March 10 Blue Press Section 1 1/13/10 11:55 AM Page 10

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Reviewed by Peter Caroline that I would expect from a company known for its WhenTHE you hear theEAGLET name “Desert Eagle,” what veryHAS large . Small LANDED: as it is, there is a definite Micro Desert Eagle .380 probably comes to mind is a gigantic .50 caliber feeling of solidity to this ; it feels like you pistol weighing in at nearly 4-1/2 pounds. It’s cer- could use it as a skull crusher if you ran out of tainly no one’s idea ammo! And it is of a pocket pistol. indeed a bit heavier Magnum Research than the competi- also makes “Baby” tion. Fully loaded, Desert Eagle Pistols, the Micro runs 15.8 in 9mm, .40 S&W ounces. The and .45 ACP cal- Seecamp LWS380 ibers that run from is 13.8 ounces, and about 1-3/4 to 2-1/2 the Ruger LCP is pounds. The newest 11.8 ounces. Desert Eagle, how- The Micro ever, is the “Micro,” The Ruger LCP Desert Eagle is a an ultra-compact weighs 11.8 Double-Action- .380 that weighs a ounces when Only pistol. The tad less than 14 loaded. pull was ini- ounces unloaded. tially very heavy, Thanks to some but got quite a bit really effective lighter with use. defense loads in Even so, it was off recent years, the the 8-pound scale .380 ACP cartridge on my RCBS trigger has come into its pull gauge; I’d esti- own as a personal mate 10-12 pound protection round. pull, similar to my Granted, it’s no Seecamp LWS380, .45. But how many which is also a .45s can be easily DAO. The Ruger concealed in a LCP has about a 7- pocket or purse? 1/2-pound pull, but The .380 ACP is a Fully loaded, the it’s not a conven- perfectly adequate Micro Desert tional DAO, but a defense cartridge, Eagle runs 15.8 pre-cocked trigger particularly at con- ounces. like the . Like versational dis- most DAO pocket tances. And, peo- pistols, there is no ple are buying a lot per se; the of pocket .380s, long, heavy trigger made by Kel-Tec, pull is the safety. North American At the range, I Arms, Ruger and set up a silhouette Seecamp, to name target at seven a few. With today’s yards, a realistic uncertainty about distance for a class what tomorrow’s of pistol whose nor- gun laws might The Seecamp mal employment is bring, and an LWS380 is 13.8 “stick it in their ear increased emphasis ounces, loaded. and pull the trig- on concealed carry, ger.” It took about there will be a lot more .380s out there. three or four magazine loads to get accustomed to Unlike most newly hatched firearms, which the long DAO trigger, and then I was pleasantly make their debut at the SHOT Show, the Micro surprised to get some very nice offhand Desert Eagle came to my attention through an ad in groups…seven shots in two to three inches. I was one of the gun publications. I contacted Magnum using Remington 88-grain JHPs, Winchester 85- Research on-line to get a sample to test and evalu- grain Silvertip HPs and Federal 90-grain Hydra- ate. The package arrived by FedEx the next day. Shoks. The more expensive Hydra-Shoks delivered My first impression of the Micro Desert Eagle the groups closer to two inches, not that group was: This was exactly the kind of very small pistol size is that critical in the type of situation where