Mk18 Desert Eagle feeding issue

N00110010

N00110010

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I have a mk18 desert eagle in 50ae and sometimes I get failure to feed. Sadly I don’t have a picture of the issue but when it happens, it’s always in the same spot about 5mm or so from slide going into battery. Even if I try to push the slide into battery it’s feels like it’s jammed. To clear it i would need to drop magazine and rack the slide back and round will fall out with no issue. I thought maybe limp wristing it but it’s the consistent spot. Only one magazine at the moment and using flat nose underwood ammo. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated

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Recently was in the range with a guy who was having feeding issues with his .50AE. We determined his issues were with aftermarket magazines. Only suggestion I have is to try different magazines to see if it’s isolated to any particular magazine. Other than that, I’m not familiar with the DE enough to help.
 
I agree with average Joe. The first thing people suggest is try different mags and different ammo to try and isolate the issue. If you have same issue after that you can check recoil springs and tolerances of the gun itself.
 
Average Joe said:
Recently was in the range with a guy who was having feeding issues with his .50AE. We determined his issues were with aftermarket magazines. Only suggestion I have is to try different magazines to see if it’s isolated to any particular magazine. Other than that, I’m not familiar with the DE enough to help.
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Mr. Bggs said:
I agree with average Joe. The first thing people suggest is try different mags and different ammo to try and isolate the issue. If you have same issue after that you can check recoil springs and tolerances of the gun itself.
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Thanks both are great suggestions. I will have to order a desert eagle brand magazine and try some hollow points and see if that helps. It’s just sucks trouble shooting this particular gun because it feels like I have get a small loan taking it to the range with ammo prices on this caliber lol. Thanks I’ll have to follow up once a new magazine shows up.
 
Couldn't agree more. Trouble shooting isn't fun as it is. Add in a gun with expensive components and ammo and it gets downright aggravating. Best of luck. Keep us up to date with any news.
 
Take the barrel off and see if all of those rounds plunk just fine.

I recently had to get through a spell where my reloads were too long for a particular barrel and were engaging the lands before the gun went into battery.
 
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Frack N Cylons said:
Take the barrel off and see if all of those rounds plunk just fine.

I recently had to get through a spell where my reloads were to long for a particular barrel and were engaging the lands before the gun went into battery.
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I did noticed on the ejected round after the failure to feed that the there was a flat spot on the side of the flat nose rim of the ammo underwood ammo. Kinda looked like if i dropped it on the edge of the nose and flatten it. Have not checked the rest of the ammo to see if maybe defective ammo or out of spec. I’ll see if I can find those round and post a picture of them but will take the barrel off and look inside the feed ramp and area where the bullet feeds into chamber.
 
N00110010 said:
Thanks both are great suggestions. I will have to order a desert eagle brand magazine and try some hollow points and see if that helps. It’s just sucks trouble shooting this particular gun because it feels like I have get a small loan taking it to the range with ammo prices on this caliber lol. Thanks I’ll have to follow up once a new magazine shows up.
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I can’t remember the name of the aftermarket mags the guy was using. His DE mags did fine. @FarpinDar was with me. Maybe he remembers the name of the after market mags.
 
No, I don't remember the brand or where he said he got them from. It was obvious that they were impacting a ping on the side or the mag well. Magazines were pretty chewed up.
 
hp468 said:
Not saying this is your problem but I’ve seen limp wristing cause one to do similar.
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Yeah I’m not ruling that out but it’s just to consistent on the spot where it jams up, the slide barely has a gap maybe 3-5mm from being fully in battery. But will test out with different brand of ammo and another mag once I get it. If same issue then it’s seems the hand cannon life is not for me.
 
I’m also assuming the magazine I have is factory. I don’t remember seeing any marking that bares the brand name or anything
 
N00110010 said:
I’m also assuming the magazine I have is factory. I don’t remember seeing any marking that bares the brand name or anything
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I don't believe factory mags have any branding on them but something may have changed. Heck, I didn't know they were making them in the US now.
 
Pics of everything might help somebody recognize it. The mag, the ammo, the bullet that had the mark on it. Maybe somebody on here can compare. I don't have a de personally.
 
Your guess is as good as mine, I originally got it in a trade along with the ammo and did not think much of it. Came stock along with all the paper work, gun sock, and case.
 
Feeding problems have always been an issue with DE's at least that I what I have read and been told. I bought an early 44mag DE from an estate. Dry fired it and decided it was the worst or second worst trigger I have ever pulled. Sold it thru a dealer who sold it on Gunbroker. Told me later he had to replace the mag that it sold with to the buyer because of feeding issues. Told them I never fired it so I wouldnt know. Isnt Magnum Research still around? I wouldnt hesitate to make it their problem.
 
The three rounds in the middle are the ones I collected that fail to feed and you can tell the deformation on the bullet. Also taking the front picture to show the deformation on the actual bullet showed that they also go pushed down the casing because they are shorter compared to the others for comparison. The magazine looks fine and the feed ramps look fine. By the way the bullet is pushed into the casing looks like maybe the barrel somehow not letting them feed in correctly possibly.

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jimmyjames8 said:
Feeding problems have always been an issue with DE's at least that I what I have read and been told. I bought an early 44mag DE from an estate. Dry fired it and decided it was the worst or second worst trigger I have ever pulled. Sold it thru a dealer who sold it on Gunbroker. Told me later he had to replace the mag that it sold with to the buyer because of feeding issues. Told them I never fired it so I wouldnt know. Isnt Magnum Research still around? I wouldnt hesitate to make it their problem.
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Actually that’s not a bad idea, I will have to see if they are around and maybe send it in to see what they can do about it. Thanks for the advice
 
Does this ever happen with the first round? If not I would get another factory mag and try it before sending it to them. If it does happen on the first round send it in.
 
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FarpinDar said:
Does this ever happen with the first round? If not I would get another factory mag and try it before sending it to them. If it does happen on the first round send it in.
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I’m waiting to a get a new magazine to test but from what I can recall it is not a consistent jam and has happened after a few shots and on first shot
 
@N00110010

How many rounds have got through the Deagle? How old is it?

You must replace the recoil spring every so often. They sell the spring kits online.

I can't remember, but I wanna say you must replace the springs every 1000 rds. If you don't replace the springs you end up with springs that are too weak to get the bolt back into battery.

Edit: it's every 3000rds... https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1004303292?pid=912731
 
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Alabamacoastie said:
@N00110010

How many rounds have got through the Deagle? How old is it?

You must replace the recoil spring every so often. They sell the spring kits online.

I can't remember, but I wanna say you must replace the springs every 1000 rds. If you don't replace the springs you end up with springs that are too weak to get the bolt back into battery.

Edit: it's every 3000rds... https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1004303292?pid=912731
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Not sure on the round count or date of manufacture. Will have to look it up. Will have to take a closer look at the wear parts and guess how much wear on them compared to new parts.
 
Alabamacoastie said:
I've got a Deagle in 50ae. I put exactly 20rds through it, cleaned it, and put it in the safe.

20rds is all I could afford. Hahaha.
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Lol that’s how I felt when it’s started to jam up with the ammo. I was like man I can’t afford to trouble shoot it but today I think I figured out what my issue was and it looks like it might be the ammo. I used hornady custom 300gr xtp hollow points and shot a whole mag without any issues. With the underwood I would get 1-3 hang ups on a 7 round mag. I’m guessing it has something to do with the bullet flat top but they look the same. I’m going to call it and say that my deagle does not like running underwood ammo.

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I have one dumb question, the magazine is "floating" in the mag well, yes? no pressure on the base plate at any point during shooting?
 
N00110010 said:
Lol that’s how I felt when it’s started to jam up with the ammo. I was like man I can’t afford to trouble shoot it but today I think I figured out what my issue was and it looks like it might be the ammo. I used hornady custom 300gr xtp hollow points and shot a whole mag without any issues. With the underwood I would get 1-3 hang ups on a 7 round mag. I’m guessing it has something to do with the bullet flat top but they look the same. I’m going to call it and say that my deagle does not like running underwood ammo.

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I'm glad it seems to be working now. I understand the frustration of troubleshooting with expensive ammo
 
Desolo said:
I have one dumb question, the magazine is "floating" in the mag well, yes? no pressure on the base plate at any point during shooting?
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Im not sure I know when the magazine is loaded and you insert it in the mag well you can fell the round being pushed down by the slide. Are you talking about with the slide back and the magazine inserted?
 
N00110010 said:
Im not sure I know when the magazine is loaded and you insert it in the mag well you can fell the round being pushed down by the slide. Are you talking about with the slide back and the magazine inserted?
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The Desert Eagle magazine "floats" in the well, and if it is bumped or "tea cupped" it will cause odd feed problems.

Observe an empty mag with the slide/bolt carrier back, it can move up and down easily. With the slide/bolt carrier in battery, it does the same thing but has spring pressure forcing it down.... unless it is forced upward manually.

This movement is also there while loaded.

Even resting the pistol on a bench and putting mild pressure on the baseplate can cause it to missfeed.

Ive never understood why the pistol was designed this way, but it is a common issue.

Ive actually taken to rolling an O ring to the bottom of the magazines which gives a positive downward force while the magazines are locked in... Ive had zero feed issues regardless of grip or rest postion since I started doing this.
 
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