Micro Desert Eagle pistol review
Reader CBN3 wrote a brief review of the Magnum Research Micro Eagle pistol and provided me with some high quality photos of its internals.
Bought one 12/6. First shot perfect bulls-eye. Range officer said I might as well go home.
A little hand pain atfer a box of ball rounds- all tight groups. Still a lot more confortable and fun than shooting my LCP. 5 ounces heavier but shorter and fits in by back pants pocket better and have carried it there since I bought it.
I think it is the CZ design but better quality materials and tooling being made in America. You can tell how nicely made it is as soon as you chamber a round.It also has a unique design. Barrel ported and beautiful. Hammer forged and twists to disengage slide from frame, no pin. Has 2 small rods and springs on each side instead of 1 big one in the middle. Leave it to the Czechs. I think the big trigger guard is for a pilots glove. After all if it is the Kevin design, ZVI is a weapons designer and manufactures weapons and ammo for jet fighters. My guess is they made it to be a small carry for a downed pilot.
Just happened to be in the gun shop getting a credit on my returned Kahr 9 mm and was introduced to this thing. Almost didn’t buy it because it was unknown to me but just from the looks of it I knew it wouldn’t be there when I returned to get it.
I’m sold, great gun.
Click to expand the photos.
A big thanks to CBN3 for the great photos and review. If you purchase a recently released firearm and want to write a quick review and/or provide some photos, please contact me.
I love strange designs like that.
Must
Have.
Any pictures of your targets?
The method of barrel/frame engagement is lifted straight from JMB’s blowback pocket pistol designs.
I’m trying to remember where, other than the Deagle itself, I’ve seen the dual coil spring recoil arrangement…
Amazing pics and truly a cool Firearm.
Fired mine for the first time yesterday. 100 rounds, some hollows, some ball. No malfunctions at all. Hand hurt a bit after fifty rounds. This is a jewel.
While cleaning, I made not of how nicely machined this pistol is, pretty inside, nice smooth work.
Traded in the jam-o-matic P3AT, so glad to have a pocket .380 that actually works.
Nice write up! Just stumbled across it via Google. I think I’ll get my hands on one – maybe one for the wife as well – for carry. This looks absolutely superior to the LCP.
As to an earlier comment, the dual recoil spring arrangement dates back to (at least) the Walther P-38.
I purchased this gun about a week ago as a CCW gun that I would remember it on me and had no extra bullshit on it.
I shot 2 boxes of cheap .380 ACP through it. (NO MISS FEEDS OR JAMS) Now, I have not shot a gun in over 8+ years.
At 15 yards, I had shot 50 rounds and had 42 in the kill zone/chest area (aimed for center). The other 8 were either not accounted for or outside of the human body area.
I then tried 25 rounds at 15ft. All were in within the center chest area no more than 6″ apart in which I had aimed for.
The last 25 rounds were shot at 75 ft. I had only 7 in the kill zone. so about 25% at 75ft.
The Micro DE is a reliable gun and with time, I should be at 75% at 75ft and 100% at 15 yards.
When I got home, I dug out my old ammo box with cleaning patches and oil. I cleaned the unit. It was simple to clean and went back together perfectly. The gun is prime quality and is a SOLID once piece frame. Pretty impressive and I think the only gun on the market like it.
I am ordering wood grips for it. I want to also mention that after shooting the 100 rounds, I had noticed that the one side of the grips had loosed just a tad and I had to use an alan wench to tighten back up. This can be expected considering the force placed on such a small frame. I am using lock-tight when I get the wood handles.
Overall, I wonderful experience today at the range and a great gun!!
just purchased one last week. Carried all weekend out of town on vacation. Comfortable in all sorts of attire(did not wear while swimming) and even my wife forgot it was there sometimes (it was a romantic weekend.) Bottom line. Beats a kel-tec and a ruger. It is worth the money. (519.00 for me)
I recently purchased one of these mde’s. i was sold at the look and feel of the gun, but for some odd reason mine would repeatedly jam after almost every shot. after changing ammo and changing shooters, this did not fix the problem. i tried to send the gun back to magnum research, but they told me that i would have to pay for repairs. a close buddy of mine bought one as well, and he had the same problem. don’t know if its a local problem, but i wont be recommending this to anyone. traded mine in for a Kahr p380 and haven’t looked back.
I just bought a MDE. I took the conceal and carry class last weekend tought by a po who does fugitive arrests. He says it is an awesome gun. I have large hands for a girl and am well versed in the firearm world. I wanted a gun that would be easy to conceal on my body (purse carrying in my opinion is stupid). Trigger pull is heavy and long (1/2 inch). I am excited to get out and shoot it.
How do you carry your MDE and what holster have you found for it? I am looking for an in the pant holster.
Bought my MDE about a month ago and it’s taken me this long to find ammo for it. Mine did not feed Corbon hollowpoints reliably. I believe it’s the wide opening. They snagged on the feed ramp (3 out of 20). With ball, it ran like a clock. I will be sticking with ball for penetration anyway, so no big loss with the Corbons.
This gun is finished beautifully. This is not so much a matter of aesthetics, but speaks to the care in manufacturing. It’s solid as brick outhouse and I have yet to find a burr or machine mark anywhere. Stripping is as easy as pie.
BTW, the ball ammo I managed to find was PRVI Partizan, apparently a Serbian manufacturer with a decent reputation. If you get your hands on some, it’s pretty good ammo. I had never heard of it, but my mom-and-pop shop said it was good stuff and they were right.
The trigger pull is standard DAO pocket gun, long but smooth. I was able to score head shots (just for testing) on a silhouette at 15-20 feet with care, place all in the center zone at 30 feet with care, and you can’t ask much more from a gun of this type. Rapid fire one handed without sights put them all in the zone at about 10-15 feet. Considering the purpose of this gun, that’s not bad. I don’t think we’ll all have time to assume a Weaver when the fecal matter hits the rotating cooling device.
All in all a good little gun. I would run ball or maybe Powerball through it just to ensure reliability. Remember it’s a .380. Gotta get that lead through some flesh to do any damage. It’s my new primary for shorts and tank top weather.
I had purchased one about 6 months ago and have not had any problems with it at all. It is very accurate (for its size) and shoots flawlessly.The first time I took it to the range I put a box of ball ammo through it with no jams or misfires,even during rapid fire.I then loaded up a mag with some old ammo that my brother had given me,it was four different brands and mixed between ball and hollow point.I shot these as fast as I could and the gun blew them out like they were all ball ammo and the same brand.Some people may find things that they do not like about this pistol,but it is desiged with a purpose.It is a CCW that will fit in your pocket but not feel small in your hand.You can keep one loaded in the chamber with out worrying about it going off in your pocket because of the DAO.No safety.A little pricey,but I think it is worth it.
I had purchased one about 2 months ago and have not had any problems with it at all. It shoots whatever I put in it. It is a great gun unlike the LCP that I finally traded that missfired every 4th shot even after 3 trips back to Ruger, and the Keltek that jamed every time I took it to the range .This MDE is very reliable and makes a perfect front poket carry gun.