Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I dread asking such questions on forums because I just know it's going to turn into a caliber war. That said, I like the .357 mag and I'm not particularly interested in the joys of the many other calibers. I would sort of like to hear from folks who have actually fired the weapon.
Before the advice for alternatives begins..... Yes, I'm aware that the .22LR has taken every mammal in North America, and I'm also aware that hand cannons exist. My shame is that I am not nearly as manly as most guys on the Internet. I do not have the ninja skills to expertly place a suppressed sub-sonic .22 through a charging grizzly's nostril at 100 yards and I just can't seem to accurately place quick follow up shots with a .44 or larger. I realize I'm just a sissy who can't make a dime-sized grouping while turning cartwheels and so am limited to the dated .357. So please indulge me.
Anyhoo...
I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with the .357 Mag Desert Eagle and would care to share their opinion?
Primarily I'm wondering if they have any issues feeding and if they will cycle .38 special with a spring swap. How ammo picky are they? Stuff like that.
I will likely stick to my wheelguns but the Desert Eagle shore is purdy.
I dread asking such questions on forums because I just know it's going to turn into a caliber war. That said, I like the .357 mag and I'm not particularly interested in the joys of the many other calibers. I would sort of like to hear from folks who have actually fired the weapon.
Before the advice for alternatives begins..... Yes, I'm aware that the .22LR has taken every mammal in North America, and I'm also aware that hand cannons exist. My shame is that I am not nearly as manly as most guys on the Internet. I do not have the ninja skills to expertly place a suppressed sub-sonic .22 through a charging grizzly's nostril at 100 yards and I just can't seem to accurately place quick follow up shots with a .44 or larger. I realize I'm just a sissy who can't make a dime-sized grouping while turning cartwheels and so am limited to the dated .357. So please indulge me.
Anyhoo...
I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with the .357 Mag Desert Eagle and would care to share their opinion? Primarily I'm wondering if they have any issues feeding and if they will cycle .38 special with a spring swap. How ammo picky are they? Stuff like that.
I will likely stick to my wheelguns but the Desert Eagle shore is purdy.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,776,945 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe_Ryder
I dread asking such questions on forums because I just know it's going to turn into a caliber war. That said, I like the .357 mag and I'm not particularly interested in the joys of the many other calibers. I would sort of like to hear from folks who have actually fired the weapon.
Before the advice for alternatives begins..... Yes, I'm aware that the .22LR has taken every mammal in North America, and I'm also aware that hand cannons exist. My shame is that I am not nearly as manly as most guys on the Internet. I do not have the ninja skills to expertly place a suppressed sub-sonic .22 through a charging grizzly's nostril at 100 yards and I just can't seem to accurately place quick follow up shots with a .44 or larger. I realize I'm just a sissy who can't make a dime-sized grouping while turning cartwheels and so am limited to the dated .357. So please indulge me.
Anyhoo...
I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with the .357 Mag Desert Eagle and would care to share their opinion?
Primarily I'm wondering if they have any issues feeding and if they will cycle .38 special with a spring swap. How ammo picky are they? Stuff like that.
I will likely stick to my wheelguns but the Desert Eagle shore is purdy.
Thanks.
I love all things Desert Eagle and have fired a .357 version. Great gun but impractical for my purposes. I'm not sure what you plan to do with the pistol, but as heavy and bulky as that sucker is I'm not sure it would fill many niche's aside from range head-turner and maybe pig baying side-arm (speaking ONLY for myself).
The manufacturer recommends full-power, 158 grain loads only. I don't remember the recipe for the rounds that were used when I fired the gun, but they were common Winchester white box and I witnessed zero malfunctions. I can't help with an analysis of how picky the gun would be, but judging purely by memory of (i) force required to work the action and (ii) the difference in perceived recoil between .38 and .357 out of a revolver I would be surprised if you didn't have a lot of short strokes with .38 special. In other words, while I doubt .38 special would work I'm probably full of crap.
I dread asking such questions on forums because I just know it's going to turn into a caliber war. That said, I like the .357 mag and I'm not particularly interested in the joys of the many other calibers. I would sort of like to hear from folks who have actually fired the weapon.
Before the advice for alternatives begins..... Yes, I'm aware that the .22LR has taken every mammal in North America, and I'm also aware that hand cannons exist. My shame is that I am not nearly as manly as most guys on the Internet. I do not have the ninja skills to expertly place a suppressed sub-sonic .22 through a charging grizzly's nostril at 100 yards and I just can't seem to accurately place quick follow up shots with a .44 or larger. I realize I'm just a sissy who can't make a dime-sized grouping while turning cartwheels and so am limited to the dated .357. So please indulge me.
Anyhoo...
I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with the .357 Mag Desert Eagle and would care to share their opinion?
Primarily I'm wondering if they have any issues feeding and if they will cycle .38 special with a spring swap. How ammo picky are they? Stuff like that.
I will likely stick to my wheelguns but the Desert Eagle shore is purdy.
Thanks.
I shot a Desert Eagle once. I have absolutely no desire to ever shoot one again. WAY too much recoil. Plus it was heavy. I suppose if I was trying to keep a grizzly bear away from me, I would wish I had one but that's not something I worry about every day.
It wasn't my weapon so I can't answer your other questions.
I have never shot this particular pistol, but I think there are more practical options for a .357 in a revolver. Depending on what you want to do with it, a Colt SAA in .357 can be a sweet shooter, there are all sorts of various DA revolvers out there. Or how about the Freedom Arms .357 SA?
I'm trying to come up with a really good (practical) automatic pistol in the .357 power class and I am drawing a blank. You can load a 1911 in 38 Super to this *general* level of power, but a good safe Super load will not be as hot as a .357. You could scare up an old Auto Mag, but they never were all that easy to get to shoot well. And I think they tended to break one or more parts, which are probably getting scarce, beyond that if you are not of a certain age you may not have even heard of an Auto Mag - they went out of print many years ago.
On the other hand you can pick up a "Dirty Harry" .44 Mag 29 or 629 Smith and have more power than the Desert Eagle (in .357) in a lighter and more carryable package.
If you are going to shoot much, with any centerfire, you will probably get into handloading, and a revolver retains the brass till you eject it where you want it, but an auto pistol flings the brass out and can be a PITA to recover it.
Somehow I don't "get" a handgun that won't fit into a holster, at least a shoulder holster. At least not as a "practical" handgun that has a "job" as in hunting, personal protection, etc.
But, hey, I have guns that I just wanted and bought, that really don't fill a useful "niche" in the "ecology" of my gun safe, I own and shoot them because to me they are fun (.30 Luger, old 5-shot 38 S&W break top, .22 Short "Buntline" Minx) - a .357 Desert Eagle is pretty mainstream compared to these, so if you want one, go get one and enjoy!
The pistol is huge and inordinately heavy. Feeding is marginal at best. Fire controls are poorly placed and difficult to manipulate without substantially shifting your grip on the weapon. Replacement/additional magazines are expensive.
One thing that no one has talked about yet is that the .357 is a rimmed case, and these are harder to get to feed than a rimless case like most rounds designed for auto pistols. It can be done, but it's harder to get right, and the magazines are more tempramental with a rimmed cartridge. This is part of why the magazines are expensive.
If a guy wants one just because it's different, for a toy really - OK fine. But if you want a powerful auto-pistol for some specific task, or if you want a .357 Maggie for whatever reason - there are more practical choices out there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So please indulge me.
