Why so much hate towards the Desert Eagle?

[rattletrap1970]

Would love to have one in .357 or .44 but my hands are too small to hold the damn thing comfortably. I have shot one and found it quite enjoyable and accurate. The gas operation made it very manageable. The grip is just too damn big. I suppose if I pieced one together on the cheap (or cheaper) and had a machine shop shave some material to thin the grip area up I would consider it. Just don't care that much.

[ME109]

Desert Eagle. The zoot suit of pistols.

[rattletrap1970]

Zoot Suit of pistols. LOL

Well, at least it's not a Judge. Oooof, god what have I started now?

[XD Gunner]

Well, at least it's not a Judge.

Amen, preach it brother Rattle, at least the DE doesn't shoot rings around the target, lol.

[Nydhog502]

I don't think they made a 14" barrel for the desert eagle..... You may wanna double check that. Unless it's custom, I'd be suspicious.

[brickeyee]

Have they done anything about the blind gas path that cannot be cleaned?

[WhistlerSWE]

Originally Posted by Nydhog502

I don't think they made a 14" barrel for the desert eagle..... You may wanna double check that. Unless it's custom, I'd be suspicious.

[rep1954]

I dont hate the Desert Eagle 50AE. In fact it's been on my mind lately just what a cool gun it is. It for sure would make a great deer,boar, and black bear gun. I know it would be nicer to carry around than a rifle and faster on target than a rifle in up close quarters in my mind anyway. True if you havent learned how to handle recoil or are to frail then it's not a gun for you. Theres a lot of guns out on the market that I've never owned, held, or fired but I dont hate any of them.

[KCabbage]

Rattletrap, the key to a smaller grip is not to remove metal from the frame, but to have some custom grips made.

[44 AMP]

I find that I am either waaayy ahead of the curve, or totally out of the loop!

First off, without actually counting, it seems the majority of posts contain the phrase "I have never shot one", followed by some discussion of its lack of "practicality". Tons of opinions from people who have never shot, let alone own one. That's fine, everybody is welcome to their opinions. Now here's some of mine....

I got my first Desert Eagle .357 the year they came out (1984 IIRC), and found out more than a few things about them, in real life. This was way before the guns were discovered by Hollywood, or gangstas and wanna be's.

10 rnds (9 + 1) of .357 magnum in a gun with less recoil than most 9mms. 125gr jhp handloads clocked at 1720fps through its 6" polygonal bore! Accurate, but huge grips and heavier than any other handgun (4.25lbs empty!) Fair (not great), but manageable trigger. Eventually sold that gun to someone who really, really wanted it. Got another a couple years later. A couple years after that I traded that one off for a custom built Mauser in .458 Win Mag. If I remember right, I paid $425 for the first one, and maybe $450 for the second. Both bought used. Second gun was more, because it also had a belt, holster, 4 extra mags, and 2 double mag pouches.

In 1990, I bought one of the .44 Mags. $650, brand new in the box. Still have that gun. I take it out and shoot it occasionally. Works pretty good with my handloads.

These guns have no "Mark" designation on them. Today they are called Mark I, but at the time, there was no other Desert Eagle.

I was a man grown before the video games became so popular, and I have never played any of the "shooter games" that feature the "Deagle". I find calling the DE a "deagle" more than a bit childish.

Like a lot of things, when Hollywood discovered the visual impact of the Desert Eagle, they went overboard, and as usual, left reality far, far behind. Pam Anderson "wielding" a pair of Desert Eagles (wow! big guns!) as Barb Wire was the point where I decided it was just too much BS.

But, there's at least two other groups of folks who like Desert Eagles: 1) those that like the design and mechanics of them and enjoy occasionally shooting their Desert Eagle perhaps just at paper bowling pins, etc;

That is the group I'm in. One of my collections is magnum autopistols. Desert Eagle, Coonan, Wildey, LAR Grizzly, and Auto Mags.

One hears so much about how these guns are not "practical". I disagree. If it shoots, it has a practical use. However, they are not the most practical for most common handgunning applications. I do admit that.

But Ferrarris are not practical. Corvettes are not practical. Lots of the finer things in life are not "practical". But they can be quite enjoyable. I drive a practical car. I have practical guns for defense, for hunting, and other practical uses. But for my enjoyment, in this area, I'm allowed a little iimpracticality.

If your hands are smaller than size 9 gloves, you are going to have trouble getting a "proper" grip on a DE. If you are on a tight budget, look at something else. If you just have to shoot lead bullets, get something else. If you are a gamer (I'm not) or just interested in the gun for its show value, enjoy yourself. If you don't like them, thats cool, I dislike GLocks, (intensely), but I don't tell you not to buy one.
I have no interest in the "pimp" finishes they offer nowdays. But apparently, they are making money doing it. I have no interest in the .50, not because of any dislike, but simply that I don't have a desire to tool up for yet another caliber right now. I currently load for about a dozen handgun calibers, and a couple dozen rifle, so my plate is already pretty full, without adding the .50!

If you are interested in the DE in real life, and how it compares to the other magnum autopistols, ask.

[Nydhog502]

I think AMP put it wonderfully.

[SAA GunSlinger]

Well put 44. AMP!

I would enjoy my Desert eagle much more if it wasent so darn expensive to shoot. I greatly enjoy shooting the IMI Samson .50 Rounds. Even though they are extremly hard to fine because they stoped making them. That massive muzzle flash and giant ring it leaves, is just to much fun! When my friends and i bring out our gun collections, (which is alot) to the firing range, we all enjoy shooting the desert eagle. Like it has been said it is unpractical but it is also extremely fun!!! Now i only wish i could get better deals on ammo so i could just shoot it some more. Ive roughly put 80 rounds through since ive owned it this past year Just wish it was less expensive to shoot or i could afford the equipment to reload!

[Departed402]

I find calling the DE a "deagle" more than a bit childish.

I'm with you there 44. I'll explain where the term "deagle" came from. In video games in the corner of the screen it will have the name of the gun or the caliber of the gun you're using. A few games shortened "Desert Eagle" to "D. Eagle." My guess is that some half literate gamer thought this was the correct spelling. I see where the Hollywood/gaming fame of the Desert Eagle annoys a person like you, but I bet Magnum Research loves it.

[Rembrandt]

Originally Posted by WhistlerSWE

....Rembrandt: Yesterday I won an online auction on a dual tone Desert Eagle with a 14" barrel. It looks just like yours, but seems to be based on the Mark I lower. I would like to discuss your experiences, so I would appreciate if you contacted me via private message here on the forum, or via e-mail (the_whistler [at] hell.as).

Just saw this, replied through PM on DE forum. Nice acquisition.

[44 AMP]

I see where the Hollywood/gaming fame of the Desert Eagle annoys a person like you, but I bet Magnum Research loves it.

Becuase they are in business to sell guns. Anything and everything that puts their products in the public eye has the potential to boost sales.

While gun companies may start out being created by people who love guns, its the business of selling their guns that keeps them in business. Both types are needed for a successful gun company, those that love guns, and those that love selling them. Companies that get run by people who think that making and selling guns is like making and selling bricks or toasters usually run into difficulty.

For every dozen or three people that are "I always wanted one" there are a couple of us that actually get one. And the more people there are who think that "someday", the more of us there are who eventually actually do.

Desert Eagles are not suitable for everyone, and everyone is not suited for a Desert Eagle. But that has no bearing on the pleasure of owning one if you want it. I find the Desert Eagle to be my least favorite mgnum semi auto (due to the grip dimensions), but that won't stop me from getting another one, if I find one at what I consider a reasonable price.

[Auto426]

I don't hate the Desert Eagle. I respect it's unique design and the place it's made for itself in the firearms world. What I don't care for is the reputation Hollywood and the gaming industry has created for it.

I'm a hardcore gamer, and I've been gaming for longer than I've been shooting. In fact, gaming is one of the influences that lead me to getting into handguns. I've played many games that feature the Desert Eagle. It's usually featured as the top dog among handguns in shooter games. This makes people that have never fired a real gun before think that it's better than sliced bread. The same is true of Hollywood, with most action movies having a recoilless DE to two in the hands of it's main stars.

It's this reputation among non-shooters of the Desert Eagle being the ultimate pistol that annoys me. The simple truth is that it's nothing like what people think it is. It's huge, heavy, and makes for a very impractical combat handgun.

I think what's really annoying to shooters is the fact that non-shooters simply write-off all other handguns in favor of the DE. Also, the non stop youtube videos of idiots showing off their gold plated DE's doesn't help the image of our cherished hobby look any better.

[Microgunner]

I like them. But they are virtually useless.

[ProjectCamaro]

Very well put 44 Amp!
I have several firearms that don't have a specific purpose other than going to the range and enjoying them and guess what, that's a good enough purpose for me. Period.
I live in WI where it is 100% against the law to conceal carry so the only firearm I have that has any very specific purpose is my Glock for home protection. ALL my other firearms are range toys and that's ok with me.
The Desert Eagle is a great firearm for what it is and I hope to be adding one to my collection in 44 magnum very soon.

[Citizen711]

Also wanted to say that 44 Amp put it pretty well.

Me, I agree that the whole "deagle" craze and Hollywood silliness have given DE's a pretty bad rap. That's a small part of the reason I don't have much inclination to buy one, but the larger factor is the simple fact that my gun budget is very limited, and, while it would most likely be a fun gun to own, there are others I feel would be a more useful (practical, if you will) addition to my collection right now.

[SAA GunSlinger]

Very well put AUTO426

I agree that hollywood and video games have really spoiled the desert ealges image. Their are alot of people out there that have very limited knowledge on firearms and like you said when you get those kind of people buying gold plated desert ealges to make themselves look cool or the gamers that buy them because they think its the super duper mega combat handgun and have no knowledge or experience on firearms it really makes other REAL firearm enthusiast look like fools. I did not buy my desert eagle because i thought it was gangsta, Action hero packed or becuz its the all mighty wamy cablammy of all video game handguns. I bought the desert eagle becuz i read up on it and the deisgn of it really appealed to me, such as the pologon rifeling, the interchangable barrels, the unique rotating bolt, its reliability, the .50 AE cartridge and many others. I personally think that the desert eagle has a great design and i also think its great to shoot but mind i do own many other firearms, espcially a good selection of large bore hand guns. Yea sure there are many people that dislike the desert eagle but i like to think its an aquired taste, its just not for everybody....espcially for 1st time firearm buyers

[Nydhog502]

I actually found a website that lists guns in movies called International Movie Firearm Database and looked up Desert Eagle. There are far mor Glocks in movies then Desert Eagles surprisingly.

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Why is that surprising? Movies generally have only a limited number of big-name stars, and a whole lot of spear carriers. Only the leads get DEs. The spear carriers get Glocks

[Gewehr98]

So many "experts", and that whole (hole?) opinion vs. orifice saying really got a workout here.

I bought my Desert Eagle for IHMSA Silhouette, because they were doing great at the time.

It appears nobody remembers that sport, do they?

I competed for a while in the Field Pistol and/or Production category, and the big gas pistol with the AR-15/M16 bolt did quite nicely in knocking over the steel targets.

It also did quite well on feral hogs in Florida, and the venison in my freezer probably didn't die from laughing at the guy who pointed the Desert Eagle at it...

Fanboy? I bought the old girl from a fellow GI for $400.00.

[ftballgod]

i just bought this one over the weekend. i could not be more happy.

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...6&d=1267571095

[DiscoRacing]

my parents live in wisc Gewehr98

we outta form some sortta Desert Eagle Alliance Group