Desert Eagle Problems

[Zoomer]

Had an AwESOME day at the range yesterday, 8 guns 100's of rounds of ammo and 2 good friends. We shot Taurus 9mm's, Colt 357's, Kimber 45's, 38 specials, 454 Casulls, and yes the 44 Mag Desert Eagle. Started having failures to come to battery with the DE almost immediately. Concentrated on not limp wristing or flinching (not the easiest thing to do with a DE I might add). Ejections were consistent but the gun would not chamber rounds fully. The last 1/4 inch of the shell would hang. A slap on the rear of the slide would get it to battery and fire, only to hang on the next round. The slide would also not lock back after the last round. The gun was clean as I detail stripped it the day before the range trip.

Holding the magazine up tight against the bottom of the gun seemed to help immensely and I can't figure out why... I am much more familiar w/1911's and know how tempermental they can be (Kimber owner here) and also what a joy they can be.

Any ideas???

 

[briansp82593]

weak mag spring or low powered rounds

 

[Hawk]

I generally turn curmudgeon when I hear "limp wrist" in general. The Desert Eagle would invoke the demon-curmudgeon faster than most. It's gas operated - if you can limp-wrist a DE, you can probably limp wrist an M-4 carbine.

I agree with mag spring or out-of-spec ammo. Possibly the mag catch recess got "wallered out" - if it's riding too low, it could produce symptoms such as you describe.

Forget the limp-wrist stuff though.

 

[Zoomer]

Ammo was NIB Remington dont think that was the cause of the malfunction. Why would a weak magazine spring cause a fail to come to battery?? Ammo feeding was OK, I'm more apt to think it was the dual set of recoil springs...hmmmm

The mag catch recess may indeed be the culprit. Now all I need is a good definition of "wallered out".

 

[briansp82593]

weak ammo, hard springs, and if the mag spring isnt pushing up on the rounds like it should it will jam, it could be all three, but im mainly guessing weak rounds and a heavy recoil spring

 

[Hawk]

"Wallered out" is a technical term I was introduced to shortly after having moved here from N.Y.

It could actually apply to any portion of the magazine retaining mechanism that permits the magazine to seat lower than it should. In a 1911 type magazine, this could be the stamped slot being larger than it should be from use: hence, wallered out.

If you can duct tape the mag "up" and solve the problem, that's likely the issue. Magnum Research might have some info if you call 'em.

 

[MachIVshooter]

I generally turn curmudgeon when I hear "limp wrist" in general. The Desert Eagle would invoke the demon-curmudgeon faster than most. It's gas operated - if you can limp-wrist a DE, you can probably limp wrist an M-4 carbine.

When was the last time you fired a Desert Eagle? Believe me, limp wristing a DE (especially a .50) will cause feeding issues. This is specifically because of the gas operation; the springs are pretty light and need all the force they can muster to return the massive slide to battery. If you absorb too much of the recoil, you'll have a failure to feed. You'll also get brass faced.

Holding the magazine up tight against the bottom of the gun seemed to help immensely and I can't figure out why

Me neither. putting pressure on the bottom of a DE mag usually causes jams. Sounds like either low powered ammo or weak springs. Are you using factory magazines?

 

[Hawk]

When was the last time you fired a Desert Eagle? Believe me, limp wristing a DE (especially a .50) will cause feeding issues.

Last week.

We'll agree to disagree on this. We've had a couple of "limp wrist" threads. We can resurrect one of those if either of us feel the need to pursue the matter further. I'd guess neither of us is going to convince the other to change their views, though.