Hunting with DE 44? 10 mm Glock/XDm?

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Huntolive

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I have deer hunted with revolvers for a few years now mostly for white-tailed deer.

I have a 44 Magnum desert eagle that functions well for a desert eagle which means it's far less reliable then a revolver but still pretty reliable after a good cleaning.

I also have a brand new Glock 40 long slide and Springfield XDM 10 mm.
I have the Springfield XDM 10 mm both in the 5 1/2 inch non OSP version with iron target sights and in the 4.5 inch version that is threaded and that I will mount a qualityreflex Red Dot on.

Between those three semi-autos which would you use for hunting hogs and or deer?

Or would you stick 2 revolvers as I already own revolvers in 460, 454, 44 Magnum and 357?
 
For hogs, I have used and love the Desert Eagle. I would personally convert it to 50 AE though. My limited experience has simply found it to be much much more reliable. I can't really say I've found a concrete reason as to why but I have a couple of guesses.

First would be the extra energy. I've found the 44 to be much easier to limp wrist. The slightest change in grip makes a huge difference in whether it will chamber the next round or not...at least for me. With the 50, I've never had that issue. The extra recoil is very noticeable but it seems to pick up any slack I may leave. My other guess would be the rimmed cartridge in an autoloader debate. Whether the Desert Eagle was made for rimmed cartridges or not, I feel there has to be a reason as to why they designed their own rounds (50 AE and 429 DE) to be rimless.

With all that said, I shoot entirely with one hand as my left one doesn't function. My experiences may differ completely from the majority of people. Still...I would most definitely trust my life against a feral hog with a 50 AE Desert Eagle. I can't say the same for the 44. While I'd prefer something bigger than 10mm for a hog, I would most certainly take it over the Desert Eagle if 44 is your only option.

As for Deer, I would stick with 10mm in an autoloader. If you were set on using a Desert Eagle, I probably wouldn't go any higher than 357...which at that point...just use the 10mm.
 
The DE, evidently, was designed as a hunting pistol. My DE44 shoots dead-on to POA. ("perfect bulls-eye") Of course, you have to keep them clean, and there is a learning curve, to not allowing them to lock-up, on you. They will hunt, but, as I have alternate choices, I rarely use mine TO hunt.
 
I also have a brand new Glock 40 long slide and Springfield XDM 10 mm.
I have the Springfield XDM 10 mm both in the 5 1/2 inch non OSP version with iron target sights and in the 4.5 inch version that is threaded and that I will mount a qualityreflex Red Dot on.

Between those three semi-autos which would you use for hunting hogs and or deer?

Glock 40 seems a little light, next the 10mm would be better, but the .44 Desert Eagle would be my pick of the lot.

What do estimate would be your longest shot?
 
I like the DE .44 mag.
Want a Mk 7

Buddys have had them.
I've only shot a few mags in each, and neither messed up.
Even w my 180gr handloads.

Only issue is bulk/weight.........not really a hip gun LOL
My 629's were pretty comfy in a holster though.
 
Thanks guys I appreciate that and I also specially agree with the guy who said 50ae is probably the way to go if anybody wants a desert eagle at all and I'm seriously considering selling my 44 mag and even prior to hearing that advice.
however I hate getting new calipers and more and more calibers and I already have lots of 44 magnum revolvers so I'm not sure about the 50ae for me at that point I might just give up on desert eagles all together.

by the way to the one responder about the Glock 40 what I meant was the Glock 40 not a 40 caliber Glock so 40 of course is 10 mm my version is the long slide 6 inch barrel with the MOS system on which I would I would not some type of reflex Red Dot.

Who can tell me what reflex red dots the Glock MOS 40 10 mm comes with as far as the four plates that are included to mount optics?
Will one of them work for a Vortex razor reflex sight? I have one of those on hand
I'm pretty sure one will work for a Leupold Delta pro 2.5 moa which I have on order.
 
I would never hunt 1911 or use one for self-defense.
Too many reliability issues plus limited capacity Plus exorbitant pricing equals
No.
I already have a better gun than that in the Glock 40 long slide.

But for all you 10 mm fans Myself included
What Optic would you put on either a Springfield XDM OSP or Glock 40 MOSand what mounting plates that are compatible come with them from the factory?
 
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I would never hunt 1911 or use one for self-defense.
Too many reliability issues plus limited capacity Plus exorbitant pricing equals
No.
I already have a better gun than that in the Glock 40 long slide.
I've been looking for years for one of those unreliable 1911's and have yet to encounter one. As a hunting pistol, it has everything over a striker fired polymer auto. Why is capacity even an issue?
 
10mm but in a revolver for me. S&W 610 with a 6.5" barrel will sling the 200gr XTP to over 1300fps. I'll only shoot at 50 yards max and there isn't a deer out there that isn't gonna fall to that, shot placement of course.
 
The DE was originally designed around the .44 magnum. The .50AE wasn't designed and released until 8 years after the gun was initially released. The reason the .50AE was designed as rimless was to retain the same rim diameter as the .44 so the same bolt could be used for both.
I have both barrels for the DE, .50 and .44. I also have the old MK1 slide/bolt and the new MK19 slide/bolt, .44 barrels for both, and a .50 barrel for the MK19 slide.

My DE is just as reliable in .44 as it is in .50, but I had to replace the extractor spring in the MK19 bolt for the .50 as over time that polymer button "spring" degrades and turns into a paste. If you are having malfunctions in your .44, there are a few known places to start....limp wristing, the extractor spring degrading, bad magazines, cupping the magazine during firing,and the ammunition. The DE does not tolerate mid range or light loads, it requires full power loads to function correctly. I've found with a good spring, a good hold, factory magazines, and handloads loaded at the top of the chart, my DE is very reliable.

Currently I have the original wound wire extractor spring swapped from my MK1 bolt in the MK19 bolt, and the polymer button spring in the MK1 bolt. The wound wire spring isn't as strong as they polymer button spring, but won't turn into mush over time and exposure to solvents.

When I first disassembled the MK19 bolt with the factory original polymer spring, the polymer had degraded to a candle wax consistency and had to be scraped out of the recess in pieces.
 
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I would never hunt 1911 or use one for self-defense.
Too many reliability issues plus limited capacity Plus exorbitant pricing equals
No.
I already have a better gun than that in the Glock 40 long slide.

But for all you 10 mm fans Myself included
What up Jacob would you put on either a Springfield XDM OSP or Glock 40 MOSand what mountain plates that are compatible come with them from the factory?
Of what's listed I'd carry the XDM. I might still get one of those, I like the trigger much better than the stock Glock.
My only 10 is a RIA 6" UltraMatch 1911a2, and I do carry it hunting from time to time. Haven't fired a shot with it on game yet, but have spent a few thousand rounds at the range.
Extra weight, and better trigger, than either the souped up XD or P80c I had, makes hitting with it at distance easier.
 
I've been looking for years for one of those unreliable 1911's and have yet to encounter one. As a hunting pistol, it has everything over a striker fired polymer auto. Why is capacity even an issue?
I've heard tell of them, but never encountered one in the wild.
I do however trust my life to one every day but I don't own one I'd deer hunt with. Working on it though.
If you can stand the trigger on the Glock, that would be a good pick.
 
The DE was originally designed around the .44 magnum. The .50AE wasn't designed and released until 8 years after the gun was initially released. The reason the .50AE was designed as rimless was to retain the same rim diameter as the .44 so the same bolt could be used for both.
I have both barrels for the DE, .50 and .44. I also have the old MK1 slide/bolt and the new MK19 slide/bolt, .44 barrels for both, and a .50 barrel for the MK19 slide.

My DE is just as reliable in .44 as it is in .50, but I had to replace the extractor spring in the MK19 bolt for the .50 as over time that polymer button "spring" degrades and turns into a paste. If you are having malfunctions in your .44, there are a few known places to start....limp wristing, the extractor spring degrading, bad magazines, cupping the magazine during firing,and the ammunition. The DE does not tolerate mid range or light loads, it requires full power loads to function correctly. I've found with a good spring, a good hold, factory magazines, and handloads loaded at the top of the chart, my DE is very reliable.

Currently I have the original wound wire extractor spring swapped from my MK1 bolt in the MK19 bolt, and the polymer button spring in the MK1 bolt. The wound wire spring isn't as strong as they polymer button spring, but won't turn into mush over time and exposure to solvents.

When I first disassembled the MK19 bolt with the factory original polymer spring, the polymer had degraded to a candle wax consistency and had to be scraped out of the recess in pieces.

Eh makes sense on the rimless cartridge thing. I still prefer the 50 AE though. Have never had a single malfunction shooting it. Again, I have to shoot entirely with one hand so my experience with the 44 may be completely unique. I just find it easier to shoot the 50 AE while confident it will function perfectly, instead of worrying how I'm holding the 44 with every trigger pull. I'd definitely be happy to try it again with hotter loads though.
 
I already own revolvers in 460, 454, 44 Magnum and 357?

Imo , revolvers are better. More powerful than any bottom feeder could ever hope to be. 460 would be my choice if I knew the range could be over 75 yards or so, otherwise the 454 would do just as well at shorter ranges in a gun that won't give you scoliosis trying to carry .

I also have a brand new Glock 40 long slide and Springfield XDM 10 mm.

Glock, it's just a better gun. If you really want to use a semi auto pistol it's a good one. Or get that 50ae desert eagle, that'll work too.

With all those options you must have a favorite. Once I got into 454 casull it rendered my 44 magnums obsolete , no comparison. There isn't one single thing 44 mag does that 454 doesn't do better in a gun that's the same size. 460 will give you better range but they should have named it 454 casull magnum , describes it better as nothing about it is "460" and it's lineage is directly from the 454. 357 is fine too but if you have bigger, it's better.

Just my .02...
 
There isn't one single thing 44 mag does that 454 doesn't do better in a gun that's the same size.

Just my .02...

Thats arguable. I have no interest in the .454 for several reasons, one of which is that the .454 won't do anything for me that the .44 can't. The .454 is wasted power for any hunting I would conceivably do, is wasted recoil for range trips, is wasted powder capacity for reloading tolerable loads, etc. Maybe if I were hunting very large bovines, but I have no plans for that in the future, and if I did, I'd skip the .454 and go straight to the .480.

To each their own.
 
Thats arguable. I have no interest in the .454 for several reasons, one of which is that the .454 won't do anything for me that the .44 can't. The .454 is wasted power for any hunting I would conceivably do, is wasted recoil for range trips, is wasted powder capacity for reloading tolerable loads, etc. Maybe if I were hunting very large bovines, but I have no plans for that in the future, and if I did, I'd skip the .454 and go straight to the .480.

To each their own.

How do you feel about 454 compared to 50 AE? Do you have any experience with the new 429?
 
The DE was originally designed around the .44 magnum.
Actually, it was designed in .357 and that was the sole chambering for the first 4 years of production.
The .44 came out in '86 IIRC.

but I had to replace the extractor spring in the MK19 bolt for the .50 as over time that polymer button "spring" degrades and turns into a paste.
That is interesting. I have quite a few DEs (all I's and VII's) and bought a bunch of spare parts and springs about the time
MR started making all the different finishes. Figured they were on their way out of business if they had to resort to such gimmicks.
So lucky for me, both of my 50's are MK sevens as well as the slide and frame on my .440 cor-bon.

The whole MK XIX thing has not interested me anyway, must be getting old LOL.
The name for instance. The MK I and MK VII models were so named for their year of introduction, but since the MK XIX was
introduced in the thirteenth year of manufacture, maybe the marketing gurus figured MK XIII was either unlucky
or just not cool enough looking on paper.

I have a 44 Magnum desert eagle that functions well for a desert eagle which means it's far less reliable then a revolver but still pretty reliable after a good cleaning.
Sorry to hear that it has reliability issues. I also agree that I would not bet against my .44 revolvers in a contest with my .44 DE's.
I taper crimp all of my DE ammo (never shot factory in any of them) and so possibly the roll crimp on factory (or revolver loads) factors in?

JT
 
I'm pretty sure 44 magnum from a desert eagle it's just as powerful if not more as a 44 Magnum from a revolver due to how the desert eagles action is constructed kind of like AR rifle.
I don't think you could lose any power with a d e.
Thought I would feel more confident and follow-up shots if needed what's her phone for a plus in the field with adrenalinn and functioning potentially odd angles for shooting I would not be surprised for a desert eagle to fail.

And if you have any 1911's that have never had ftf fte etc truck sorry they're not being honest or are extremely suspiciously lucky.
Whereas I have never had such an issue and in a Springfield XDM or glock.

Thanks for your advice and help and I may just hang in there with my de since it is unique even if not practical for any real life scenario and if anybody can make a realistic argument for what the real life realistic scenario where a d e is superior please give it a shot before I talked myself back into selling it:rofl:
 
Your #4 plate for your Glock MOS should fit the Delta Point. Not sure if any of them fit the vortex. Of your options I'd likely use the 10mm with the red dot.

I also use a longslide 10mm, but mine is a 1911.
 
I've been looking for years for one of those unreliable 1911's and have yet to encounter one. As a hunting pistol, it has everything over a striker fired polymer auto. Why is capacity even an issue?
Well it's an old design ya know, so if you can't bury it in mud then chuck it out of a helicopter and fire 17 rounds reliably on YouTube it must be obsolete or unreliable :confused:.

1911 in 10mm would be just fine.
I have a 44 Magnum desert eagle that functions well for a desert eagle which means it's far less reliable then a revolver but still pretty reliable after a good cleaning.
I fired a 44 mag DE for an afternoon that my neighbor owned and it was very reliable. We were shooting factory ammo and I was really impressed with the accuracy. The fixed barrel supposedly attributes to that. On the other hand, my neighbor couldn't hit squat with it and swore it was thee biggest pile of garbage and claimed I was "just lucky" off the bench. Just didn't fit him or he didn't take the time to learn his gun.

Or would you stick 2 revolvers as I already own revolvers in 460, 454, 44 Magnum and 357?
Well, if you own and have experience with the 460, 454 and 44 mag revolver, that would be my preference. No reason not to try the DE with enough range time behind it, but I like the revolver options myself.
 
functioning potentially odd angles for shooting I would not be surprised for a desert eagle to fail.

Sounds like the 'don't put your hand under the magazine or the gun will fail' thing.
I never quite got around to changing my shooting style when working from field positions (kneeling or sitting)
which is how I shoot the DE most often so, years ago, I came up with my solution that allows me
to shoot a reliably functioning DE with my hand under the butt.
de conv. 1.jpg
The photo is of a mid 80s conversion kit, but it's the only pic I have of a magazine showing my solution. The 1 1/2" rubber o ring is rolled onto
the magazine to the base. Different calibers use different diameters of the inch and a half o ring.
IIRC, the .357s take a 1/16" while the 41s and 44s use a 1/8".
One needs to experiment to find the best fit.

Not for Angelina Jolie style mag changes, but if 8 or 9 shots later your deer is still up, it might be time to plan a new strategy!
The o ring gently takes up both the vertical and the forward/aft play while keeping the correct angle and depth in the mag well. I usually insert these mags into a locked open gun,
although you can seat the mag with the slide closed by giving it a firm smack on the base. No more magazine related stoppages.

de since it is unique even if not practical for any real life scenario

I don't know about that, if hunting is one of the scenarios.
de holsters.jpg
Pictured is a pair of Gould and Goodrich skeleton holsters made for 6" and 10" barreled Desert Eagles.
As you can see, the six inch holster allows the gun into action after clearing just one inch of leather. That allows for a reasonably fast draw.
The 10" barreled gun needs to come up 5", but at least you won't punch yourself out getting it clear.;)
A home made Sam Browne style shoulder strap helps to keep one's pants up with this holster.

JT
 
I'm pretty sure 44 magnum from a desert eagle it's just as powerful if not more as a 44 Magnum from a revolver due to how the desert eagles action is constructed kind of like AR rifle.
Depends on how you look at it. In some guns, like the Super Redhawk and Dan Wessons, you can dial the .44Mag up to 50,000psi. Due to cylinder length, you can utilize bullets up to 405gr. Can't do either in the Desert Eagle.
 
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