Realizing that opinions are like... um.. elbows, and that everyone has a couple, I pose the following:

Son #1 is considering the purchase of a Baby Eagle, in .40 S&W. He's tried a number of pistols, and this one seems to fit him the best of the bunch. He's a big guy but has small hands. The pistol will be for plinking, carry and home defense (complemented soon by a 12 ga. pump).

This model, in addition to fitting his hand is also reasonably priced, under $400 in most places. I've warned him that accessories and holsters may be few in number and high in price. I haven't any first-hand experience or knowledge of the IMI/CZ/Magnum Research products. Apparently, these are manufactured by Tanfoglio, CZ and IMI, collaboratively. Magnum Research, in Fridley(?) is their US distributor/"manufacturer".

What's the story on these? Are they reliable & durable?

JB

I don't have any experience firing the gun, but it has two problems that prevent me from carrying it.

1) It has an external manual safety. The only gun that I will carry that has a safety is a 1911. Other than that, I don't want to deal with them at all.

2) The slide is so dang small. It makes it difficult to rack, particularly under stress. I want to be able to do a tap - rack with a full grip on the slide, not by slapping at it and hoping it does something. Have him try a fast tap - rack with that gun and see how it works. If you have to focus on what you're doing, you're not going to do it under stress IMO.

As for durability and reliability, I really don't know. I haven't fired them or heard any reviews.

My .02.

I went to the Fridley office to get a catalog; you know the secretary sits behind bulletproof glass?



I mostly agree as I usually carry a Glock 17 with out a manual safety, but sometimes I carry a H&K USP .40 which has a safety / decock lever. I never use the safety, but carry with the firearm decocked. As for 1911s the only way to carry them is cocked and locked.

I LOVE decockers. I have one on MY USP and one on my Taurus. I am still somewhat fearful of an AD when decocking them. I guess that means I don't fully trust decockers.

I have a Tanfoglio 10MM. Nice gun. Relatively inexpensive and so far, highly reliable. I suppose I've put 1000 rounds through it and not a glitch. I have a Desert Eagle, which I almost regret buying. It's finicky on ammunition and dirt. If the Baby Eagle is anything like the Desert Eagle as far as function & performance, I would shy away from it.

Everyone has their preferences, and I'm certainly not one to say anything bad about your decision. I've heard of lawyers playing people to be irresponsible gun owners for not leaving their safety on, so I just prefer to avoid that all together. No safety means no argument on that end to me.

Decockers do sometimes fail and discharge the gun, so there is a very good reason not to fully trust decockers.

Anything mechanical can fail,a friend of mine[hi Rick] tells of a slam fire at a pin shoot with a 1911.This is why we have redundancy in the 4 safety rules.
Most modern handguns have a trigger design in which if the hammer falls, and the trigger is not pulled all the way to the rear,it doesn't reach the firing pin.That being said,one should still refrain from pointing a gun at something you are not prepared to shoot,even while decocking or chambering.
Don't be an idiot,they will just name the next gun ban law after you.

Baby Eagle is a pretty good little gun - providing that it is comfortable for you and you seem to shoot it well.

The best gun out there is the one that you have in your hand when you need it most.

Most Prosecutors will use anything against you to show you were irresponsible or bloodthirsty or whatever.



I have yet to hear of an H&K USP decocker failure, but all firearms can fail, even revolvers.

From what I understand, the Baby Eagle is a civvy version of Isreali Military Industries Jericho. I have a friend with one, he is happy. I almost bought one, but ended up picking up a Springfield XD40 instead. I was seriously cross-shopping these two 4" .40's and it was a tough choice. I think my decision boiled down to wanting to support my local gun dealer and what he had under the glass when I had the $$$.

Racking slides un der stress is irrelevant. Normally. I see few self defense situations that require a second magazine . . . in the real world. round in chamber, problem solved.

Thanks, all!

He found one on Saturday, and put money down to hold it 'til his permit clears. It's slightly used, but allegedly in nice condition.

For their size, they're pretty heavy; 37-39 ounces, unloaded. This is with a 4" barrel. My Kimber 4", in .45 ACP weight 25 empty but is alloy-framed.

He did get to test it at the dealer's place, it functioned fine, and wasn't unpleasant to shoot. It came with two mags, the original box & papers, a lock and some sort of cleaning 'kit'. He saved about $100 over a new one.

JB

For the vast majority of self-defense with a firearm situations, you are correct. Sometimes, though, the gun will fail to fire, feed, etc. I was suprised that in a class a while ago on a gun that I've had absolutely no problems with, I had 2 failures to feed. I didn't have time to stop and figure it out, but I think that my mag release was bumped somehow and the mag wasn't fully seated. I had to tap rack and fire twice. That's the reality of carrying a pistol IMO. Stuff like bumping an exposed mag release, etc, can possibly happen, and I personally like to be ready if it does. Makes it a little more relevant to me.

I agree.

I was just really hoping you weren't recomending carry with nothing in the chamber.

I reckon ya probably weren't, but. . . anyway. . .

LOL, oh no. I understand now. Absolutely wasn't recommending that. I apologize for the confusion. As my instructor repeated over and over "carry it cocked locked and ready to rock."

Hmm, perhaps we had a minor disagreement that we never actually had?

I had to dig a little but found an online review/article on the Baby Eagle that I remembered seeing.

http://www.gunblast.com/RKCampbell_BabyDesertEagle.htm

Steelheart

True that, AGoodDay, I may have been a bit snappy when I wrote that

Very sure we had a "disagreement" we never actually had