Desert Eagle in .50 AE

[44man]

My friend bought the AE barrel for his Eagle. Fun to shoot but it needs a higher front sight.
He could not find any dies except Lee. Nice looking dies but after sizing and not expanding, bullets fall into the brass. The expander does not even touch.
Speer bullets are better but still loose. You can push a bullet deeper with your finger. Crimp will hold them from moving in the magazine BARELY.
I told him to call Lee, it is not right.
The tapered case is a pain, as a bullet is seated it gets looser.
I was able to clang my 100 yard gong off hand but real accuracy will not be found with the Lee dies.

[frankenfab]

Definitely sounds like there is something wrong with the dies. I think both my .50AE sets are Lee.

The .50AE was my firsu Desert Eagle. I almost sold it because I didn't like how big the grip was, But, I got used to it, and I think that is why I like the big wood Hogue grip on my BFR.

I was fortunate enough to buy 2000 each of the factory IMI 300SP and 300HP projectiles many years ago. They were not available after that for a very long time, and when they did come back, they were 3 times the price.

[Bullwolf]

He could not find any dies except Lee. Nice looking dies but after sizing and not expanding, bullets fall into the brass. The expander does not even touch.
Speer bullets are better but still loose. You can push a bullet deeper with your finger. Crimp will hold them from moving in the magazine BARELY.
I told him to call Lee, it is not right.
The tapered case is a pain, as a bullet is seated it gets looser.
I was able to clang my 100 yard gong off hand but real accuracy will not be found with the Lee dies.

I use the Lee dies to load 50 Action Express for my AMT Automag V
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=539&pictureid=3933

I have never had any issues like the ones you described above using the Lee die set for loading 50AE. I have used Speer, Starline, or Hornady brass, through multiple firings. .

I get pretty good neck tension with Speer Gold Dot, and plated bullets as well. My crimped bullets don't move at all in the magazine, and you cant shrink the overall length by firmly pressing a loaded round against the loading bench.

After sizing the brass there is no way I could seat without using the expander. If you need, I would be happy to mic a few parts of the Lee die set for size comparisons

I think something is wrong with the dies, and I would just call Lee about it.


- Bullwolf

[Bullwolf]

I measured the inside of the Lee 50AE sizer die as best as I could. I had to use a set of calipers to measure inside diameter. It comes out close to .530

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f30a9b67956d.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=3830)

My notes say that I taper crimp .50AE down to around .525 measured at the case neck. That's enough to take the flare/bell off a .50AE case, and still give me a pretty secure taper crimp.

Hope that helps some.


- Bullwolf

[44man]

Lee was called and they said to send the size die back.

[ebner glocken]

I'm using redding dies with no complaints. With rainer 300 gr the same front sight issue with mine. I called MR and they sent me a new sight that was TIG welded up and filed back down.

Ebner

[Whistler]

A sizer die that has jacketed bullets hanging a bit loose but still chambers seems like the perfect setup to use a really hard oversized lead boolit with gas check. I shot several hundred Lee 310gn .430 with GC in my .44 Mag Desert Eagle. Use a hard lube and avoid Liquid Alox like the plague and the Desert Eagle can become quite cheap to shoot!

[44man]

A sizer die that has jacketed bullets hanging a bit loose but still chambers seems like the perfect setup to use a really hard oversized lead boolit with gas check. I shot several hundred Lee 310gn .430 with GC in my .44 Mag Desert Eagle. Use a hard lube and avoid Liquid Alox like the plague and the Desert Eagle can become quite cheap to shoot!
Good to hear cast CAN be shot, I will tell him. He only worries about crud in the gas port. No damage but the gun can stop functioning.
That port is hard to clean.

[FIRERESCUEO2]

Lee will take care of you ....... My .458 set ran flawlessly. Definately sounds like a manufacturing issue.

[Whistler]

44man: Eventually the gas port will become filled with crud even with jacketed bullets, its just a question of time. Powder selection is important, I used N105 (much like Lil'Gun) instead of what is N110 that is traditionally more used for .44 Mag, it raised the pressures abit, but the Eagle can take it and it burned really clean.

One easy way to look after the gas port is to block the muzzle (use a finger, a rubber plug or whatever) pour some solvent in the gas port (where the piston goes) and suck on the breach end of the barrel. It will draw the solvent through the gas tube and it will flow down the barrel. Let it soak and the next time you are on the range, just fire one or two jacketed bullets to clean the gas port. It will make a weird "pjoff" sound when the gas pushes the remaining solvent out, but it will also take with it any crud that has loosened from the gas channel.

[44man]

Thanks for that, I will relay the info.

[ebner glocken]

I haven't tried any cast in either of my desert eagles. The main reason is why I bought my .41 for a song, wouldn't function. The gas port was full of lead and lube. I took the barrel off and soaked it in a zip lock bag of Kroil for a couple of weeks. With some time and labor the fouling came up. It shoots great now.

I agree, shooting jacketed bullets the gas system will eventually foul. How I avoid this is by shooting wipe out in it after each shooting session. After an hour set it cleans up nicely. My only worry about shooting a gun with a gas port full of solvent is that liquid doesn't compress nearly as well as gas. Does it eject with much vigor? I have a little fear of taking a gas system and making it a hydrolic cylinder.

Ebner

[IridiumRed]

44man: Eventually the gas port will become filled with crud even with jacketed bullets, its just a question of time. Powder selection is important, I used N105 (much like Lil'Gun) instead of what is N110 that is traditionally more used for .44 Mag, it raised the pressures abit, but the Eagle can take it and it burned really clean.

One easy way to look after the gas port is to block the muzzle (use a finger, a rubber plug or whatever) pour some solvent in the gas port (where the piston goes) and suck on the breach end of the barrel. It will draw the solvent through the gas tube and it will flow down the barrel. Let it soak and the next time you are on the range, just fire one or two jacketed bullets to clean the gas port. It will make a weird "pjoff" sound when the gas pushes the remaining solvent out, but it will also take with it any crud that has loosened from the gas channel.

Thats a real good suggestion. I've owned a couple of desert eagles in the past, never fired cast in them because of the horror stories of plugging the gas port. And I could see why people said that - one the port is pretty small diameter, and two, there isn't a direct path to clean it (at least from what I saw). Its not like a little hole you could push a wire through to help clean.... And I believe thats because the barrels start out as two pieces (chamber end, with the section the bolt locks into - kinda like an AR barrel extention, and then the front end), and they probably do all the drilling when its two pieces, and then when they put the two pieces together, it blocks the access to that port

Anyways. Your suggestion is a good one, I'll keep that on mental file in case I pick up another DE....

[44man]

I really like to shoot them and accuracy has been very good in all of those I shot.
It is hard for me to work with his guns because he always has a new one when he comes out, the latest is a S&W .500.
He loves big guns but does not hunt so each gun is put in his safe after we shoot it a while.
He shoots a few times and gets his glove on, shoots again and hands me his gun. I do get to shoot a lot that way! [smilie=w: