Is the desert eagle really worth $1000?

Question

I've been considering investing in one, it would be nice to have the .50AE, but it does seem a bit clunky for practical application. Is there another solid built firearm you'd personally recommend? It would mainly be used for personal protection...

JD, what's your firearm recommendation?

Answer 1

I had a Desert Eagle 50, and it was like holding on to a 2 x 4 and the recoil was too much, so there was no chance of getting off....Plus the shells are to expensive, even if you reload your own.....Worth $1000.00, "NO"....I would check out a Springfield XD in either 45 or 40 cal. I have shot both and I can't say a bad thing about the gun......Smooth action, great grip, minimal recoil, and not a bad price either...I have seen them from $500.00 to $750.00.... Well worth the money ......

Answer 2

If you want it, and have the money, it is pretty well worth the cost.

Desert Eagle handguns are extremely well made, and are of extremely robust design.

Speaking from limited personal experience, I have two complaints about them:

1. - They are gas operated pistols and you can't use cast lead bullets. 90%+ of my handgun shooting is with cast bullets, so the Desert Eagle looses lots of appeal on that score.

2. - Those suckers are HEAVY!!!!! My old Marling .45-70 Guide Gun was not much heavier than a Desert Eagle.

If you want a defensive handgun, or a plinker, I don't believe the Desert Eagle will suit you. It is entirely too big, too heavy, and chambered for cartridges overly powerful for defensive use. As a hunting handgun, the Desert Eagle is quite appropriate. Personally, I think I'd opt for a DE in .44 RemMag rather than the .50 AE due to long experience with the .44 and the many different bullet designs and weights available.

For personal protection, I would recommend a good revolver in .38 S&W SPL, .357 Magnum, .44 S&W SPL, or .45 ACP. In my opinion, the .357 Magnum, in a 2.5", 3", or 4" barreled S&W M-19, M-66, or M-686 make very nearly perfect packing pistols. Taurus makes, or made, some dandy little snubbies chambered for .41 Mag (which is really overly powerful for most self-defense uses),.44 SPL, and .45 ACP that would be good CCW revolvers. If semi-autos are a must have, I will leave other folks to discuss them. I'm no great fan of flat-guns, but I do like the Colt M-1911 pistol and ocassionally carry an Officers' ACP in .45 ACP.

Doc

Answer 3

Used Desert Eagle For Sale

Answer 4

The Desert Eagle is not a practical defensive weapon in .50 Caliber Action Express. It is too bulky & heavy for concealed carry and it has a propensity to over-penetrate in a home defense environment. Someone mentioned the FAL 5.7, another $1000+ gun somewhat better suited for concealed carry (lighter & less bulky than the DE) but the caliber has yet to prove itself. It is a very high velocity lightweight bullet with a lot of range that will probably self-destruct after hitting something. It may be the wave-of-the-future but we still don't know how good a stopper it is. I suspect it will be like the 5.56/.223 that is good at disabling but lacking the stopping power of the old 7.62/.308.

If you are considering an investment grade handgun consider a good, like-new used Colt Python. These seem to continue going up in value and the .357 Magnum is still an excellent defensive handgun. If you want strictly defensive consider the Glock in your choice of caliber. Can't go wrong with a Glock, just keep your finger outta the trigger guard until you're ready to shoot and carry/store in a holster that covers the trigger.

Best.

H

Answer 5

Get a Glock model 20 for about $500 and a reloading set so the high cost of 10mm ammo won't hurt you. Since you are considering a .50AE I guess you are willing to pay for bullets and maybe already reload.
The 10mm is the most underappreciated pistol round ever and has more than enough power for self-defense, about double the power of the old 45 so many people love. That's why I have 3 pistols that shoot the 10mm Auto, 2 Glocks, a 20 and a 29, and a Thompson Contender with a scope that is accurate enough to hunt with up to 150 yards.
Go look at a 10mm Glock. There is no substitute.

Answer 6

50 Desert Eagle For Sale

Answer 7

There are a lot of better firearms for self defense than a Desert Eagle in .50AE. It will work, but they are picky on ammo, heavy, expensive, and very large.
If they are worth $1000, that depends upon who you ask. I personally do not own one because of the above reasons and the fact that I could buy almost 2 Springfield Armory 1911A1s for that price. The Desert Eagle is a gun to impress others based on size and price. I would rather have something a bit more practical.
There are very good handguns in other calibers like .38 special, 9mm, or .40 S&W that would work better and be cheaper. There are too many to list but as long as you stick to a quality name in guns (no Raven Arms, Phoenix Arms, Bryco Jennings, or any of that junk) you should be able to find something that is practical and looks good.

Answer 8

The Desert Eagle is a nice gun, But.....
it's not worth it, especially if it's for personal protection.
I mean if you were into collecting guns I'd tell you to go for it.
You can get a great, powerful, high caliber pistol for alot cheaper. My recommendation? The Smith & Wesson Model 657 Revolver- 6', it's a .44 caliber and goes for $700-$800(depends on your area). They also sell an 8', but it's like $150 more. If you dont like revolvers (i love 'em) here's a pretty strong pistol: Smith & Wesson M&P, .40s&w Caliber. This goes for $550-$650. It's cheaper than the revolver BUT not as strong.
Well,
I Hope I Was Helpful.
Kevin

Answer 9

In consideration of buying a desert eagle, theres also the legal issue. I think CA has a ban on that. I haven't bothered to actually check the law, but California is pretty hard on anyone that owns any gun that shoots a 50-cal round.
I heard the closest thing to a desert eagle in CA is a .500 S&W.
Also, if you do intend on buying a desert eagle of any reason, I'd imagine its more worthy to buy the gold-plated ones or something, so at least its really shiny, considering how useless it is for almost anything else. At least its money well spent.

Answer 10

Actually, no, I don't think a Desert Eagel is worth $1,000. I have one and love it but still think $1,000 is too much to pay for one. As for the .50 Action Express, it is NOT a personal protection round. WAAAAY too much penetration to be safe. You would go all the way through your target and could penetrate walls and hit an innocent person in the next room or across the street. Besides, for ANY gun to be an effective personal protection gun, you have to practice with it often. Believe me, unless you are independently wealthy you don't want to be purchasing much .50 AE ammo. It is EXPENSIVE!! Even if you are a reloader, the components are expensive. Add to that the fact that with any semi-auto handgun, you will loose a good bit of your empty brass when practicing with it. If you want a Desert Eagle just because you want one, then fine but don't buy it for personal protection. For personal pretection in the home, I recommend a shotgun. If it is to be used exclusively for personaal protection, go to someplace that sells reliable used guns and buy a cheap pump shotgun. Either a 12 ga. or a 20 ga. will work just fine. Then use a hacksaw to saw off a portion of the barrel to make it more manuverable inside a house. Check with the local police to see what the minimum legal length for a shotgun barrel is and then add about a half inch to that for safety. Also check on the minimum overall total length of the gun. You may also be able to cut some off the butt of the gun to make even more manuverable but be sure to keep it legal. Sure you are butchering up a gun and that is why I say to buy a cheap but reliable used one. It doesn't matter how it looks because it is only for home defense. If you don't feel good about doing the cutting, just take it to a gunsmith and tell him what you want.

As for a personal protection carry gun, I favor the old tried and true 1911 style semi-auto .45 ACP loaded with Glazer rounds. The Glazer rounds fragment upon impact and don't riccochet. The shape of the 1911 style of pistol lays flat against your body and is more easily conceiled than a revolver. A revolver's cylindar makes it harder to hide than the semi-auto. There are other quite effective chamberings for a semi-auto but you just can't beat the .45 ACP for stopping power and that is what you want.

Answer 11

Decent stopping power. Well, the order of 'power' that is at least decent, and going up, is 9mm-->40S&W-->45ACP-->10mm Find the most potent one you can shoot well, and pick a gun chambered for that. Note, SHOOT WELL, not just blaze away at the target. If that is a 9mm for you, well then great, if it is a 40 or a 45, even better. Second is practice. I too don't think you need to set the bar at $100, aim more at $600 and you will be fine. I consider H&K, Sig, and Walther to be top tier guns, but then again you pay more for them. Glock, Smith&Wesson, Springfield XD, Ruger, Beretta, Browning, CZ are all second tier. Very good reliable guns excellent value will last forever, just not quite as uberfancy as the first three. I also recommend getting a standard size or a compact. I find subcompacts are just too small to get a good grip on it, especially if it is your ONLY handgun.