Reloading .50 AE for the Desert Eagle?

[bsev81]

I wonder if this has anything to do with headspacing.

You may be onto something, when Paladin chambered the blank he used the "standard" of ten thou beyond exact headspace. I did not have him check to see how the chamber in my DE compares to that before cutting it though. I also wonder if it may have anything to do with the bolt unlocking in the AR. The pistol length gas tube on an 11.5" barrel even with only an .080" gas port had plenty of gas. Before I started shooting it suppressed I closed off my adjustable gas block by more than half and it was still cycling enough unsuppressed to lock the bolt back on the face of the carrier. I may close the gas off completely and see if there is any difference in how the primer looks.

The long 50AE brass you speak of from Starline is how the first runs of 458 Socom brass were manufactured. I wonder if they would be willing to accommodate that request, hard to say though.

Those loud wonderings can sometimes yield the best answers!

 

[Mn Fats]

I wonder how many rounds fired through one of these before some type of mechanical failure happens. I assume enough rounds to make you go broke but I've never heard anything on longevity.

 

[The Glockodile]

I think the achilles heel of the design is the piston, and where it attaches.

 

[Mn Fats]

I think the achilles heel of the design is the piston, and where it attaches.

So if that breaks off, is the piston just stuck where it is? I'm trying to picture it.

 

[Mn Fats]

^Has anyone had to send a firearm back to Magnum Research? If so, how was the experience with customer service?

I have an IMI Desert Eagle on the way. Wonder if they'd still take care of me.

 

[Demi-human]

When my piston broke off it wouldn’t cycle. I racked it twice before I noticed the piston was gone. I found it at my feet. I think there was only fifteen or sixteen hundred rounds through it. Oh well, drag cars need tires.

When I first purchased my Eagle the barrel that came with it had some metal inclusions. There was a rifling land that was missing towards the chamber and this made terrible chatter marks down the rest of that land. This caused copper to be shaved into the gas port, as well as down the barrel, and left as a plume of patina at the muzzle and on the piston.

I wonder if it was this instance that lessened the life of my piston? With the flash of the gas I suppose I understand why the piston isn’t just milled into the front end of the frame, but why the little tail is so small is a mystery to me. The spring rail brace also retains the piston, mine was marred a bit by the loss of the piston, but is fine.

When the piston breaks it just falls on the ground. I think the torque from the exiting bullet causes the side pressure that snaps the tail. They’re twenty dollars, get two.
I sent my barrel back and had a new one in a week.

I don’t know if they do, but it would be silly not to work on the IMI Eagles. The differences in the MkXIX are purely esthetic, weaver rails instead of picatinny, claw safety for teardrop.

Gosh, if only I could find magnum large pistol primers! I put two boxes of rifle primers back yesterday, I want to shoot my pistols!

 

[The Glockodile]

So if that breaks off, is the piston just stuck where it is? I'm trying to picture it.

It's typically expelled...

But the little tab where the recoil spring assembly inserts?

That's a lot of work concentrated on such a small bit of metal, in an equally small bit of space, for such a huge and powerful pistol - even through it probably isn't a load - bearing part.

Just like that wee little stem which the piston is affixed to.

 

[Demi-human]

That’s how mine went, except I saved the recoil assembly and just replaced the springs. My cross brace was mated with the frame now, I didn’t want a new square one to wear back in.

 

[GarrettJ]

Has anyone had to send a firearm back to Magnum Research? If so, how was the experience with customer service?

They were responsive and quick. I had an early L5 that had cycling issues. They said they had redesigned some of it after mine was built and for me to send it in. They provided a prepaid shipping label, and turnaround was about a week.

By “redesigned” they meant the barrel, slide, piston and spring assembly. I got back full new top end on my frame.

Unfortunately, the new barrel gas port shaves jacket material like crazy. They sent me another shipping label and I returned it again. Even though I sent photos and a little baggie of some of the jacket chunks, they said nothing was wrong with it and sent it back after running a couple mags through it.

Of the 5 DE barrels I own, that’s the only one with that issue.