As you move into the higher calibers (440 and 50AE) the pistol requires a fair amount of knowledge of weapon retention. When you move into these high calibers, the operation of the pistol to me seems to become unreliable if you cannot handle the power. A firm grip and stance where you will not "limp wrist" is essential in these higher calibers and will prevent "stove pipes." There is some good news though with those thoughts in mind. Due to the gas operation and the movements of the mechanisms the recoil is signifigantly reduced. (Also weight helps
Fireing .44 and .357 can be equated to firing much lower caliber handguns and can be quite pleasant.
Lets get one thing out of the way.... THIS IS NOT A PERSONAL DEFENSE FIREARM in regaurds to being a house gun or for personal carry. The weight, reliability and whatnot are all concerns and this pistol is often "hollywood'ized." The purpose of this pistol, which is stated in numerous places is to be a sporting and/or hunting pistol. Don't get me wrong though, when you hold it in your hand (especially the chrome or other fine finishes) you really feel a sense of power and respect, and in fact it is often referenced as a status symbol.
So how does she look you ask? How is the finish? I have owned 2 version of this pistol, one in "brushed chrome" and another in the "black oxide" finishes. The black oxide serves its purpose, and wears about as normally as any other blued firearm. Scratches and nicks do show, but not quite as noticably on this firearm as a traditional blued one and make for a fine money saving option for those looking to purchase. The "brushed chrome" finish looks excellent. It gives the firearm a certain sex appeal which the darker finished just don't capture. Although not one of the higher gloss finishes, it certainly serves its purpose and allows small scratches and nicks to "melt" into the fine brushing of the firearm. As you would guess, certain areas have a more "brushed" (EI. less shiny appearance) look that others such as the slide serrations, top of the barrel (for glare probably) and the underside of the frame. The inscribing such as serial number, make, and company all look to be laser etched and are all easily read and distinguishable.
There are a fair amount of options and accesories that you can add to this pistol. The barrel is easily swapped out and if you stick between the calibers of .440, .50, and .44 you need only change magazine and barrel to utilize them. You may also get an additional barrel length of 10 inches if the basic 6 doesn't fit your needs. There are at least 4 different grips that you can get directly from the company to include basic plastic, basic rubber, fingered rubber, and wood. The barrels of the XIX series all contain a weaver type rail so that way you may add optics and the like for your personal needs. Basic sights on all versions are basic black, with front and rear sights adjustable only for windage (via striking tool), but you can get fully adjustable and/or tritium sights from the factory. There is a 5 in 1 tool that allows you to remove the bolt, original grips, and firing pin.
A few other things I would like to note is that the rifling is polygonal and upon inpection of the barrel you will see the key difference. Instead of using "grooves" it uses a different system which allows more bullet to bore contact (accuracy is high) and less carbon fouling with the added benifit of LONG barrel life (into the 30s thousands or more of rounds) The chamber and barrel are both naturally chrome lined for a longer life. The magazine well is semi-beveled on par with what the series 80 colts are doing currently to their pistols.
Basic dissasembly is simple and breaks into 3 different main groups QUICKLY with the press of a button and turn of a catch. The metal is strong and the wear on parts is low. The slide catch for lack of a better word is a BIG piece of metal, and will certainly hold the heavy slide in the back position.
So how does she shoot? My little hands have always had a hard time manipulating the options and safeties on firearms and the Desert Eagle is no exception. The safety is high on on the frame. The magazine release button is close, but a little small and smooth. The slide catch sometimes requires two thumbs to operate when slide is back. Last but not least the slide itself is heavy with 2 springs holding it in the forward position and requires a bit of conditioning to get used to (laugh). Since that is out of the way, let me tell you that she is ACCURATE as all heck. Pull the trigger, she will amaze you every time (BTW the trigger is adjustable for pull, and can be easily done by reading the owners manual). I can easily make 2 inch groups shooting offhand at 25 meters if I do my part. The recoil is signifigant in the higher calibers and the muzzle blast is HUGE. Shooting outside in the snow, I managed to knock off much of the snow on the sloped roof above me from blast. In the larger calibers she tends to jump upwards and to the left (from the rifling) which can result in a cartridge ejecting towards you and your face (This can be nullified by not limp wristing). I have never been a huge fan of magnum caliber weapons and I find this pistol much more satisfying to shoot than revolver type firearms. Low clip capacity and fun factor require constant clip change (as long as you have money to keep the clips full). The trigger is light and crisp. There is no decocking feature so you have to rely on good ol' fashioned gun safety to ensure everyone has a good time shooting.
In conclusion, this pistol is a very fun albeit EXPENSIVE firearm to own. As long as you understand its fallacies and operation you will enjoy your DE for years. Now, if I can only get all the range groupies off my gun long enough to actually fire it myself.....
Before we delve deeply into this firearm, let me give you several Pros/Negatives in a numerical sequence so that you can easily see them from my point of view. I will try to be as impartial as possible.
Pros
1) Gas operation and semi-automatic operation cut down recoil
2) Some calibers can easily be swapped out by simply swapping barrels and magazines
3) Accurate with polygonal rifling and locking rotating lugs
4) POWERFUL
5) Sturdy and well made (lots of metal for you guys that don't like polymer frames)
6) Accessory rail built into top of barrel
7) LONG barrel life
8) Basic dissasembly is easy
9) Adjustable trigger pull length
10) They are currently made again in Israel
Cons
1) Expensive
2) Larger calibers hard to control and can degrade reliability
3) Low clip capacity
4) Large grips
5) Requires tool to completely dissasemble bolt assembly
6) Sensitive to cleanliness and foreign objects
7) Hard controls to operate
Now, with that said... lets go into the operation of this firearm. The Desert Eagle (all calibers) is a semi-automatic gas operated pistol that is chambered for high power cartridges (EI. magnum). The rotating bolt mechanism looks and operates very similarly to that of the M-16 rifle in that when fired, a portion of gas escapes through a pressure build up behind the bullet and moves backwards to operate the rotating bolt. Thankfully the DE (Desert Eagle) doesn't have the exposed gas tube that the M-16 series has BUT due to this type of operation she can get dirty very quickly. Also, let it be known that the actual tube that the gas passes through is quite small in comparism to that of the M-16 rifle.
The rifle is chambered in .357, .44, .50AE, and the new .440 Corbon (Just found out they discontinued production of the .440) magnum rounds. As you move into the higher calibers (440 and 50AE) the pistol requires a fair amount of knowledge of weapon retention. When you move into these high calibers, the operation of the pistol to me seems to become unreliable if you cannot handle the power. A firm grip and stance where you will not "limp wrist" is essential in these higher calibers and will prevent "stove pipes." There is some good news though with those thoughts in mind. Due to the gas operation and the movements of the mechanisms the recoil is signifigantly reduced. (Also weight helps
Fireing .44 and .357 can be equated to firing much lower caliber handguns and can be quite pleasant.Lets get one thing out of the way.... THIS IS NOT A PERSONAL DEFENSE FIREARM in regaurds to being a house gun or for personal carry. The weight, reliability and whatnot are all concerns and this pistol is often "hollywood'ized." The purpose of this pistol, which is stated in numerous places is to be a sporting and/or hunting pistol. Don't get me wrong though, when you hold it in your hand (especially the chrome or other fine finishes) you really feel a sense of power and respect, and in fact it is often referenced as a status symbol.
So how does she look you ask? How is the finish? I have owned 2 version of this pistol, one in "brushed chrome" and another in the "black oxide" finishes. The black oxide serves its purpose, and wears about as normally as any other blued firearm. Scratches and nicks do show, but not quite as noticably on this firearm as a traditional blued one and make for a fine money saving option for those looking to purchase. The "brushed chrome" finish looks excellent. It gives the firearm a certain sex appeal which the darker finished just don't capture. Although not one of the higher gloss finishes, it certainly serves its purpose and allows small scratches and nicks to "melt" into the fine brushing of the firearm. As you would guess, certain areas have a more "brushed" (EI. less shiny appearance) look that others such as the slide serrations, top of the barrel (for glare probably) and the underside of the frame. The inscribing such as serial number, make, and company all look to be laser etched and are all easily read and distinguishable.
There are a fair amount of options and accesories that you can add to this pistol. The barrel is easily swapped out and if you stick between the calibers of .440, .50, and .44 you need only change magazine and barrel to utilize them. You may also get an additional barrel length of 10 inches if the basic 6 doesn't fit your needs. There are at least 4 different grips that you can get directly from the company to include basic plastic, basic rubber, fingered rubber, and wood. The barrels of the XIX series all contain a weaver type rail so that way you may add optics and the like for your personal needs. Basic sights on all versions are basic black, with front and rear sights adjustable only for windage (via striking tool), but you can get fully adjustable and/or tritium sights from the factory. There is a 5 in 1 tool that allows you to remove the bolt, original grips, and firing pin.
A few other things I would like to note is that the rifling is polygonal and upon inpection of the barrel you will see the key difference. Instead of using "grooves" it uses a different system which allows more bullet to bore contact (accuracy is high) and less carbon fouling with the added benifit of LONG barrel life (into the 30s thousands or more of rounds) The chamber and barrel are both naturally chrome lined for a longer life. The magazine well is semi-beveled on par with what the series 80 colts are doing currently to their pistols.
Basic dissasembly is simple and breaks into 3 different main groups QUICKLY with the press of a button and turn of a catch. The metal is strong and the wear on parts is low. The slide catch for lack of a better word is a BIG piece of metal, and will certainly hold the heavy slide in the back position.
So how does she shoot? My little hands have always had a hard time manipulating the options and safeties on firearms and the Desert Eagle is no exception. The safety is high on on the frame. The magazine release button is close, but a little small and smooth. The slide catch sometimes requires two thumbs to operate when slide is back. Last but not least the slide itself is heavy with 2 springs holding it in the forward position and requires a bit of conditioning to get used to (laugh). Since that is out of the way, let me tell you that she is ACCURATE as all heck. Pull the trigger, she will amaze you every time (BTW the trigger is adjustable for pull, and can be easily done by reading the owners manual). I can easily make 2 inch groups shooting offhand at 25 meters if I do my part. The recoil is signifigant in the higher calibers and the muzzle blast is HUGE. Shooting outside in the snow, I managed to knock off much of the snow on the sloped roof above me from blast. In the larger calibers she tends to jump upwards and to the left (from the rifling) which can result in a cartridge ejecting towards you and your face (This can be nullified by not limp wristing). I have never been a huge fan of magnum caliber weapons and I find this pistol much more satisfying to shoot than revolver type firearms. Low clip capacity and fun factor require constant clip change (as long as you have money to keep the clips full). The trigger is light and crisp. There is no decocking feature so you have to rely on good ol' fashioned gun safety to ensure everyone has a good time shooting.
In conclusion, this pistol is a very fun albeit EXPENSIVE firearm to own. As long as you understand its fallacies and operation you will enjoy your DE for years. Now, if I can only get all the range groupies off my gun long enough to actually fire it myself.....
