Desert Eagle 357 Magnum load data

[Bello]

Hello to the brains trust
I have just purchased a Desert Eagle 357Magnum pistol (the barrel is ported). I took it to the range at St Marys with some Winchester 125 gr bullets.
I wasn't able to get through one mag without a cycling problem.
I have been told this is not uncommon with this pistol. I belive action takes a bit of power to be cycled.
I have looked on line in this forum and found only one person who may have a pistol like mine, he uses
AR 2205 (15.3gr)
CCI magnum pistol primers
Hornady 158gr XTP JHP
I have contacted ADI and they basically said look at the ADI site, which I have. No great help.
Just wondering if anyone owns a pistol like this and can steer me in the correct direction.
The load for the pistol will be used at the range only. The pistol was purchased second hand.

[wanneroo]

Have you tried shooting a variety of factory 357 magnum ammo? I would run some factory ammo through as a baseline and if that doesn't work it might be an issue with the gun.

[wrenchman]

the older ones would stove pipe as wanneroo said try other ammo try to run some fmj typ and also as wanneroo said with the gun but most semi auto feed issues are the mags

[Bello]

The guy at the gun shop gave me that ammo as he said it was possibly the only one that would cycle that pistol.
I have gone to another gun shop and got some 158gr JHP, will try them as soon as the Minister for war and finance lets me go to the range again, hopefully some time this week.
But I would like to load some of my own. I am hoping someone on line has one of these pistols and may be able to share his/her load data, and expertise on this pistol.
If that fails, then its to the gun smith.
At my next range day I will take your advice and try some other mags, thanks wrenchman. I have a couple of other ones.

[Gun nut.]

I have seen a lot of desert eagles at my range that seem to be fussy with ammo. Kinda deterred me from ever getting one.
I went with the Coonan semi auto .357 instead. No regrets, reliability is excellent but it does like very hot ammo to function the slide as it should. Before I started reloading for this pistol I was buying sellier and bellot 158gr JHP factory ammo. It shot flawlessly.
I now reload it with either the following .

158gr JHP bullet, 16grs of win 296 powder with a CCI mag primer.
125gr JHP , 21grs of win 296 with CCI mag primer. Cheers.

[cflake]

I don't have a 357, but I have a 44 mag DE and I can tell you there is no such thing as a reduced load if you want it to cycle. I tried some reduced loads on the weekend and started using 11gr of AP70 and a 180gr projectile, which is only 0.3gr off a max load and it only cycled properly half the time.

Could also be the 180gr projectile as it works fine with 240gr factory loads. Also with the mark 19 you must use jacketed projectiles, I'm assuming yours is the same.

[wanneroo]

Well lookie here and check this out:

https://www.magnumresearch.com/wp-conte ... IST-DE.pdf

[brett1868]

Got your PM and replied.
In short the DE prefers a hot load to reliably cycle the heavy ass slide. I only use 158gr Hornady JHP's with 15.5gr of 2205 lit by a CCI550 which has shown to be quite accurate across the multiple .357 pistols and rifle I own. The other major contributing factor to cycling issues can be grip technique, grip firmly, lock the arm and don't limp wrist it. I have the DE 357 Mag, 44 Mag & 50AE and all cycle perfectly fine with the correct ammunition and grip.

[Sus_scrofa]

My load is:

CCI Small magnum primers
1 gram (yes gram) ADI AR2205
158gr speer projectiles JHP

I shoot metallic silhouette with this load

[Bello]

He’ll all
Thanks for all your helpful hints and loads, it’s great to have people so willing to support a fellow enthusiast. I’m really chuffed by everyone who has tried to help me out, thanks.
I just came back from Aubrun pistol range. (In Sydney NSW)
I loaded the 357DE with:
158gr Hornady JHP
15.5gr of AR2205
CCI small magnum pistol primers
With a C.O.A.L of 1.58 inches
NO cycling issues.
But I did notice what looked like un-burnt powder in the action.
The primers looked a little flattened. I will take a closer look at the primers tomorrow. Cases looked ok.
Should I reduce my load or is this normal?

[wrenchman]

i have never loaded with that powder so i cant give much it could be unburnt powder.
keep in mind most 357 loads are tested with revolvers even with revolvers that i load for i try to scale my loads up checking for pressure issues.
you do no the gun will run that load try 10 rounds loaded lower then 10 more a little lower .
when i work up loads i start mid load data and work my way up you have a a semi auto that likes hot loads that makes it hard to do.

[Sarco]

As the 357Mag DE is gas operated, you need to have a load which produces sufficient gas at a sufficient pressure to reliably operate. As such regardless of the load, you are probably going to need near to maximum loads all the time.
AR2205 is possible a good choice but I would be looking to always use magnum pistol primers and that may eliminate to unburned powder issue, though this is not uncommon with less than max loads of AR2205.
Perhaps try a load of maybe 8 - 9 gn of AP100, being the slowest of the pistol powders that ADI produce to develop the pressure and gas volumes faster.

Sarco

[ponkychonk]

You absolutely cannot shoot lead ammo in a Desert Eagle.The lead fouls the gas system. That is why IMI have a huge banner on the manual that comes with all Deagles saying DO NOT USE LEAD AMMUNITION in this firearm.

You want 158grain JHP ammo. FMJ is out, as it has an exposed lead base. Any other lead ammo is also out.

Get yourself some 158grain SJHP's and your Deagle will run absolutely perfectly, unless you have already fouled the gas system with lead ammo. If you have, you will need to knock out the barrel retaining pin, take the entire barrel assembly apart, and clean out the gas system with a tiny drill bit. Alternatively, hydrosonic might do the trick.

[clickrASC]

Hello to the brains trust
I have just purchased a Desert Eagle 357Magnum pistol (the barrel is ported). I took it to the range at St Marys with some Winchester 125 gr bullets.
I wasn't able to get through one mag without a cycling problem.
I have been told this is not uncommon with this pistol. I belive action takes a bit of power to be cycled.
I have looked on line in this forum and found only one person who may have a pistol like mine, he uses
AR 2205 (15.3gr)
CCI magnum pistol primers
Hornady 158gr XTP JHP
I have contacted ADI and they basically said look at the ADI site, which I have. No great help.
Just wondering if anyone owns a pistol like this and can steer me in the correct direction.
The load for the pistol will be used at the range only. The pistol was purchased second hand.

from North Carolina: I just bought a DE357 L5 autoloader. Their web site has a listing of mfg ammo that should cycle the gun. In preparation of receiving the gun I bought 250 American Eagle bullets since the AE357A is listed. The gun would not cycle, the range gunsmith tried three different brands with no success. After more reading and searches on the internet I bought a box of American Eagle AE357A ammo. Ends up the 250 bulk buy was not AE357A but a lower powder charge. Sent the gun back, they replaced the recoil springs and worked on the ejector and with the AE357A ammo it shoots perfectilly. I bought 4 more boxes of AE357A but I also am researching reload data to reload my own. The factory stated that most of the 357 mag ammo is out of spec with regards to the case length which is not critical with a pistol like a Colt Python, it is critical for the DE' any calaber. . Reload data shows case length at 1.290. AE257A comes in right around 1.280 +- .002". Hornady measures 1.3+. AE357A has fps listed at 1240 with a 58 grain JSP (jacketed soft point).

get a copy of the ammo they recommend. Find a box and shoot it. I landed on the American Eagle because it's made in the USA and somewhat available.

a youtube.com vidio shows how to check head space (dissable the gun, remove the bolt ( and then remove the ejector pin) hold the barell, insert a round, insert the bolt face lugs into the barell and you should be able to rotate the bolt into the lock position with finger pressure. If not the case length is out of spec and unlike an AR15 where you can jam the cartridge into the barell, the DE uses only spring pressure to force the bolt forward.

Good luck and if/when I find/test different powders for my reloads i will try and post it.