When enough is enough. Large Frame Handguns

[BonnieB]

Folks,

Well, it finally happened. I found a handgun I really couldn't handle. Having a become a fan of Magnum Research's Desert Eagle line, I had an opportunity to handle one of their full-size, 6" barrel .44 Magnums. What a gun! I was just salivating and my AmEx card was vibrating in my pocket.

I picked it up, weight's OK, so far so good. Leveled the barrel, still OK. Then I checked my grip and discovered that my fingertips just barely wrapped around to the inside of the grip. And my thumb won't reach the mag release. Ye gods! The grip was simply too big for my hand and the gun wasn't stable.

Now, I go about 5'8", and have long fingers, but it still wasn't enough. My pal ElDub was standing next to me and he's a tall guy, so I said, "Here, take this for a minute". He took it and I asked if his hand was big enough for the grip. He said "Yeah, but JUST big enough". So we measured palm to palm and his fingers are almost an inch longer than mine.

Now I know that my left hand would be wrapped over my right fingers in real life, but still....

So now I'm wondering if it was about the DE frame, or are all .44 magnum grips like that ? I'm gonna be at the LGS this weekend and I'll try some out and tell how it goes.

(And for those who are wondering, the DE .44 magnum IS the model that will fit the .50 barrel. Yum!)

[Rock6.3]

No, all 44 Magnum grips are not like the Desert Eagle.

My Smith 629 (revolver) is a significantly smaller grip.

The DE is such a large grip due to the magazine size. (Feels like holding a piece of lumber, a 2x4)

[Garv]

Shooting a .44 mag is on my bucket of bullets list.
Scheduled for next week.
.50 cal, we'll see.

[PM720]

Bonnie, the DE is big in my hands. As Rock 6.3 noted it's the length of the .44 mag round that's the issue. I think you would find the same problem with the .357 mag version as well. Also, I find the 5.7 autos to have an uncomfortably long grip as well.

Scott

[kaligaran]

I shot one of those, it was eff'n massive.

My buddy owns one. He's a big guy, about 6'3 and even he said it was almost unwieldy for him. He had some smaller grips with it so I could shoot it just fine but it was odd to attempt to rack it. I was able to do it but it wasn't intuitive like most simi-autos.

My other friend that went shooting with us (about 5'9 guy) struggled with it as well.

It's a big damn gun.

[audiopro74]

I would say try one. Dad had one, and I loved it. I don't have very big hands, but shot it comfortably. It took a little getting used to the feel. As was said, its like holding a 2x4. Because of its weight, it is very controllable. I could actually 1hand that monster.

As was said, revolvers in .44 are way smaller in grip size. I've got a tracker in .44, and its a friggen monster. My ex, who is an avid shooter, put 2 rounds through it and said screw that and handed it back.

If your heartset on a big mag, do it. Just find one that's comfortable to you, otherwise it will just be a paperweight.

[RobRoy64]

I had a chance to try out one of those while stationed on Adak with the Navy. The OIC at the transmitter site wanted only the biggest of everything; he had the 40-inch Kukri, the biggest 4X4 SUV, and the .44 Magnum Desert Eagle. At the pistol range, we were shooting at life-sized cardboard cutouts of bison and Kodiak bears with the 1860 Colt when he came over and offered to let us try his new toy. The grips were big but not a problem, the problem was the blast of hot air in the face from the gas-operated system. The ejected cases looked like flying waste-baskets.

I'll stick to the Ruger Super Blackhawk, thanks.

[Snoopy47]

[stilly]

Folks,

Well, it finally happened. I found a handgun I really couldn't handle. Having a become a fan of Magnum Research's Desert Eagle line, I had an opportunity to handle one of their full-size, 6" barrel .44 Magnums. What a gun! I was just salivating and my AmEx card was vibrating in my pocket.

I picked it up, weight's OK, so far so good. Leveled the barrel, still OK. Then I checked my grip and discovered that my fingertips just barely wrapped around to the inside of the grip. And my thumb won't reach the mag release. Ye gods! The grip was simply too big for my hand and the gun wasn't stable.

Now, I go about 5'8", and have long fingers, but it still wasn't enough. My pal ElDub was standing next to me and he's a tall guy, so I said, "Here, take this for a minute". He took it and I asked if his hand was big enough for the grip. He said "Yeah, but JUST big enough". So we measured palm to palm and his fingers are almost an inch longer than mine.

Now I know that my left hand would be wrapped over my right fingers in real life, but still....

So now I'm wondering if it was about the DE frame, or are all .44 magnum grips like that ? I'm gonna be at the LGS this weekend and I'll try some out and tell how it goes.

(And for those who are wondering, the DE .44 magnum IS the model that will fit the .50 barrel. Yum!)

The THIRD thing I did after getting my DEagle was to get the HOGUE Rubber Grips. They make the gun a NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE to shoot. They can be hunted down maybe at *** proshop for about $35 or online for around the same or cheaper. Revolvers will not have that problem, they have smaller grips to start with most likely. Taurus Trackers are very nice in that respect.

As for the caliber changeovers in the DEagle. There is only ONE DEagle. The size of the frame is ALL the same. The only thing that makes a difference is the nasty plastic grips that come with it vs wooden grips (eww!) vs the soft HOGUE that seem to just blend into your hand. BTW, I am 5'7" and have no problems with the gun and my hands are not massive. I can ALMOST palm a basketball though, for a few seconds anyways, and as long as my palm is underneath it...

Swapping calibers on the DEagle is easy and simple; the gun is allowed to be purchased BRAND NEW in 44 mag form. THAT is the ONLY model allowed to be sold from a gunstore as a new gun or brought in from out of state via internet. So if you want any funky colors like the gold tigerstripe, CERAKOTE or DURACOAT it. In order to change to a 50 AE you need to buy a mag and a barrel. You can swap out the barrel in about 15 seconds in the dark or blindfolded. The bolt stays since 44 mag and 50AE are close to the same. BUT if you switch down to 41 mag or .357 mag, you will not only need to buy a new barrel and mag, but also a new bolt. I have not changed the bolt but I heard it was not that hard, and there are movies all over on you-tube. But you ALSO need to remove one of the recoil springs. The gun has 4 springs but they are captured so it is two pairs of recoil springs actually. When you drop down to .357 mag you need to remove one, apparently it does not matter which side, but just remove one. Then change the bolt and use a .357 mag and you should be good to go. But doing that will be like buying a ford mustang with a toyota 22re 4 banger in it and two mufflers. Now who in their right mind does that?

If you do not yet reload, you should consider getting into it. For THAT gun there are not a lot of good ammo selections that anyone can buy a lot of and keep a roof over their head. Yeah, When I bought a box of FIOCHI 44 mag 240GR JHP at Walmart I paid $42.xx after tax for 50 rounds.

Those SUCKED in comparison to the FEDERAL EAGLE 240gr rounds I bought later, the federal eagles were LOUD and had a good concusion to them.

BUT, I got into reloading and now it costs me about $9.70 per box of 50 rounds that when they go off, EVERYONE stops to see what that was.

And that gun looks beefy, but it is a sissy. It barks sure, but it is so soft to shoot at least with the compensator on it I can prolly shoot 500+ rounds a day.

I do not know what you will pay for yours but I got mine for $850 from a pawn shop in 2010 or 2009 (I forgot) and I sent it back to get Green-Td and then I had Magnum Research put a comp on it. They are fast and had it back to me in about a week and a half.

Be sure to clean it after about every 150 rounds, well, give it a little wipe down at least or between range trips. Once there gets to be powder all over and in the chamber it will have lockup issues and you will scratch your head until you clean it out and then it shoots perfectly again. (at least mine did)

When you release the slide from the slide stop, I prefer the slingshot instead of just pushing the slide stop down. The reason why is because TWICe I have had to send mine back to MR to have them recut that slot that stops the slide. It keeps getting ground down. Then again, I have put close to 3000 rounds through mine since owning it.

Another thing to do is to get a paint/metal marker and coat the front sight in GOLD so you can see it better against the rear black sight. Even better is to paint a line along the outline of the rear sight so it is similar to the millet sights. THEN you can really get crazy accurate with it. Of course a red dot on top of the barrel will do the trick too, maybe a Bushnel TRS-25 or something like that.

Mags can be had from Gunbroker or ebay and if you are lucky, you can find the 44 mag FACTORY mags for about $40 or less each. Every now on then J&G sales might have them on sale for about $35 or $39 but NEVER buy Promags, ALWAYS only run Factory mags.

That is about all I can tell you. Mine is NOT a safe Queen. I love to shoot it and folks like to film it. I am glad that I have a DEagle instead of a revolver because it certainly has MUCH less recoil and a higher capacity (8+1) then most if not all revolvers, plus a second or two and I am reloaded with another 8 rounds. A Revolver will transfer ALL of that power to your hand and arm and become a pain to shoot for extended periods where the DEagle will be like a new bike to a 6 year old and it can be ridden all day long.

One final Note, I dunno how much longer it will be on the roster, but I do not think that the DEagle has a loaded chamber indicator or a magazine disconnect SO depending on when it comes time to renew or get off the roster, you might miss your chance to own one if you wait too long.