Desert Eagle .50 AE Now in Stainless
Major Pandemic 08.21.15
Stainless steel has become the go to materials for everything from stoves, kitchen outdoor appliances, automotive, architectural materials, throughout the firearms industry, and pretty much everything in life–so many asked why there was not a stainless steel Desert Eagle amidst every other conceivable finish.
As I have noted in my previous reviews, the Desert Eagle is the quintessential diva of the firearms industry with its sasquatch sized proportions, limited runs of the premium finishes, $1200+ price tags, and tough to use ergonomics. It requires extremely hot premium ammo for reliable operation, and of course the $50 magazines. The gun is not cheap to purchase, own, or operate by any stretch of the imagination.
Durability became a confusing point for many owners. Sure the original black oxide finish was pretty durable and the gun itself was a beast of a gun, but with the fancy finishes, many people started to believe it was a gun that needed to coddled.
Enter the brand new all Stainless Steel Magnum Research Desert Eagle offered in .50AE. MRI wanted to ensure that there were no doubts to the durability of this gun and now are offering the .50AE model in all stainless steel to the rabid Desert Eagle fans. Now, you can put the full torturous beat down on the Desert Eagle and still have it look factory fresh with nothing more than a touch up with a scotch brite pad.
The new model is made entirely in the USA and features an integrated 1913 lower picatinny rail and an an integrated compensator. The new comp delivers all the benefits of taming this 1400 ft/lbs energy beast. I have steel plates in my arms that usually make .44 Magnum revolvers painful to shoot, but even I could dump a magazine full of rounds rather quickly and painlessly even with my typical recoil sensitive arm.
The integrated compensator design cuts about 1.25” off the total length of the gun compared to the add on compensator models. You do lose a little velocity with the overall shorter barrel, but I don’t think anyone will feel they are suffering from a loss of power from this round. The Hornady .50AE rounds deliver around 1400 ft/lbs energy, which is still stupid powerful. The .50 A&E round remains one of the top powerhouse handgun rounds made, but now the stainless construction with added rails and integrated comp add a bit more durability and features to the giant gun shooting this round.
This new stainless model is also fully compatible with the existing .357 magnum, .44 magnum, and 50AE Desert Eagle models. As shown, I can easily and quickly swap the slide, magazine, and barrel over to my .357 Magnum model and the .357 components over to the new stainless model. The .44 Magnum and.50 AE models use the same bolt and only require a barrel and magazine swap. Most people really think of the Desert Eagles as a single caliber guns, but with a few barrel and caliber swaps, you can really have some impressive versatility to take advantage of the accuracy the gun can deliver.
I will admit I was not a fan of the Desert Eagel until I shot one, but now I have a hard time not taking it to the range every outing. It’s a gun you really want, and after you shoot one you instantly become a fan of the really impressive accuracy. The new stainless steel version most will certainly be a hit at only around $200 more than the standard model and can take anything you can dish out and still look factory fresh.
