where to find Desert Eagle frame

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silicosys4

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Long story short, I picked up a DE a few years ago. The DE I bought was a MKVII frame with a MKXIX conversion slide and barrels in .50 and .44.

The gun came with the original MKVII slide and .44 barrel. Now I have an extra slide and barrel that I'd love to find a frame for. Two DE's is better than one.

Just called magnum research, no luck there...they won't sell a frame alone and they won't fit a frame to the slide and barrel if I sent them in. Quoted "trouble with the ATF" which confuses me, I can't see how fitting a frame to parts I send in and then shipping and selling me the gun through my FFL would be problematic.

So I have to find a frame elsewhere. Anybody know where to start looking?

Many thanks
 
Unlikely. The platform was designed to have multiple “uppers” available for each frame. So there are tons of barrel/slide kits out there for each frame.

try gunbroker but watch for scammers. DEs draw them like flies. Any new or low feedback seller selling a DE should basically be considered fraudulent IME.
 
I'm with 1K on this, will be real hard to find a frame as they sold so many uppers. Also, if you did find one it may be stripped and then you would need to find all the small parts to complete it.

Sometimes parts kits show up but the frame was cut as it was a turn in or police seizure, so that doesn't help.

Also, would need to be sure the frame is the correct one for your uppers. Several generations out there now and I have gotten lost on what fits what.
 
Ohen Cepel said:
I'm with 1K on this, will be real hard to find a frame as they sold so many uppers. Also, if you did find one it may be stripped and then you would need to find all the small parts to complete it.

Sometimes parts kits show up but the frame was cut as it was a turn in or police seizure, so that doesn't help.

Also, would need to be sure the frame is the correct one for your uppers. Several generations out there now and I have gotten lost on what fits what.
Click to expand...

As far as I know, the fitment issues between generations is a slide to barrel issue between the MKVII barrels and the MKXIX slides, not a slide to frame issue. My MKXIX slide fits my MKVII frame just fine. My MKVII barrel will not fit my MKXIX slide.

Really, there is no legal or logical reason that Magnum Research can't fit my barrel and slide to a new production frame, then send the gun to my FFL for transfer. They just don't want to and won't.

If I can get a parts kit with a cut frame, I have a gunsmith that is very good at welding.
 
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Jimfern said:
maybe sell the extra barrel/slide to fund the purchase of a whole gun?
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That's also a problem. I'd sell at least one barrel/slide combo, but then I'd either be selling the original-to-the-gun MK VII slide and .44 barrel, which I'd hate to do to an early production IWI DE,

Or I'd be selling the MK XIX conversion kit, which i'm not going to do either because then I'd be giving up .50ae and would be limited to .44 magnum.

I think what I would end up having to do is buy a used gun and sell the slide and barrel from that gun, reunite my MKVII slide and barrel to my MKVII frame, then take my MKXIX slide and barrel and drop them onto the newly purchased frame. I might get $800 for the slide and barrel, meaning i'd be paying +/- $800 total for a second DE. I'll have to mull that over, I only paid $1k for my DE, 2 slides, and 3 barrels, paying almost that for just a frame would hurt a bit.
 
silicosys4 said:
I think what I would end up having to do is buy a used gun and sell the slide and barrel from that gun, reunite my MKVII slide and barrel to my MKVII frame, then take my MKXIX slide and barrel and drop them onto the newly purchased frame. I might get $800 for the slide and barrel, meaning i'd be paying +/- $800 total for a second DE. I'll have to mull that over, I only paid $1k for my DE, 2 slides, and 3 barrels, paying almost that for just a frame would hurt a bit.
Click to expand...
That may work, except for that first part. That sounds terrible. Scrap that.;)

I’d buy a MK19 in 357. Then you’d almost have a full set, and a classic. Two is twice as better than one.

Then you can get a 429DE for the new one and look for other barrels like 440 CorBon, or 41 Mag. (And you thought hens teeth were plentiful and cheap…)
 
My opinion is, keep the 2 slide assemblies or sell one. As mentioned you are very unlikely to find a DE frame with no slide. I've had a DE for many years now and can attest to the fact that it can be hard just finding mags at times.

From what it sounds like you want to keep both anyway. If I were in your position I would simply switch slides whenever I wanted to. It certainly isn't hard to do.
 
I agree with the above suggestion, either keep them both or sell one of them. It is highly doubtful you will be able to find a frame. May you can use the funds to buy a .357 Magnum upper assy. if they sell one that fits your lower. Just a thought. Sorry I can't help you with your original question.
 
silicosys4 said:
...I only paid $1k for my DE, 2 slides, and 3 barrels, paying almost that for just a frame would hurt a bit.
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Yeah. And I bought a used MK-1 for around $600. Like it or not, what you paid 5 or 10 years ago is not relevant. Prices have likely doubled since you bought your gun.

I have seen stripped frames on gunbroker from time to time. Having built out a stripped DE slide at one time, I would recommend skipping this approach unless you can find one for next to nothing. The small parts get expensive quickly. You may end up spending nearly as much as you would for a new gun.

I get what you are saying about two complete Desert Eagles being better than one. You are pretty well set up, having both the small and large size slides. You can sometimes find good deals on the MK-VII barrels.

The suggestion to get a MK-XIX in .357 is a good one. While not difficult, swapping calibers between .357 and .44/.50 is a bit more involved, having to swap bolts. I find it handy to have a complete slide set up for .357 and another for the .44/.50. Get the one complete gun and you will be set up that way.
 
GarrettJ said:
Yeah. And I bought a used MK-1 for around $600. Like it or not, what you paid 5 or 10 years ago is not relevant. Prices have likely doubled since you bought your gun.

I have seen stripped frames on gunbroker from time to time. Having built out a stripped DE slide at one time, I would recommend skipping this approach unless you can find one for next to nothing. The small parts get expensive quickly. You may end up spending nearly as much as you would for a new gun.

I get what you are saying about two complete Desert Eagles being better than one. You are pretty well set up, having both the small and large size slides. You can sometimes find good deals on the MK-VII barrels.

The suggestion to get a MK-XIX in .357 is a good one. While not difficult, swapping calibers between .357 and .44/.50 is a bit more involved, having to swap bolts. I find it handy to have a complete slide set up for .357 and another for the .44/.50. Get the one complete gun and you will be set up that way.
Click to expand...

I bought my gun last year.
 
Good luck. Sorry to hear how unhelpful Magnum Research is being. That's utterly ridiculous that they won't sell you a frame. They should at least be honest about it. It Has nothing to do with the ATF. The last time I contacted them I wanted something custom(which they advertise is one of their services) and found them completely unhelpful and uninterested in doing anything for me. So I don't buy new Magnum Research stuff any more.
 
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