If you shoot it you'll probably want to keep it, so be careful. Just no lead or exposed lead base bullets. If the gun is ok, mechanically, clean the rust off and put it on the table for $8-900 and it will get snapped up, IF someone with a desire for a DE sees it. One possible reason you got it so cheap is that it might have a plugged gas system.Only test firing (with appropriate ammo) will tell that.
Loads must be basically full power ammo, or the gun won't cycle reliably.ĭid you get just the gun? Any accessories? DE's came with a reamer to clean the gas chamber. Plated bullets and bullets with exposed lead in the base are a bad idea, too.
Don't cup your support hand under the gun, or it will likely have issues. The owner got his gun back with a new barrel assembly, and a bill for the same.Īlso, the magazine of the DE must "float", or feeding trouble will result.
I know of one case, where a gun got so badly plugged (owner ignorance) that the FACTORY could not clean it. The two tone finish was a factory option, but I'm not sure when it began to be offered, only that it was not offered on the early production (first decade, I think) guns.Ī couple of important tips about shooting the beast, never, never, NEVER run cast bullets through it!!!! Lead, and bullet lube can plug the gas system! And, unlike some guns, cleaning a plugged gas system on a DE is close to impossible. Your gun has the "shelf" or "ledge" on the safety lever, and the enlarged one on the slide release, that did not come out until several years later. 44s didn't come out until at least a couple years later, so the earliest it could be would be 1986, BUT, the slide stop and the safety lever(s) are not the ones on the original Desert Eagle (now called the Mk I). I'll disagree with that statement, with a proviso.Īssuming it is all original, based on what I could see in that very small pic, it is NOT a mid 80s gun. I have found that it is a very early gun made by IMI in the mid 80's. Just not many folks on the fence about the DE. Some are impressed with the semi auto power and accuracy on tap, while others despise and ridicule the gun and it's size. Seems that the DE is the most polarizing handgun I have ever owned.
Magnum Research will probably not be of too much help with dating it, but it doesn't hurt to try. I would not re-finish it, just clean the rust. Just cannot provide more help with realistic value without more detailed photos.Įxcept to say if the serial range and slide legend match (in timeline), the two tone would have been ordered that way and it will bring more than a common black (or parkerized)version. Is the barrel/slide assembly parkerized or blued? Again,pretty hard to tell from that photo. Looking down into the frame below the hammer for the presence of an adjustable engagement screw head will also figure if it is a MKI or MKVII. If the gun is a stainless or more uncommon alloy frame, it will have an appropriate letter suffix preceded by a dash - 32,xxx-S or A.Ī closer photo showing the left slide legend, safety, and slide stop would help determine the correct model. What is the serial number range, and is there a letter suffix? Keep the last several to yourself when posting like this - 32,xxx. Unfortunately, your photo is too small for any detailed analysis. Several things to look at to help determine the gun and possible value. Anyway thanks in advance for any info you can give me. Any idea on value? If I refinish it I will be disclosing that it was refinished when I sell. However it is not perfect the are a couple of light rust spots on the slide and I am thinking of having it refinished to all Black and was wondering what that would do to the value as I know it's more of a collector's pistol than anything else. Anyway I bought this gun because I think it was way under priced at 600 dollars and I have never seen one less than a 1000 dollars around here. I think it may have been refinished at some point. What I would like to know is did the early Desert Eagle's come in any color than Black? The reason I ask is that the frame is Silver in color kind of like a brushed aluminum and the slide and barrel are Black. I am going to give IWI a call and see if they have any records from IMI as I assume they are the same company. 44 magnum and after doing a little research.