Desert Eagle .357 magnum

[Hook686]

I just received my Desert Eagle. I put the 6" .357 magnum barrel/bolt on and took a box of ammunition to the range. Over all I was impressed with the accuracy of this pistol and am looking forward to receiving the 10" barrel. Overall I found the The 125 grain JHP Remington rounds and 145 grain Winchester Silver Tip rounds to be mild in the DE. I would compare these to shooting 147 grain Buffalo Bore rounds in my S&W 9mm 3913 TSW.

The most severe loads were the Buffalo Bore Heavy .357 magnum 158 grain JHC and 170 grain JHC rounds. These I would compare to shooting 145 grain Winchester Silver Tips in my 4" S&W 686.

Below is the list of ammunition I fired today. The only rounds that Failed to Feed, or Failed to Extract were the 110 grain JHP and my reloads of 158 grain SJSP under 7.7 grains of Unique (a rather moderate loading).

Buffalo Bore: 125, 158 and 170 grain JHC
Remington: 125 grain JHP, 180 grain Partition Gold
CorBon: 110 grain JHP
Reload: 158 grain SJSP, 7.7 grains Unique, WSP primer, 1.590" OAL

Yes this pistol is heavy at 4 pounds 6-1/2 ounces, and anyone having a small, or medium hand size will not really like the large grip. However, aside from not considering this a CCW pistol, I anticipate I will carry this into the field, in a bandolier holster, when I go after Coyote. This will be determined when I receive the 10" barrel and try it at 100+ yards, with a scope.

I can see myself using this as a Home Defense pistol also. 11 shots of .357 magnum 170, or 158 grain JHC, in a 4" circle, at 10 yards, in 15 seconds works for me.

 

[Moonclip]

I always wanted a .357 DE. I'd run it with hot Armscor .357 ammo and see how it works. I thought the mags were 9 rounds. 10 rounds even better!

 

[wally]

If any DE makes sense, the .357 is it, but that said I opted for the .44Mag, bigger boom without the absurd ammo costs of the .50AE.

Trade in your Unique for Blue Dot or WW296 to get the full magnum experience with your reloads.

--wally.

 

[Hook686]

Hmmmmm I have some W296 .... I think you might be right wally. I'll try 15 grains with 170 grain JHP.

Moonclip I'm with you. I thought the magazine capacity was 9 rounds. The magazine I took with me was one of two I bought online. mI'll have to try the other one. I thought it odd, but I smiled, when 10 went in.


Later: Yup. I just checked the 2nd magazine. It too holds 10 rounds of .357. I like that. 11 rounds of .357 magnum in an auto loader brings a smile to my face.

 

[Peter Gun]

i had the .357 mark VII. I enjoyed shooting it. To me it seemed to have very little recoil, big gun to handle the load. It was also surprisingly accurate. I had to sell it when i needed money and it was my least practical gun, but if i was flush with cash i wouldnt mind another one.
I had the same experience with ammo- it shot everything well except the 110 gr loads. Wouldnt cycle fully with those. It liked the 180gr winchester hunting load best. with that load it was crazy accurate. I wish i had bigger hands too, then i would have liked it even more.

 

[DougDubya]

I always liked the .357 Eagle best, but that stems from when I was a teenager reading the neo-pulp adventures of Phoenix Force.

The older, pre-.50 Eagles also seemed a little sleeker and lighter. It'd be nice to see a dedicated slide and barrel assembly to take advantage of the smaller .357 Magnum Caliber.

 

[Urbana John]

My nephew has an older DE 357, while they were still made overseas, and his wouldn't digest ANY of my reloads!!!
Factory ammo of all kinds worked well, but not my mild or HOT reloads would work,,,,just wouldn't cycle them.
At that same time I had a Connan 357 and it ate everything I put in the mag.
I wasn't impressed with his DE, since my Coonan worked so well.

UJ

 

[Energy Recruitm]

The highroad

Yeah, I shoot .32 longs, or magnums out of mine. I understand these are pretty sturdy, so shouldn't be a problem.
It does take more time to clean the cylinder tho.

 

[Molasses]

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Yeah, I shoot .32 longs, or magnums out of mine. I understand these are pretty sturdy, so shouldn't be a problem.
It does take more time to clean the cylinder tho.
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Uhhh, yeah. Riiight. I'd imagine .32 longs or magnums wouldn't really put much of a strain on a Desert Eagle...and that cleanup probably would be a little more work than usual if you could get them to chamber and go off in that .357 magnum barrel; I mean, most .32 long ammo you can find is loaded with lead bullets and getting that out of the gas system is supposed to be a royal PITA.

Just friendly teasing over your little "Oops" and welcome to THR, Energy Recruitment.

 

[Storm]

I once owned a .357 MkI and it was a fine, fine shooter. I now have a .44 magnum MKVII and I like it a lot but long for that old MKI.

Hmm, nine posts into a Deasert Eagle thread and the bashing contingent hasn't shown up yet. Slow day.

 

[IdahoLT1]

Im not trying to dog on your purchase because i do think they are cool but why own a Deagle in 357mag? I prefer a high capcity 10mm chambered gun like the Glock 20 or the EAA Witness line over a 357 DE. Slice it any way you want, but 15 rounds of 10mm has more firepower than 11 rounds of 357mag. The 10" barrel would help it out quite a bit though.