Magnum Research Micro Desert Eagle .380 ACP, Nickel Pistol

I mostly pocket carry and have tried many of the popular pocket guns and own a few that I carry. My main pocket carry guns are the Sig P928, LCR and more recently, the XDs. I was looking for a smaller gun for the hot and humid Florida summers. One that was short enough that I could wear with any pair of pants and not just those with large pockets. I wanted so small that it would fit in places that most would not thing of looking for a gun. I tried the LCP but it is too lightweight and I found that it jammed a lot for me and I am no lightweight and have been shooting seriously for over 40 years. I tend to do better with all metal and heavier pocket guns and it was either this or the NAA Guardian which was too heavy for my tastes since I have 9mm pocket guns that are lighter. I already had a Seecamp but they are ammo fussy and the lack of sights limits their use. I bought the MDE without ever seeing one in person and after shooting it today without any problems using various FMJ and JHP ammo, I was happy indeed. The slide sits low and normally I get slide bit from guns like this but not with this one. I did get two red spots after 100 rounds from the slide but it was not noticeable until after I got home. Due to only being able to get a finger and a half on the grip, my trigger finger slapped against the huge trigger guard a few times and nicked some skin off of my finger. That was after the first 50 round shooting with one hand only though and hardly noticeable. Nothing like what I experienced shooting full house loads of .357 magnums through my 11 oz. snub nose. I think when I get the mag extension that problem will go away as I will be able to get a better grip on the gun. The gun is so short that when I index my trigger finger on its side, it extends past the muzzle. It sits very low in my pocket with the grip well below the pocket opening and that is what I wanted. The gun is also very accurate and the 8 lb. trigger is smooth with a nice clean break.

By Old Dog from Florida

I've been burning up everything pocket pistol related recently, and the micro eagle has really made it to the top of my list. The micro eagle does some things that my alternative .380 choice (the Ruger LCP) does not. For one—and that's a strong one—the huge trigger guard. For me, and people with freakishly medium-large sized hands like mine, getting my finger in the trigger guard of a baby pistol like the Ruger LCP and various Keltecs and Kahrs that play the same game are a bit hard to get a good sized finger into. The micro eagle pushes the guard to the very front of the gun, which totally throws out that problem. The large guard also breaks up the outline, and may give fingers rummaging through a bag something to get ahold of. The cons of this project is it doesn't have any (superfluous) lasers available like the LCP, and that the trigger is a tiny bit heavy. Just a tiny bit. I also wish the trigger was rounder. The finger kind of slides up against the frame as you pull it if you don't have a moderate amount of friction.

By Shadrach from Washington