Magnum Research debuts new bottle necked .429 DE round

Magnum Research has a new round– the .429 DE– along with a new pistol and barrels to convert .50 AE Deagles to fire it. (Photo: Magnum Research)

Touting a significant increase in both velocity and energy over the vaunted .44 Magnum, the new .429 Desert Eagle has arrived on the market.

Magnum Research, the Kahr-owned firearms maker that has long held the Deagle as its flagship semi-auto handgun, officially announced the new cartridge this week and made clear they have a line of 6-inch barrels on the way to allow those with .50AE-chambered Desert Eagles to handle the new beast.

“This new cartridge was engineered and designed specifically for the Desert Eagle Pistol, keeping in mind that the DEP is known worldwide for its awesome firepower and performance,” said Jim Tertin, Design and R&D for Magnum Research, in a statement. “The 429 DE propels that history into the future.”

Essentially a necked-down .50 AE, the .429 DE uses a sharp 30-degree shoulder with a neck long enough to hold a 240-grain bullet without set back under recoil. Capable of producing velocities in the 1600 fps range with 240-grain bullets (and 1750 fps with 210s), Magnum Research says the resulting cartridge has a 25 percent uptick in velocity and 45 percent increase in energy over a .44 Mag from a 6-inch barrel.

The .429-caliber barrels, to be released in a range of finishes, will be compatible with any MK19 or Israel Desert Eagle Pistol with a wide (.830-inch) rail on top of the barrel and uses a 50AE magazine and bolt.

The company says that the new round is already in production, being made by Montana-based HSM with Starline brass and Sierra bullets.

Dr. Martin Topper, who was able to sneak peak the round for Ballistic, says HSM has two loadings currently– a 210-grain JHP that calculates to 1,427 foot-pounds of muzzle energy and a 240-grain JSP that brings 1405. He even got to send some downrange with the aid of a $2,100 MSRP’d .429 Deagle.

“As for control, I felt less recoil than when shooting a 240 gr .44 Magnum load in my 6.5-inch M29,” he observed.

Guns.com