barely jacketed SJSP and HP ammo in Desert Eagle

seed · October 7, 2010, 05:14 AM

I asked this question elsewhere, but got no replies...So let me try here.

I just got some ammo from Reed's (which, in my experience makes good ammo and has good CS) for my Desert Eagle .44 magnum. I ordered SJSP and HP ammo (the latter of which is actually a SJHP). Upon my receipt of the order, I saw that amount of lead exposed on the front of the rounds was more than half of the length of the exposed bullet. This is well beyond the length of exposed lead I have seen on any other factory SJSP or HP for .44 magnum. Even though I know that the concern is with an exposed lead base in such rounds as FMJ's, I am concerned that perhaps the length of lead exposed on the front of the rounds might be excessive, causing problems should I shoot them through my DE. Should I be concerned?

bigautomatic · October 7, 2010, 07:47 AM

If any of the bearing surface is not jacketed, I wouldn't risk it. Anything forward of the ogive should be ok. Fouling the gas port can be nearly impossible to fix, unless you have 450 bucks lying around for a new barrel. Not worth the risk to me.

brickeyee · October 7, 2010, 03:05 PM

Bearing surface is the critical thing, not just exposed lead.

If any portion of the bullet is bare lead in contact with the bore you can have problems.

**44 AMP** · October 8, 2010, 10:15 PM

As a Desert Eagle owner of more than 20 years, let me start off by saying that any time you shoot anything other than what the maker recommends, you are rolling the dice. Sometimes you win, sometimes you crap out.

The worst thing for a DE is lead bullets. Partly from the lead, but mostly from the bullet lube. This is known to cause trouble in very short order in some guns.

Non lubed lead is also a concern (like open base FMJ bullets), but less likely to be an immediate problem. However, if it does become a problem, it will be a BIG problem!

Since you are looking at a bullet with some lead in the driving band area (where it can get scraped off at the gas port) I would not shoot it in my Desert Eagle. Sell/trade it for some ammo with a DE friendly construction, or shoot it in some other gun. It just isn't worth the risk (and cost) to save a few pennies (or even dollars) feeding a Desert Eagle.

seed · October 9, 2010, 07:42 PM

Yeah, I was not wanting to shoot it through my DE. Damned shame though. Reed's makes good ammo in my experience and I was excited to get some .44magnum from them. Had I known that the jacket was more like a hooker skirt, I wouldn't have gotten it. Oh well. I will still buy other calibers from them though as I have always been pleased with the performance of their ammo as well as with their CS.

By the way, one of the major manufacturers makes a similarly profiled .44magnum round. I think it was Remington.

**44 AMP** · October 10, 2010, 12:32 PM

The Remington 240gr JHP with the scalloped jacket is a classic, and the jacket covers the bearing surface fully. I use them in my Desert Eagle, with no problems.

If there's another factory JHP bullet with exposed lead in the driving band area, I'm not aware of it, and won't use them in the DE if I come across any.

seed · October 11, 2010, 08:34 AM

Well the Reed's ammo is similarly profiled to the Remington barely jacketed 240 grain ammo...at least their semi-jacketed stuff is. I have used Reed's in my Glock 20 (FMJ) and they work great. They are a lesser known boutique ammo maker and seem like a hybrid of Georgia Arms and Double Tap...affordable and hot ammo with all new components. I trust their quality.

Anyway, even with what I just said, you still wouldn't use them?

Edited to add that the semi-jacketed HP's also look exactly like the picture of the same type of ammo used by Remington. I don't reload and will sound ignorant when I say this, but I don't know if Remington sells bullets for loading...if they do, it wouldn't surprise me if Reed's uses Remington bullets.

**44 AMP** · October 11, 2010, 11:35 PM

Remington sells their bullet for reloading, by the ton. You want 100, or 100,000, give them cash, they will give you bullets!

I have used Remington 240s in my Desert Eagle, although lately I have switched to Sierra 180s, for something different. 21gr of AA#9 does a fine job with them in my gun.

While there is a lot of exposed lead in the Rem 240, the bullets I have used have jacket over the bearing surface, and gave me no problems with leading.

seed · October 12, 2010, 12:03 AM

I'm guessing they use Remington bullets then. So no worries about when the rounds are being pushed into the chamber and possible scraping of lead on the way in?...close to the gas port just ahead of the chamber? And what about their hollows?

seed · October 13, 2010, 07:50 AM

So I finally did what I should have done long ago: I e-mailed and asked Reed's. They confirmed that they do load with Remington bullets and that they should work fine in my DE.

October 7, 2010, 05:14 AM	#1
seed Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2004 Posts: 411	barely jacketed SJSP and HP ammo in Desert Eagle I asked this question elsewhere, but got no replies...So let me try here. I just got some ammo from Reed's (which, in my experience makes good ammo and has good CS) for my Desert Eagle .44 magnum. I ordered SJSP and HP ammo (the latter of which is actually a SJHP). Upon my receipt of the order, I saw that amount of lead exposed on the front of the rounds was more than half of the length of the exposed bullet. This is well beyond the length of exposed lead I have seen on any other factory SJSP or HP for .44 magnum. Even though I know that the concern is with an exposed lead base in such rounds as FMJ's, I am concerned that perhaps the length of lead exposed on the front of the rounds might be excessive, causing problems should I shoot them through my DE. Should I be concerned?

October 8, 2010, 10:15 PM	#4
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,893	As a Desert Eagle owner of more than 20 years, let me start off by saying that any time you shoot anything other than what the maker recommends, you are rolling the dice. Sometimes you win, sometimes you crap out. The worst thing for a DE is lead bullets. Partly from the lead, but mostly from the bullet lube. This is known to cause trouble in very short order in some guns. Non lubed lead is also a concern (like open base FMJ bullets), but less likely to be an immediate problem. However, if it does become a problem, it will be a BIG problem! Since you are looking at a bullet with some lead in the driving band area (where it can get scraped off at the gas port) I would not shoot it in my Desert Eagle. Sell/trade it for some ammo with a DE friendly construction, or shoot it in some other gun. It just isn't worth the risk (and cost) to save a few pennies (or even dollars) feeding a Desert Eagle. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

October 10, 2010, 12:32 PM	#6
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,893	The Remington 240gr JHP with the scalloped jacket is a classic, and the jacket covers the bearing surface fully. I use them in my Desert Eagle, with no problems. If there's another factory JHP bullet with exposed lead in the driving band area, I'm not aware of it, and won't use them in the DE if I come across any. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

October 11, 2010, 08:34 AM	#7
seed Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2004 Posts: 411	Well the Reed's ammo is similarly profiled to the Remington barely jacketed 240 grain ammo...at least their semi-jacketed stuff is. I have used Reed's in my Glock 20 (FMJ) and they work great. They are a lesser known boutique ammo maker and seem like a hybrid of Georgia Arms and Double Tap...affordable and hot ammo with all new components. I trust their quality. Anyway, even with what I just said, you still wouldn't use them? Edited to add that the semi-jacketed HP's also look exactly like the picture of the same type of ammo used by Remington. I don't reload and will sound ignorant when I say this, but I don't know if Remington sells bullets for loading...if they do, it wouldn't surprise me if Reed's uses Remington bullets. Last edited by seed; October 11, 2010 at 08:45 AM.

October 11, 2010, 11:35 PM	#8
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,893	Yes, they do... Remington sells their bullet for reloading, by the ton. You want 100, or 100,000, give them cash, they will give you bullets! I have used Remington 240s in my Desert Eagle, although lately I have switched to Sierra 180s, for something different. 21gr of AA#9 does a fine job with them in my gun. While there is a lot of exposed lead in the Rem 240, the bullets I have used have jacket over the bearing surface, and gave me no problems with leading. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

October 7, 2010, 07:47 AM	#2
bigautomatic Senior Member Join Date: December 18, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 610	If any of the bearing surface is not jacketed, I wouldn't risk it. Anything forward of the ogive should be ok. Fouling the gas port can be nearly impossible to fix, unless you have 450 bucks lying around for a new barrel. Not worth the risk to me.

October 7, 2010, 03:05 PM	#3
brickeyee Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2004 Posts: 3,351	Bearing surface is the critical thing, not just exposed lead. If any portion of the bullet is bare lead in contact with the bore you can have problems.

October 9, 2010, 07:42 PM	#5
seed Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2004 Posts: 411	Yeah, I was not wanting to shoot it through my DE. Damned shame though. Reed's makes good ammo in my experience and I was excited to get some .44magnum from them. Had I known that the jacket was more like a hooker skirt, I wouldn't have gotten it. Oh well. I will still buy other calibers from them though as I have always been pleased with the performance of their ammo as well as with their CS. By the way, one of the major manufacturers makes a similarly profiled .44magnum round. I think it was Remington.

October 12, 2010, 12:03 AM	#9
seed Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2004 Posts: 411	I'm guessing they use Remington bullets then. So no worries about when the rounds are being pushed into the chamber and possible scraping of lead on the way in?...close to the gas port just ahead of the chamber? And what about their hollows?

October 13, 2010, 07:50 AM	#10
seed Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2004 Posts: 411	So I finally did what I should have done long ago: I e-mailed and asked Reed's. They confirmed that they do load with Remington bullets and that they should work fine in my DE.