Proud new owner of "The Big Black Bird."

[Drjones]

That's the name I made up for my new DE MK XIX .44.

Picked it up yesterday and lovin' it! It's so BIG and HEAVY! I LOVE IT!

Cleaned it up, oiled it down, just gotta go shoot it soon...

I have a few questions about the design features of the DE:

1. Free-floating magazine. Why? What are the advantages over a traditional mag setup? I've read that this design hinders the clearing of jams, (can't do tap-rack-bang drills) so it seems like it may actually be disadvantageous over a standard design.

2. Rotating bolt. Again, why? What are the advantages over a standard extractor setup? And when exactly does the bolt rotate? It doesn't seem to when I cycle the slide manually, even with live rounds...

3. Polygonal rifling. Why? What is the advantage over traditional rifling designs? Is it more accurate? Easier to clean? What?

4. The gentleman at the shop seemed rather knowledgeable about this pistol, especially since they used to keep a few for rent. (They stopped it because they were too high-maintenance.) Anyhow, he was nice enough to show me how to strip it and give me a few tips and I wanted to verify what he said.

a) He told me that the recoil rod spacer, the part with the little tab on it, wears quite quickly and needs to be replaced fairly frequently. (Probably around the same time as the recoil springs, perhaps a bit sooner.) Is this true?

b) He said that standard JHP rounds tend to get deformed by the DE's feed ramp, and while they will still function reliably, the deformation (obviously) will negatively affect accuracy. Is this true?

Any other tips/info you could give are much appreciated.

Thanks a lot!!!!
Drjones

 

[Black Snowman]

I have a .50 with a .44 barrel.

1) I have no idea what a free-floating magazine is. Seems like it works just like my other magazines.

2) It's gas oporated. This allows the fixed barrel which improves accuracy.

3) Longer wearing, better sealing but more friction. Good for high pressure rounds for accuracy but must be forged. More expensive to produce.

4) a) Possible, I only have about 400 rounds of .50 and 50 rounds of .44 though mine and it seems fine so far.
b) Not as much of an issue with the 44 as the 50. I find the biggest limiting factor to the accuracy is the strength of my arms. In the .44 mag barrel I use Remington 240 gr JSP for my "plinking" ammo. Seem plenty accurate and more resistant to deforming without letting any lead get in the gas system like a FMJ could.

Add to the warnings:
Don't use plated or lead bullets if possible. Extremely hard cast coated lead like the Precision Bullets have been used but I haven't tried them.

You have a Mk XIX so you don't have to worry about the spring guide bind or wear that can happen from an improperly installed one from a MK VII or MK I.

That's what I know. Really fun gun. Enjoy

 

[Hkmp5sd]

From the title, I thought you had bought a retired SR-71 Blackbird.

 

[Duke of Lawnchair]

PICTURES!!!!!!

Doc, post that bad boy!

 

[Kamicosmos]

I second Black Snowman's post. He said it better than I would of.


Enjoy your Eagle!

 

[BerettaNut92]

Haha now you can convert all your Counter-Strike playing friends...bwahahaha

 

[45R]

Congrats dude....now when the heck are we going to shoot it!!!! I'll buy the beers if you can get a 1" group at 10 yards

 

[BrokenPaw]

The free-floating mag is evil. Out of habit, because I'm used to tap-rack-bang drills, I would occasionally seat the mag in my (now ex-) Desert Eagle Mk XIX .44 a little too...vigorously. And it would wedge in place and need tools to get it out. Evil, I tell you.

Also, my DE was finicky about what ammo I could feed it. Liked PMC, hated pretty much everything else. Did OK on Federal Hydra-Shoks.

Keep your chamber clean. If your chamber gets any grot in it, you may start experiencing FTEs; I had this problem on occasion with my DE. When (if) this occurs, the extractor will tear a big chunk out of the case rim. Not good.

The rotating bolt is (conceptually) the same design used in AR-15/M-16 rifles; there is a gas port near the front of the barrel that bleeds off a bit of the gas from behind the bullet and uses it to push the slide backward (on the AR-15/M-16 action, the bolt carrier is pushed back, instead). The rotating bolt keeps the barrel and the bolt locked together firmly during initial ignition, and keeps the whole platform stable until the bullet has left the barrel.

The bolt is still rotating when you cycle the thing manually; it's just that all of the rotation occurs while the breech is closed enough that you can't see the bolt.

-BP