Anyone versed in the light weight Desert Eagle L5's?

[MikeInOr]

I am turning 50 and it is time to buy a range toy just for the fun of it! I have always wanted a Desert Eagle and I think it is time to just do it!

I would really like a DE in 50ae... but I really like the lightweight .44 L5's with their 5" barrels instead of the standard 6" and the much lighter carrying weight of the L5's.

If they made a L5 in 50ae it would be a no brainer... but they don't... yet?

Am I correct in my understanding that the DE L5 uses the same aluminum frame as the 50ae L6? I am also guessing that the L5 is going to have a shorter slide than any of the full sized 6" barreled DE's? So if I wanted to put a 6" 50ae barrel on a .44 L5 frame I would also need a second longer slide for the 6" .50ae barrel? Of course a second barrel plus a second mag plus a second frame... I would guess would be really close to the price of just buying a second DE?

Any Desert Eagle gurus out there that can shed some light on the Desert Eagle L5 slide vs L6 slide?

 

[tcj]

While both frames are aluminum I do not believe that you can mix-n-match slides between the two. Not an expert but own an L6 in 44 and have also shot the 50.

Have you shot the 50? Reason I ask is that the 44 - especially with a Hogue grip - isn't that hard to handle even when you're getting old like me. The 50 is much harder to handle which is why I went with a 44. Would have gone with a 357 but was never able to find one to shoot.

The 44 is a real fun range toy. Regardless of which model & caliber if you don't handload your own ammo you will need to try a bunch to find what works best for you. In my 44 it takes a pretty hot load to run reliably (I do handload).

A couple of web-sites that you may want to check out are http://deserteagletalk.boards.net/ and https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thedeserteagle/.

 

[MikeInOr]

I do reload all my ammo and would probably setup a .44mag head for my Dillon. I have read other places that the DE likes quite hot loads in .44mag like you said. I would probably do 50ae in a single stage press to save money on the Dillon head and shell plate.

The DE .44 L5 does have a lot of appeal! I am sure I would shoot .44 much more often than the 50ae. My buddy has a 500S&W that is fun to shoot... a few times. The 50ae would be a lot of fun when we take cinder blocks out with us as targets! 50ae vs 500S&W. I have not shot a DE in 50ae... I don't think it could be worse than the 500S&W recoil wise.

Thank you for the forum links! I have been doing a lot of DE reading on the web but haven't stumbled across those forums yet.

It sounds like you are pleased you bought the L6 instead of one of the heavy weight DE's?

I am looking at a local used Israeli XIX in 50ae with an asking price of $1200. For a few hundred more I could get the L5 I really want... I have never shot and L5 either though. I would hope the the brake would tame the lighter L5 in .44 pretty nicely?

 

[MikeInOr]

I just read on the Tapatalk forum that the slide and barrels are not interchangeable between the L5 and the full sized DE frames. With the pictures posted over there it is very obvious that they won't interchange!

 

[GarrettJ]

So yes, the frame, slide, barrel, recoil springs, gas piston, and probably a couple other things are different between the L5 and the MK-XIX guns. What are the same are the bolt and other slide internals. I haven't checked specifically, but the trigger group appears to be the same between the two models.



Holding the two guns, you realize just what a brick the heavy gun is. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just different.

I've got barrels in .357, .44, and .50 for the big gun. Only .357 on the L5. So that's the only caliber I can directly compare.

Recoil between the two is interesting. The .357 has always been really mild in the big autoloader. The L5 feels a little "snappy", where the MK-XIX seems to have a slower rolling recoil. I haven't ever shot a .357 MK-XIX with a muzzle brake, but I'm curious how it would compare to the lighter gun.

I haven't ever handled an L6, but I wonder if they were designed more like the MK-XIX, only with an aluminum frame. One may be able to swap parts between the L6 and XIX, but I have not confirmed that.

 

[tcj]

I do reload all my ammo and would probably setup a .44mag head for my Dillon. I have read other places that the DE likes quite hot loads in .44mag like you said. I would probably do 50ae in a single stage press to save money on the Dillon head and shell plate.

The DE .44 L5 does have a lot of appeal! I am sure I would shoot .44 much more often than the 50ae. My buddy has a 500S&W that is fun to shoot... a few times. The 50ae would be a lot of fun when we take cinder blocks out with us as targets! 50ae vs 500S&W. I have not shot a DE in 50ae... I don't think it could be worse than the 500S&W recoil wise.

Thank you for the forum links! I have been doing a lot of DE reading on the web but haven't stumbled across those forums yet.

It sounds like you are pleased you bought the L6 instead of one of the heavy weight DE's?

I am looking at a local used Israeli XIX in 50ae with an asking price of $1200. For a few hundred more I could get the L5 I really want... I have never shot and L5 either though. I would hope the the brake would tame the lighter L5 in .44 pretty nicely?

If the L5 in 357 was available a few years ago when I bought mine and I had a chance to try it then I probably would have gotten the L5 as I was already reloading 357 and had to tool up for 44. But at this point I am VERY happy with my XIX in 44 and have no plans on replacing it...although if I could convince my better half I would get a 357 as well just to keep the 44 company.

 

[GarrettJ]

If the L5 in 357 was available a few years ago when I bought mine and I had a chance to try it then I probably would have gotten the L5 as I was already reloading 357 and had to tool up for 44. But at this point I am VERY happy with my XIX in 44 and have no plans on replacing it...although if I could convince my better half I would get a 357 as well just to keep the 44 company.

You could get a barrel, bolt, and magazines, and swap calibers on your existing gun. That route would probably still cost you around $600, but that's about half what a complete gun in another caliber would run you.

 

[Havok7416]

I must have missed the announcement. When did the cute little baby come along? And why? Part of the appeal to the DE was the caricature-like characteristics and excess of it (at least that's what I always thought). What's the price on them?

 

[MikeInOr]

A couple years ago Kahr announced the L6 in 50ae with a 6" barrel and a weight saving aluminum frame. At the same time they announced the L5 in .357 with a 5" barrel and an aluminum frame that is considerably lighter than the full size XIX. This year they announced the L5 in .44 mag which also has the lighter weight 5" barrel and aluminum frame.

Why? I believe to was to make them seem like a bit more practical pistol that someone might actually carry in bear county?

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The Isreali XIX in .50ae I was looking at is in a beautiful black/bronze Cerakote. Since it has to have been refinished there is really no way to tell if it has seen heavy use and will need a lot of replacement parts. $1200 seems too high for a weapon in unknown condition and I don't have the experience with DE to properly evaluate the condition.

It looks like I could get a L5 in .44 for under $1500. This is the direction I am thinking of going.

Thank you for the information! Especially the comparison of the L5 vs XIX... that was very helpful!

P.S. I also wonder about the parts interchangability between the L6 and the full size XIX?

 

[MikeInOr]

Desert Eagle finally started shipping their L5 light weight 5" version in 50ae. I ordered one from Sportsman's Warehouse last weekend. I picked it up during lunch and took it out after work. I am very happy with how it shoots! I was a concerned that I would not enjoy the way a 50ae shoots in the light weight L5. The recoil isn't near what I had expected, it is a large push instead of a quick pop. The XDs in .45 is much less pleasant to shoot than the DE! The only thing I found disappointing are the sights. I have never cared for combat sights, I much prefer 3 dot sights. I have some fiber sights on the way.

Here it is between my 1911 and XDs 3.3" .45 for size reference.