Anybody reload Desert Eagle .44 ?

[sublimaze41]

I "came into" a Desert Eagle .44 mag and am looking for some tried and true loads for it.

I had some hunting rounds from last year, Hornady XTP 240 grain loaded with 19.5 grains of
2400 at 1250 FPS and OAL 1.60 . The results were mixed. I had excellent accuracy but the
rounds failed to cycle about 30% of the time.

I also used some older hunting rounds of Hornady XTP 240gr behind Accurate 5744 @ 23.5 grains.
Again the gun failed to cycle probably 10 % of the time. The OAL for this round was 1.590 @ 1109 FPS.

My last set of reloads I had sitting around were Hornady XTP 200 garins loaded with AA#9 at 22.1
grains with a OAL of 1.585 and Velocity of 1410 FPS. Failed to cycle about 40% of the time. This didn't
surprise me as the gun was designed to shoot 240 Grain Bullets.


This morning I made 32 rounds of .44 mag using 20 grains of AA #9 behind Rainier 240 gr HP at 1.580 OAL.
Data was as follows using 23 shots:
FPS-------1271
SD--------19
ES--------82
HI--------1302
Lo--------1220

The gun in the last set of reloads cycled 22 of 23 shots.

Any ideas?? I can tell this gun likes a full load of a very stout powder. Shooting Lead is completely out
of the equation per owner's manual. Plated bullets seem to work well but would traditional jacketed
bullets driven harder work better?? FWIW,
the gun was just cleaned prior to shooting it.

 

[Galil5.56]

If bought used, do you know how well the pistol was taken care of, or perhaps some issue exists that is causing problems? If all is well, you could always use tried and true H110/WW296 worked up to max loads... Try this, and I have a feeling your cycling problems will be cured.

 

[Rembrandt]

My .44 Desert Eagle works well with this formula....

- Hornady 240 grain XTP's
- 20.1 grains 2400 powder
- CCI primers
- Winchester cases

 

[sublimaze41]

What are the OALs that are being used?? My mags will not accept HP bullets that are 1.60. I use 1.58 and they feed fine.
Does bumping the OAL down 0.02 matter that much in a big round like the .44 mag? I know decreased OAL in 9mm and .40 is to be avoided.

For instance, if the load calls for an OAL of 1.60 and it is reduced to 1.570 does that create high pressure problems, especially at max loads?

 

[plinky]

Mine is an early model and it has not been picky about ammo at all. It has digested 180, 200 and 240gr equally well. Even some 240 lead SWC (not much) with no problem. I have always used W296/H110 within a grain or two of max.

Only problems I have had were cleaning related. It did build up a lot of crap around the bolt head and extractor. I had stove pipes and non extracts. You say yours was cleaned. Did you tear the bolt down?

Give us more details about the failures. Is it extracting? Ejecting? Picking up the next round? Jamming the new round on the way in?

I can't see where your ammo should be the problem. I haven't used those powders but the loads look plenty warm. If the problem is not bolt fouling or a mechanical feeding problem, my next guess would be a fouled or out of spec gas system. But please do give us more details.

PS, I see you're using plated bullets. Some of these behave a lot like lead bullets. Good news, if you're shaving off plating into the gas port, it will be easier to remove than lead.

 

[sublimaze41]

The plated bullets feed better than the XTPs.

No, I have not cleaned the bolt head extractor.

The problem was failure to extract the fired case. When I work the action the fired case comes out easily.
There are no overpressure indicators with respect to the failure to extract.

 

[lindy]

MTCW===they should have named that pistol "desert turky",, prob the most unreliable pistol known to man !!

 

[sublimaze41]

Lindy,
welcome to THR. Do you have any suggestions about the problems I described, or are you just interested in fresh remarks?

If you are interested in remarks/opinions about handguns, there is a forum just for that. http://www.thehighroad.org/forumdisplay.php?f=33


This forum is about reloading.

 

[plinky]

Hopefully you got the manual with the DE. It will give you the procedure for removing the firing pin, bolt etc. It's not that tough but the manual would be handy for moral support. Do the job in a clean well lit area though.

My guess is your ammo is fine but you have some crud under the extractor so it doesn't engage the rim as positively as it should.

Surely there have been Desert Eagles that didn't shoot well but I've never seen or read about them. Worst you can say is they often throw the first shot away from a tight little group.

With a good cleaning of the bolt every few hundred rounds mine is as reliable as any pistol I own.

HTH