Desert Eagle and Lead bullets

[bayjoe]

I just got a Desert Eagle in 44 magnum.
I have 215 grain SWC bullets and Win 296
Does anybody have a load using Win 296 in a lite to medium load
I want them strong enough to work the action but not have full power loads
With the powder shortage 296 is all I have to work with at the moment

Thanks

[Doc65]

I still have 80 of a hundred loaded 44 mag rounds loaded with a 215 SWC GC from a Lyman mold that I worked up to until they would reliably cycle my Desert Eagle, they are NOT light loads(can't be to get the DE to cycle) so I'd drop it a couple grains & work back up, but the tag reads WW case, CC Mag primer, 28gr 296, 215 GR SWC-GC

[Doc65]

Oh, by the way, when I say I still have that's just because I sold that DE a couple years back, grip was just too BIG, kept the rounds to run thru my Rossi/Puma 92 44mag,

[bayjoe]

28 grains, WOW that is pretty stout!!!
Thanks I'll give it a try

[Doc65]

I know, that's why I mentioned trying lower first, maybe my gas system was loose or something, but thats what I had to get up to to get it to cycle & not short stroke. I have the 100 round box in front of me, and the 20 fired rounds have the primers mildly flattened, but not excessive in any way so I'm not over pressure and they did cycle nice, no sticking in the chamber or anything either.

[bayjoe]

What kind of Crimp?

[Doc65]

Heavy roll crimp into the crimp grove as otherwise they may move under recoil, at least mine did. Completely bound up the magazine at one point, took a minute to figure what was going on, my first thought was that it had short cycled again & just hadn't picked up the next round, but even on racking the slide, no round, then I looked down & the next round was 1/2" down the mag... :( Solid crimp after that, no more issue.

Do realize that this is a direct impinging gas system and you will get lube & to a lesser extent lead in that gas chamber, that's why IMI gives you that L shaped cleaner

[Tatume]

IMI warns that cast bullets will clog the Desert Eagle gas system and that it cannot be cleaned. I've never owned one, so can't say from personal experience.

[deltaenterprizes]

Second on the above post!!!!!
Good way to turn it into a single shot!

[rockrat]

Don't know if you can shoot some cast thru it, then runs some jacketed thru it to "blow out" the gas system. Kind of like they recommend when running a 22lr conversion unit in an AR rifle. Shoot a few hundred 22lr, then pull the unit out and put the standard bolt back in, then shoot a mag full of jacketed, then go back to the 22lr unit.

[bayjoe]

Thanks for the knowledge. That would be a really expensive single shot.
I'll stick to J-bullets for a while and then probably find it a new home.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Never turned mine into a single shot , seems like most manufactures do not want us using cast or reloads , I got the gun from a brother in law who was shooting less then strong enough loads to function reliably , I loaded my own and never had an issue as for cleaning gas system do not see why it can not be cleaned .