Let me start off by saying I have an unnatural affinity for big-bore pistols, I bought my S&W 500 magnum many years ago because it was the most powerful production handgun ever built. So obviously, a Desert Eagle, the most powerful production semiautomatic handgun needed to find a way into my life as well.
Like most I have seen countless videos of the Desert Eagle and have wanted one for many years but the
cost of entry, nearly $2,000.00 had kept me from buying one for all these years. I finally decided it was time to stop gawking and buy one. There was no question about caliber choice, only the 50AE would suffice. I then had to decide on which finish I wanted to go with. As you probably know the Desert Eagle comes in a wide range of finishes, from the simple black up to and including a tiger stripped titanium gold. I knew I wanted something different than the plain black finish but I didn’t have any desire for any of the exotic finishes. After looking at as many different finishes as possible I decided to go with the burnt bronze. It’s a newer finish so there aren’t a ton out there in this color, it was different than the plain black that most firearms come in, yet it wasn’t over the top. It was perfect for my needs!
A firearm is useless without ammo so I had to buy a couple hundred rounds so I could shoot it, firearms are not meant to be safe queens after all. Sadly as we all know 50AE ammo is not cheap, I spent nearly $2.00 a round when buying my initial ammo supplies, which sadly, is still quite a bit cheaper than what 500 magnum rounds are going for (at the time of this article they’re selling for between $3.00 and $3.50 a round!!).
Let’s be honest, the Desert Eagle holds no real purpose and is monstrously oversized to handle the 50AE round. In fact, as a full-grown adult male my hands struggle to hold the grip tightly as my hands do not go all the way around it like they do on any other pistol. But she’s big, beautiful, launches a massive fireball when shot, and that’s why it’s perfect.
When it comes to shooting it for the first time I decided to play it safe. Even though I’ve already owned my 500 magnum for many year I was still slightly apprehensive about shooting it for the first time. I’ve seen on more than one video of someone smacking their head with the gun to shooting an additional round unintentionally due to the recoil. For my first five shots or so I only loaded a single round into the magazine so I knew I’d be safe.
I held that massive pistol at arm’s length, grasping it tightly with both hands, while making sure I was in a strong stance and prepared to handle the recoil as there’s a lot of reciprocating mass coming back at me in the form of the slide. I racked the slide, place the pad of my trigger finger on the trigger, and slowly started pulling back. Being a single-action pistol I quickly felt the wall and with minimal pressure pulled through it. BOOM!! With a thunderous shockwave felt in my chest and a fireball thrown forward, she let the first round fly. The range fell instantly silent, I looked around and everyone was staring at me. “Was that a Dirty Harry gun?!” I heard from beside me. “No, it’s a little more powerful than that.” I said with a smile. I had instantly fallen in love and knew I made the right choice buying this gun.
Stay safe, be kind, and help those in need.