Money burning a hole in your pocket?

[Bongo Lewi]

My Dad used to say that all the time. When I made a little money cutting grass as a kid or working part time as a teenager, every time I bought something the old man would repeat that phrase.

Wrapping up what will probably be my last detail in the broad category of protective services, I scratched a long standing itch to acquire a handgun I have wanted to have in my collection. I just pulled the trigger on a Desert Eagle. The most impractical but also one of the cooler big bore semi-auto handguns ever made. I have have wrung my hands over which caliber to choose... 44 mag or 50 AE. I went with 44 mag. I can add a 50AE barrel and mags later. It's an easy swap.

It should show up in about a week.

 

[Racer88]

Borrowing from Crocodile Dundee...

That's not a gun. THIS is a gun!

 

[brian]

You could get the 50AE and add a .44 Mag barrel and mags too? I've got an older one in .44Mag, no barrel swap option

 

[Bongo Lewi]

You could get the 50AE and add a .44 Mag barrel and mags too? I've got an older one in .44Mag, no barrel swap option

You can interchange the 44 and 50 with a barrel and mag swap. It's the same gun. I believe the 357 also requires a change of the gas piston and some springs to swap calibers. It literally takes five minutes.

See vid:
View: https://youtu.be/CxRrSEM-nfg?si=_b1g7eBQr_ctkg3l

I thought you can do this with all Desert Eagles except the Baby Eagle, but I'm not certain.

 

[brian]

I thought you can do this with all Desert Eagles except the Baby Eagle, but I'm not certain.

I've got a Mark VII. I may be able to swap with a Mark VII .357 set up. At one point I looked into it and a 50AE wasn't an option for mine.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

I've got a Mark VII. I may be able to swap with a Mark VII .357 set up. At one point I looked into it and a 50AE wasn't an option for mine.

I found this. Hope it helps. https://www.magnumresearch.com/PDF/Differences_MarkVII-XIX.pdf It looks like you can do a upgrade to a XIX from a VII, but finding those parts might be a bit of a challenge. Also pricey.

I only want the 50 caliber option for entertainment purposes. Or if I find myself needing to disable a bad guy's vehicle. One shot thru the radiator and into the pulleys or water pump and he wont get very far!

I went with 44 as the 'default' for practical reasons. Cheaper ammo that's more easily obtainable.

 

[brian]

I found this. Hope it helps. https://www.magnumresearch.com/PDF/Differences_MarkVII-XIX.pdf It looks like you can do a upgrade to a XIX from a VII, but finding those parts might be a bit of a challenge. Also pricey.

I only want the 50 caliber option for entertainment purposes. Or if I find myself needing to disable a bad guy's vehicle. One shot thru the radiator and into the pulleys or water pump and he wont get very far!

I went with 44 as the 'default' for practical reasons. Cheaper ammo that's more easily obtainable.

Interesting. I'll have to keep my eye open. They don't seem to offer it on their site. Wonder what the demand is. As you said, likely very pricey. I don't shoot it very often. If I wanted a 50 something bad enough, I'd likely spring for a 500S&W which I realize is a completely different animal.

 

[bkbrno]

Last time at the range with my 10mm, I guy in the lane next to me unwraps his shiny new DE .50. Lesson one, somebody else always has something bigger and badder. Lesson two, having the money to buy one and being able to shoot one are mutually exclusive. He fired about 20 rounds but only managed about 5 random holes in the target. It was pretty easy to see the holes, it's not like you can hide a .50 cal hole at 10 yards.

He was nice enough to leave his brass behind. Being an incurable brass rat, I had to grab a few. I want a DE .50 but I have to remember I don't have big enough hands to get a good grip on it. Then again, my wife has small hands and she has shot them before.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Last time at the range with my 10mm, I guy in the lane next to me unwraps his shiny new DE .50. Lesson one, somebody else always has something bigger and badder. Lesson two, having the money to buy one and being able to shoot one are mutually exclusive. He fired about 20 rounds but only managed about 5 random holes in the target. It was pretty easy to see the holes, it's not like you can hide a .50 cal hole at 10 yards.

He was nice enough to leave his brass behind. Being an incurable brass rat, I had to grab a few. I want a DE .50 but I have to remember I don't have big enough hands to get a good grip on it. Then again, my wife has small hands and she has shot them before.

It's a big, heavy gun for sure. Not to mention the recoil on a 50AE.

I have a Ruger Super Alaskan 454 Casull snubbie that I always wore in a chest rig when hunting, hiking, camping in the backwoods where large bears and cats were pretty common. The PNW, Alaska, Montana, Dakotas, etc. It's a tough gun to shoot, but it serves its purpose. It can stop a train. Or a bear that is almost on top of you.

I don't see bears near where I live now, but they are out there. Smaller black bears. I switched to a Glock 20 for when I'm out and about. 10mm is more than adequate in that situation. Much easier to shoot , lighter, and double the capacity of the revolver. If I were to return to grizzly country, I'd stick with the Ruger, though. I also packed the G20 when I hiked a section of the Appalachian Trail. Mostly for two legged predators not critters. Like the Ruger, I carried it in a Gunfighter Kenai chest rig. That's the best setup I've found when carrying a heavy pack.

I have a Taurus Raging Hunter which is a total mofo. Huge and heavy with an 8.3 inch barrel. It's 460 S&W but can also accommodate 45LC and 454 Casull loads. It's a novelty, wall hanger for me. It makes the Desert Eagle look small. I shot it at a pine tree that was at least a foot thick and split it clean in half. Ten inch pumpkin... obliterated.

These guns and the Desert Eagle to me are extreme sporting/backwoods guns. If you shot a home intruder with one of these you would have to hire a cleanup crew.

 

[BeerHunter]

^^^^
First opportunity for me to use the new "gun hug" emoji.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Interesting. I'll have to keep my eye open. They don't seem to offer it on their site. Wonder what the demand is. As you said, likely very pricey. I don't shoot it very often. If I wanted a 50 something bad enough, I'd likely spring for a 500S&W which I realize is a completely different animal.

If you were motivated and inclined to pay the steep price, the manufacturer would probably be the best place to start. Kahr owns Desert Eagle now. Just for grins, I searched around and found quite a few DE caliber conversion kits among sellers. The range was 500-850 bucks. I noticed that colors were limited. Most were black. So If you have one of the colorful Desert Eagles or stainless, it might be hard to find a match. The springs and piston... I think you'd have to buy from the maker direct.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

 

[brian]

If you were motivated and inclined to pay the steep price, the manufacturer would probably be the best place to start. Kahr owns Desert Eagle now. Just for grins, I searched around and found quite a few DE caliber conversion kits among sellers. The range was 500-850 bucks. I noticed that colors were limited. Most were black. So If you have one of the colorful Desert Eagles or stainless, it might be hard to find a match. The springs and piston... I think you'd have to buy from the maker direct.

Mine is a ho-hum black. I did know Kahr owned them, at least distribution in the USA. Not a bad idea to contact them. Even at $850, that's less than the cost of buying another one. At a $1.50 to $2 per round, not like I am going to buy a bunch of ammo and shoot it anyway. I "splurged" and built a PF45 10mm which I am still working the kinks out of. Don't even want to shoot it a bunch financially speaking.

So many calibers, so little time and $

 

[Bobster]

I'm with my brother and cousin at a public range in South FL a couple decades ago. Bunch of old men shooting their 38 specials with tiny SWC loads. "poot, poot. poot". We start quick-firing my cousin's Hi-Power. "POP!, POP!, POP!, POP!" This got the RSO's attention. My brother takes out his 44 Deagle and does a mag dump. "BOOSH!!!, BOOSH!!!, BOOSH!!!, BOOSH!!!, BOOSH!!!, BOOSH!!!, BOOSH!!!" Bunch of heads poke around the barriers like in Robocop. This also got us a very stern warning from the RSO and threatened eviction.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

I just got the ship notice. I am pumped. I cant wait to get home and put some rounds thru this new hand cannon. I'm hoping to wrap things up a bit early and GTFO of this cold weather by Monday. 23 deg F. It feels like 23 below zero to me. The client graciously let me arrive ahead of them. I spent the day looking out the window at snow and ice. It looks like a postcard from inside. Outside it's like a meat locker. They arrive tomorrow.

@brian - I found a 50AE barrel and mag kit for $518. Pawn shop in FL. NIB. That's way better than $800. Or buying a separate 50AE Desert Eagle.

 

[Alex]

Cool! While you are waiting for the Client you can binge watch season 1 of Reacher for some DE screen time.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

@Alex I like that series. It's one of the few things I will watch on TV. It's corny sometimes but I enjoy watching Alan Richson kick ass and shoot his way to the end of every episode.

My all time favorite series is Blacklist. Some old friends think I'm a real life Red Reddington. Former good guy gone to the dark side. In reality it's somewhere between Matlock and Blart. Or Pee Wee.


View: https://youtu.be/7eTl05KHwFI?feature=shared&t=77

 

[Bongo Lewi]

Mongo like.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

50 AE barrel and mags arrived today. Need to get some 50AE ammo.

View attachment 17650

 

[no4mk1t]

Waiting for that Powerball win...