The .50 caliber Desert Eagle: Why?

[mvpete]

10" barrel .50 ae 2-7 scope, prairie dog town off a rest, you'll understand why!
A handgun cartridge that picks up where a 44 mag runs out

[rukwikenuf]

nope. no sir. i've shot 'em (50, 44 AND 357) and that's as far as ill go. yeah, it was fun, but i have little girly hands and i can grasp the **** thing! the Coonan 357 is no problem, but the DEagle? no thanks.

it's a novelty. pure and simple. it's a novelty that most new shooters wanna try, that is until the guy with the gun says "you bring the ammo" and they see how horrific the price of it is. sure, reloading can help tons with cost and getting the most performance from the round, but no thanks. i'll stick to my 1911 in 45 and maybe someday i can afford to toss around two months worth of mortgage and get a Guncrafters Inc 50GI 1911. until then, the largest caliber i own will be 45

then there's also the practicality of it. it's a gun that weighs a ton, and even though it IS an accurate weapon, the CONs outweigh the PROs

[Tromix-Saiga-12]

Do you remember the scene in 'Pulp Fiction' where Samuel L. Jackson get's robbed in the restaurant? Remember him explaining to the robber how to find HIS wallet in the bag? 'member what it said? ......

He had that embroidered on his wallet BECAUSE HE COULD!

Why do the Mexican cartel gunmen have diamond encrusted & gold plated weapons of choice? Because they can!

& NO, these are NOT actual pics of Shippy's arsenal (note the gold plated suppressor )

[Maniac117]

wow.. suddenly jealous

[EJSG19]

Sad part is those drug guns look like they are wrapped in tin foil at first glance.

Id take a deagle in .44 but the ergonomics seem to stink. Looks cool for sure, probably shoots nice. Would have to take a revo first out of percieved common sense.

[sgruenhagen44]

With a big bore handgun like that I think I would just buy a revolver. I wouldn't be able to afford to lose a single piece of brass.

[White Horseradish]

Do you remember the scene in 'Pulp Fiction' where Samuel L. Jackson get's robbed in the restaurant? Remember him explaining to the robber how to find HIS wallet in the bag? 'member what it said? ......

I also remember he had a nickel-plated Star B instead of a Deagle.

[XDM45]

nope. no sir. i've shot 'em (50, 44 AND 357) and that's as far as ill go. yeah, it was fun, but i have little girly hands and i can grasp the **** thing! the Coonan 357 is no problem, but the DEagle? no thanks.

it's a novelty. pure and simple. it's a novelty that most new shooters wanna try, that is until the guy with the gun says "you bring the ammo" and they see how horrific the price of it is. sure, reloading can help tons with cost and getting the most performance from the round, but no thanks. i'll stick to my 1911 in 45 and maybe someday i can afford to toss around two months worth of mortgage and get a Guncrafters Inc 50GI 1911. until then, the largest caliber i own will be 45

then there's also the practicality of it. it's a gun that weighs a ton, and even though it IS an accurate weapon, the CONs outweigh the PROs

Word.

I own a 22LR for cheap shootin' and a 45 for defense. I know what you mean on expense. Every time I go to the range and shoot both pistols, I drop $100-200, most of the cost in being the 45ACP ammo.

[Seismic Sam]

To answer your question, a Desert Eagle is kind of like an original Shelby GT 500 Mustang. It's the baddest toy on the block. It is a very potent handgun for hunting and self protection in the woods out West and in Alaska, and a 44 Magnum just won't cut it with an Alaskan Kodiak bear. (The DE has now been supplanted by the Smith 500, BTW, in this area...) In addition, there is Seismic Sam's Law of Recoil: Recoil is ONLY a problem with the most powerful gun you shoot. All the others become no problem at all, no matter what you shoot. (There are certain exceptions like a Smith Airweight with the heaviest 357 loads you can find, but for any gun of normal size and weight, the principle holds true.)

Case in point: I'm out at Oakdale with my Colt Series 70 Gold Cup shooting standard 45 ACP loads, and after a Desert Eagle 50 cal, a 45 Automatic is absolutely NOTHING. As a matter of fact, the recoil is like a 380 as far as I can tell, and it makes shooting my 45 more difficult because I start laughing for the first few shots. This guy comes over and asks what I'm shooting, (as if it isn't obvious!) and I say it's a normal Colt 45. Then he tells me that when he was in the Army he shot a 45 and the thingt kicked like a damn mule, and he had noticed that my gun muzzle was barely moving upwards. So I tell him the above story, but I'm not sure he really grasped the concept. You can't really appreciate it until you have touched off a 50. And BTW, the DE50 IS a standard sidearm for some of the Israeli army, which explains why it came from there in the first place.

[XDM45]

I don't get the whole thing about shooting big guns like the DE50 other than as a novelty thing that you do once in awhile. It's a big bang with a lot of recoil shooting expensive ammunition. Yeah it's cool, but so is eating candy, but I don't want to do either one every day. I'm not knocking it, I just don't understand it, that's all. I can be just as accurate with my 22LR or 45 on a target as someone proficient with one of those hand cannons is. If it's a self-defense thing, double-tap to the chest and it's really a non-issue whether it's a 45ACP or a DE50 round.

I guess for me, what's more impressive and fun is seeing a small, tight-knit grouping on a target regardless of the caliber used. Sorry all, not knocking it, I just don't get it. It's probably just me and it's one of those things where I want to do it, I do it, and then I'm done with it. I wanted to drive a Ferrari once, I did, that's good enough. I don't need to own one or drive one all the time.

Someone explain it to me on why someone wants to shoot a hand cannon all the time, please.

[EJSG19]

I don't get the whole thing about shooting big guns like the DE50 other than as a novelty thing that you do once in awhile. It's a big bang with a lot of recoil shooting expensive ammunition. Yeah it's cool, but so is eating candy, but I don't want to do either one every day. I'm not knocking it, I just don't understand it, that's all. I can be just as accurate with my 22LR or 45 on a target as someone proficient with one of those hand cannons is. If it's a self-defense thing, double-tap to the chest and it's really a non-issue whether it's a 45ACP or a DE50 round.

I guess for me, what's more impressive and fun is seeing a small, tight-knit grouping on a target regardless of the caliber used. Sorry all, not knocking it, I just don't get it. It's probably just me and it's one of those things where I want to do it, I do it, and then I'm done with it. I wanted to drive a Ferrari once, I did, that's good enough. I don't need to own one or drive one all the time.

Someone explain it to me on why someone wants to shoot a hand cannon all the time, please.

Because your like or dislike of hand cannons is your opinion. Other folks have opposite opinions toward the same activity. Pure and simple as that.

Also, to compare the SD potential and ballistics of the .45 acp and the .50 AE as "not much different" is QUITE a stretch.

[yuppiejr]

I don't get the whole thing about shooting big guns like the DE50 other than as a novelty thing that you do once in awhile. It's a big bang with a lot of recoil shooting expensive ammunition. Yeah it's cool, but so is eating candy, but I don't want to do either one every day. I'm not knocking it, I just don't understand it, that's all. I can be just as accurate with my 22LR or 45 on a target as someone proficient with one of those hand cannons is. If it's a self-defense thing, double-tap to the chest and it's really a non-issue whether it's a 45ACP or a DE50 round.

I guess for me, what's more impressive and fun is seeing a small, tight-knit grouping on a target regardless of the caliber used. Sorry all, not knocking it, I just don't get it. It's probably just me and it's one of those things where I want to do it, I do it, and then I'm done with it. I wanted to drive a Ferrari once, I did, that's good enough. I don't need to own one or drive one all the time.

Someone explain it to me on why someone wants to shoot a hand cannon all the time, please.

Stopping power, I assume. If you are willing to invest the time and money in being proficient with the baddest semi-auto handgun in the world, why not?

[Holland&Holland]

I don't get the whole thing about shooting big guns like the DE50 other than as a novelty thing that you do once in awhile. It's a big bang with a lot of recoil shooting expensive ammunition. Yeah it's cool, but so is eating candy, but I don't want to do either one every day. I'm not knocking it, I just don't understand it, that's all. I can be just as accurate with my 22LR or 45 on a target as someone proficient with one of those hand cannons is. If it's a self-defense thing, double-tap to the chest and it's really a non-issue whether it's a 45ACP or a DE50 round.

I guess for me, what's more impressive and fun is seeing a small, tight-knit grouping on a target regardless of the caliber used. Sorry all, not knocking it, I just don't get it. It's probably just me and it's one of those things where I want to do it, I do it, and then I'm done with it. I wanted to drive a Ferrari once, I did, that's good enough. I don't need to own one or drive one all the time.

Someone explain it to me on why someone wants to shoot a hand cannon all the time, please.

Self defense is not the only reason to own a handgun. Hunting I find myself wanting a bit more than a .45.

[goett047]

Two words: shot placement

[Holland&Holland]

Two words: shot placement

One word: Penetration