Review: Rap4 / Umarex Desert Eagle .43

I have been playing paintball since the late 90’s now. I have owned over 50 markers during my paintball career, and rarely does one strike me as impressive or outstanding upon taking them out of the box for the first time.

That being said I admit when I picked up the desert eagle, felt its weigh in my hands, ogled the fine attention to detail, and saw “MAGNUM RESEARCH INC” written across the slide the first words that came out of my mouth were “Holy S**t!”

*****
PLEASE USE common sense and discretion with these markers and similar milsim markers.

*****

-Video Supplement:


Pictorial:




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Note I have the US version (non shell ejecting) The German version ejects shells.


The Desert Eagle is a gorgeous marker. Forget eye candy, it is eye porn. If you take away the 12 gram adapter it looks IDENTICAL to the real thing right down to “® DESERT EAGLE PISTOL – MAGNUM RESEARCH INC. MINNEAPOLIS MN.” Written down the slide. No orange tip to be seen on mine either (not required in Canada).

If I took a stroll down to my local bar and told the biggest ugliest guy there something offensive about his mother and pulled this hand cannon he would most defiantly be either hiding under a table or running for his life (And I would most defiantly have an ERT forcefully taking me custody at gunpoint, but that’s aside the fact lol).



Apart from the 12 gram adapter when it is screwed into the grip frame and the caliber indicator saying “.43 Paintball” instead of “.44 Magnum”, “.347 Magnum” or “.50 AE” you cannot tell the difference. Unlike an airsoft DE with a 6mm barrel the paintball version looks like the same thing even from the front. Can you tell the difference between .43 and .44 caliber when looking down the barrel? I sure can’t.
This pistol is BIG. Roughly desert eagle size if I had to guess (har har har). Don’t dream of getting it in a small (normal handgun) sized holster. I had the rap4 Small holster on my rap4 vest which worked great with my p99 and p226’s I’ve owned in the past. One try with a desert eagle was like trying to put a couch through a doggy door.



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The Desert Eagle is single action Closed bolt blow back pistol.
It shares most of its cosmetic and functional features with the real desert eagle. The Trigger is corrugated to prevent your finger from slipping when pulling the trigger. The safety is located on the slide in the form of a selector switch.
The Desert Eagle comes standard with a top and bottom weaver mounts for aftermarket accessories, making it the most upgradable RAM pistol out of the box. The lower weaver mounts can be removed if need be via 2 set screws.

The marker is cycled when the hammer hits the valve stem like all other blow back, which is located where the firing pin would be on a real desert eagle making it as real as possible. Since it is single action there is no de-cock button like the P99 or P226. Instead the hammer must be manually restrained with the thumb while you pull the trigger to de-cock the marker.



The desert eagle is equipped the longest barrel of all of the RAM handgun line, which is a 7 inch brass barrel, brass barrels are usually associated with quality, performance, and the ability to shoot through breaks well (according to palmers pursuit shop who make almost exclusively brass barrels). With a 7 inch barrel as opposed to a 5 or 4 inch as seen on other RAM handguns we should experience more paintball acceleration and stabilization, and hopefully more range and better accuracy.

Unlike the other RAM pistol barrels, the desert eagle does not have cross compatibility.

People with big hands rejoice, people who complained about the tib 8 run and hide. This thing has a MASSIVE grip frame, even bigger than the tib8 possibly.

The DE features rudimentary iron sights that do not even have colored dot indicators. It can however be equipped with dot sights and lasers for low light conditions, which trumps any iron sights.


The magazines have also received an upgrade. On previous ram markers a spring located in the grip ejected the magazine, this spring was prone to falling out. The desert eagle has this problem fixed with a spring button on each individual magazine. No chance of losing a spring and smoother ejection.



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The Desert Eagle is NOT as comfortable to shoot or as maneuverable as the Sig p226 or Walther P99, and is much heavier in the hands.

On the Chrono it read:
277, 270, 265, 271, 275 = + - 12

On airing it up there was no HISS of excess air getting vented like on the p99 and 226. I assume the internals have gotten some form of an upgrade.
This Baby has got some kick to it! Obviously not comparable to the real thing, or even a 9mm handgun, maybe comparable to a .22 caliber handgun. For a paintball gun this is saying allot.


Efficiency on the desert eagle blew me away. Shooting rapidly outside in cold weather I got exactly 44 shots on a 12 gram in cold weather. Impressed I decided to do an experiment.
I took it inside where I had an ambient temperature of 20 degrees (room temperature). I took 1 shot every 5 seconds in volleys of 5 and then gave it a 20 second rest in between. The results blew me away.
I got 73 USABLE SHOTS!!! Doing the same experiment on my sig p226 I got 54.
After shot 45 I began chronoing 1 of every 5 shots to see the pressure drop:
Shot 45: 271
Shot 50: 266
Shot 55: 265
Shot 60: 262
Shot 65: 246
Shot 70: Under 200 (Chrono could not pick it up)
The Slide stopped going back at shot 73

73 shots off a 12 gram. Even for .43 caliber that is above and beyond.

Using 73 as best conditions (indoor, warm, paced shooting) and 44 as worst (out door, snow, fast shooting), I estimate in a warm outdoor or indoor paintball game you will get 45-55 shots depending on rate of fire. 5 magazines worth indisputably.


-<>-
For my accuracy test I used a 1.5 by 2 feet plywood square as a target and marked off various increments of distance to shoot from. 1 magazine was used for each distance


Again for the accuracy test and chronoing see the video segment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9LAydyICeg


Test 1: High Humidity condition (Fog and rain ambient) Unfortunately for this test the video footage was not usable due to the weather conditions.


Range / Shots on Target
20 feet: 8/8
30 feet: 8/8
40 feet: 7/8
50 feet: 5/8
60 feet: 2/8

Test 2: Sunny conditions (minimal wind) Video recorded.

Range / Shots on Target
20 feet: 8/8
30 feet: 8/8
40 feet: 8/8
50 feet: 6/8
60 feet: 6/8
70 feet: 4/8
100 feet: 2/8



At 20-40 feet (Normal pistol use and room-room clearing range) The desert eagle would simply
hit what you were aiming at in any condition. My tests show that the desert eagle can be effectively accurate up to 70 feet max, significantly less in high humidity conditions. As seen in the vid balls were still breaking against a semi hard target at the extreme ranges.


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Field Stripping can be done tool free by rotating a maintenance lever and pulling the barrel assembly free. This is NOT to say it is user friendly. There are two springs on guide rods under the slide. If you disturb them good luck getting them back in. While its not impossible, it certainly is not user friendly. Once you get the hang of it you can have the DE apart and back together in under a minute, but it would strongly benefit from a housing or bracket for these runaway springs when you open it up.

Velocity adjustment is Sig p226 style. Remove the slide and get at the core with an Allen key. I don’t recommend changing the velocity ever, out of the 3 I’ve tested velocity I conclude that should be ideal out of the box.





Conclusion:

The desert eagle is a well built marker, like all Umarex handguns. In the air gun world Umarex is associated with the utmost quality, unfortunately in the paintball one they are distributed under rap4, which people lately have been associating with poor quality due to the pre METS era .43 cal rifles and t68 generations 1-4 which were prone to poor performance, factory bugs, and DOA (dead on arrival). This is unfortunate for the Umarex handgun line.

Frankly the Deagle exceeded my expectations. I expected a heavy, clunky p226. I got a marker with upgraded internals, better efficiency, better accuracy, weaver rails, and of course the Desert eagle bling factor.

The biggest deterrent is the fact it is indeed .43 caliber and not all fields will allow it. Since it is sub 300 fps many will likely let you ONLY WITH PERMISSION. Always ask your local field owners permission before bringing ANY .43 cal marker on with you.




Summary:

Accuracy: 4/5 (Relative to handguns)
Efficiency: 5/5 (above and beyond average)
Consistency: 4/5 (+ - 12 and a consistent output even to the end of the 12 gram
Durability: 5/5 This thing is a brick. A slab of metal. The weakest parts are made of Thick impact/weather proof polymer, not cheap plastic)
Reliability: 5/5 (I tested 3 different deagles and shot over 1000 paintballs and rubber balls. No chops, jams or barrel breaks. All ticked like Swiss watches, I have no reason to believe they will give out any time soon)
Ease of maintenance: 3/10 (If it wasn’t for the two main springs this would be much higher)
Upgradeability: 3/5 (Almost all Weaver upgrades, upper and lower)
Intimidation: 4/5 (As far as Handguns go The deagle is one of the most intimidating hand held weapons in existence, second only to High caliber Revolvers. People know if its pointed at them it means business)
Value: 3/5 (These are not cheap, .43 caliber is a great deterrent, and these handguns are NOT for everyone by a long shot)
Lasting Appeal: 5/5 (These will never get old. If they do watch an action movie. I predict resale value to hold tight for a few years)


Over all = 4/5

Review: Milsig K series

Previously being a T68 gen 5 owner I was back on the market for a new magazine fed weapon with a bit more lasting appeal. The gen 5 initially was a great marker that met my magazine fed needs, but after less than a season of use it started rapidly deteriorating, eating detents, and chipping paint on almost anything. My Two choices were either the Rap4 Gen 6 or Milsig K Series. I chose the Milsig K series not only because of its familiar design to the Gen 5 (which I preferred to previous generations of rap4 type 68s) but also because it had been boasted that the Milsig line had addressed all of the Issues of the gen 5 and not only fixed, but improved upon them.

Make no mistake though, this is a review of the Milsig, not a comparison between The milsig and Type 68 generation 5, I will point out factors that have been fixed or improved for generation 5 owners and potential Milsig skeptics.


Please view the video segment of my review here:



Pictorial:







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On taking this marker out of the box I was extremely impressed by what it contained. A squeegee, barrel condom, Tool kit (complete tool kit), and the marker itself. The presentation was well delivered. On the marker itself the finish was a much higher quality, so I expect the paint job to last longer than it did on my Gen 5.

+1


Out of the box the marker came with an RIS mountable forward grip with a side MINI RIS rail, flip up sights that were basic iron sights when down and peep sights when flipped up. In addition to this the barrel was ribbed so it could be easier unscrewed when slippery from paint, triple polished, and non ported. This gives the barrel more value than the Stock barrel of similar markers like the Tippmann line, you might even be able to sell your stock barrel as an upgrade to stock barrel Tippmann owners.

+1

2/2

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As per my review of the Gen 5, here is an updated cross compatibility chart of Tippmann a5 to Milsig parts.

Part | Tippmann A5 | Milsig

Barrel: Yes <-> Yes
Thread adapter: No <-> No
Grip Frame: No (Yes with Slight modifications)
Egrip: No (Yes with Slight modifications)
Body Pins/Screws Yes <->Yes
Back Plate Yes <->Yes
Stocks Yes <->Yes (NOTE: Milsig will have stock wobble out of the box with A5 Stocks, Milsig offers their own line of stocks with securing brackets to fix this problem, I have found staking extra owrings onto the back plate can reduce if not fix this problem)
Detent: No <-> No
PowerTube: No <-> No
TombStone: No <-> No
Bolt: No <-> No
Hammer Yes <-> No (A5 Hammer will fit milsig, but not vice versa)
Int/ Springs: Yes <->Yes
Velocity Pin: Yes <->Yes
ASA: Yes <->Yes

As For Cosmetic upgrades, the Milsig will accept a wide range of A5 body kits and bolt on accessories with little to no modification. As stated before the Stock sights it comes with are excellent and the forward grip allows for secure marker control if you don’t have your own barrel shroud.



+1


Internally the Milsig has received a full upgrade over its gen 5 predecessor, and sports features not even the similar tippmann have.
-The Bolt is slotted to Increase Detent life
- The power tube is metal to handle cold weather and co2 better
- The Internals are Polished out of the box to allow for smother function
-the hammer is hardened steel to increase its life
- Velocity adjustment is now done on the side (no more in barrel gen5 velocity tool)
- All plastic parts previously seen on the gen 5 including the Hopper adapter have been upgraded to a higher quality shatterproof plastic.
- The Chamber is deeply slotted forcing the bolt to travel on rails rather than a smooth surface like tippmann, this gives paint and debris a place to go besides down your barrel when shooting through a break allowing the marker to self clean itself in a sense.

Last but not least the key selling feature:

-The Milsig offers duel feed capabilities, being able to swap from magazine to hopper fed in minutes to accommodate your style of play. Very few markers out there can do this. Magazines are half the price of the competitive Tiberius arms markers and hold over twice to volume of ammunition. Each magazine holds 17-19 Paintballs depending on paint size. 18 is the statuesque and it is not recommended that you exceed it.


+1

2/2

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Out of the box my Milsig experienced a problem with the trigger and tripping the sear. I had heard that all markers are hand tested prior to shipping. Either mine was not or it was not noticed. The problem was the trigger was not tripping the sear in its normal trigger pull length; I actually had to force the trigger in past its normal travel just to get a delayed sear trip. Sometimes it would "sputter" more than one shot.

-1

As seen in my Video the milsig was extremely accurate and consistent. Unfortunately on using reballs they were to small for the magazines retention ball bearings to hold in, making them nearly useless for reball play without a hopper, but they worked just fine with real paintballs. The milsig fired both reballs and Normal paintballs with great to excellent accuracy.

+1

1/2


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With my X radar hand chrono it had the following results:

297, 302, 293, 300, 296

I used no regulator and a remote coil. +- 9 for an unregulated blow back is great no matter how you look at it. More specifically for me I was looking for a magazine fed sniper rifle, this proved ideal.

+1

There are a variety “In stock” and “Air thru stock” systems offered by a number of companies. Sharing the Tippmann a5 stock style only broadens the horizon. With an in stock air system the milsig becomes a fully contained marker with no hopper (if you are using a magazine kit) and no buttstock sticking out. This is the ideal weapon for maneuverability.

+1


However, unless you get a Milsig line buttstock you have a great chance of experiencing “stock wobble”. Milsig stocks have a bracket that prevents this. Most a5 stocks will experience wobble which can usually be fixed with an added Oring. Because Milsig Specific stocks do not wobble I cannot punish them by reducing a point, it is not their job to ensure other companies stocks made for a different marker fit with no wobble, but I will keep this here to make buyers aware.



2/2

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This marker is built upon the single tube blow back engine, which is legendary for low maintenance. The noted self cleaning feature and ability to remove the detent for cleaning without opening the clam shell give it a bit of a heads up on similar markers (ie tippman 98,a5)

+1

The only plastic pieces on this marker are the Grips, detent plate, and charging handle. Even the trigger guard has been upgraded to metal (my t68’s trigger guard broke off like nothing). As I previously stated should you chose to use the hopper adapter even that too has been upgraded into a higher quality plastic.

+1


2/2

Conclusion:

The milsig has improvements on its predecessors (t68 for one) and its fellow single tube blow backs (tippmann). It is a step in the next direction of evolution for both scenario and recreational play. The milsig has something to offer to almost any walk of paintballer. While the magazine fed feature is not for everyone, it caters to a select group of players who have been more or less shunned over the years. Having the option to have a self contained paintball marker requiring no hopper and no large tank via a remote line makes this a very unique addition to the scenario world. If the magazine fed paintball Sniper rifle did not exist before, it does now, and its name is Milsig.




Rating:
9 out of 10