Desert Eagle

Hi there, the Rangemaster is back.  Sorry I couldn't answer any mail while I was out, but things have been hectic.  We'll try to get back to a once a month schedule again.  For our first time back I decided to go with the Desert Eagle .44 Magnum (blame it on seeing "The Matrix" too many times).

When Magnum research introduced the .357 Desert Eagle (Mark I) almost 2 decades ago, I was highly interested in the concept of an 
auto loading pistol that can fire magnum cartridges.  At the time the only other offering was the (now defunct) Coonan arms 357.  The Eagle is gas operated and the Coonan looked and worked much like the 1911 Colt.

One of the main drawbacks on the Mark I was the safety and the slide stop levers were flat with no steps and quite frankly needed the grip of a gorilla to operate. There was no .38 conversion like the Coonan, and the conversion to the .44 mag for the Desert Eagle was unavailable. At the time, I shot both and ran out and bought a Coonan.  Here we are 20 years later and the world has changed the new Mark XIX Desert Eagles are now truly refined and a great pistol to shoot.

The big change that I wanted was made on the Mark VII Desert Eagle.  The safety lever is now hooked and the slide stop has 3 steps for much improved operation.  With the Mark XIX, caliber conversion is now accomplished by simply switching the barrel and the magazine to go between .44, .50 AE and .440 Cor-Bon. To fire .357, the bolt assembly must also be changed.  For now let's stick with the .44.

The .44 is definitely not a light weight.  With a 6" bbl, the overall length is 10.75' with a height of 6.25'.  The 10' bbl increases LOA to 14.75".  Weight is about 4.5 lbs empty.  The heavy barrel has a 7/8" dovetail with slots for scope mounting.  Magazine capacity is 8 rounds.

While the Eagle is heavy, the weight combined with the gas operated recoil system make the Desert eagle quite controllable when compared to a .44 revolver of similar weight.  Remember though, this is still a .44 and it WILL kick.  Our test gun has the standard fixed sights and grouping was quite good.  Magnum Research (Desert Eagles importer and distributor) does offer adjustable Millett sights. for about $100.00 extra.

Another nice feature of the Desert Eagle is ease of making it your gun. There are over 1/2 dozen finishes available, adjustable triggers, different sight and scope ring options.  Grips can be had in hard plastic, wood, or soft rubber Houge grips.  The owners of older Eagles have not been forgotten by Magnum Research either.  There are conversion kits to upgrade your Mark VII to the latest Mark XIX. For you Mark I owners, there are tune up kits, adjustable triggers and YES Mark VII/XIX safety and slide stop conversions.

OK, last big question, HOW MUCH??.  Prices for the standard blue .44 with a 6 in bbl are $1,199.00 suggested retail, we have found them going for as low as the high 800 bracket.  If you can't decide on caliber or bbl length, the full component package with 2 bbls and conversions for 44/.357/.50 start at $3,691 in blue. For the component package, other finishes can tack between $615 and $1500 on the the cost.  For an individual pistol, finishes can add $225 to $500 per gun.  For more info, see your local gun dealer or go to www.magnumresearch.com

Shoot smart, shoot safe and Happy Hunting

That's it for now