GUNS & AMMO
attachment of a light/laser. Its trigger guard is squared
and grooved at its front for those who like to hook the
index finger of their support hand. The magazine release and slide catch are located in the usual, 1911-inspired, location.Unlike the 1911, the Baby Desert Eagle
III pistol’s slide rides inside the frame, giving the slide a
sleek profile. The rails run from the rear of the gun to the
muzzle and provide the pistol with a tight frame to slide
fit and very efficient barrel lock-up, both of which contribute to good accuracy. An ambidextrous manual safety
sits at the rear of the slide. This safety is where the CZ75 and the Baby Desert Eagle III differ. The CZ-75 possesses a frame-mounted safety, which allows the user
the choice of carrying the gun with the hammer down,
or with the hammer cocked and the safety engaged,
otherwise known as cocked and locked. Engaging the
slide-mounted safety on the Baby Desert Eagle III, with
the hammer cocked, will lower the hammer. In addition
to being a safety it is also a decocker. When engaged
it pushes the trigger bar out of engagement. Pushing
the safety forward disengages the safety. The gun also
incorporates a firing pin safety so the pistol will not fire if
dropped on its muzzle with a chamber loaded.The Baby
Desert Eagle III possesses a conventional double-action/single-action trigger system. With the hammer down
the first long pull of the trigger will cock the hammer and
allow it to go forward—much like a double action revolver. Each subsequent shot will be single action. Doubleaction trigger pull registers at about 12 lbs. but the single
action is very controllable at about 5 lbs. with some take
up but relatively crisp. The trigger blade is curved and
wide, making the amount of pressure it takes to drop
the hammer feel like less.For the accuracy portion of the
evaluation I decided to test the guns at 15 yards. Despite
MRI calling the Baby Desert Eagle III a full-size gun, its
barrel length is only 4.43”. I wanted to test both guns at
the same range for comparison so 15 yards seemed to
be appropriate. I shot all of my five-shot groups seated,
from a bench with a Millett BenchMaster for support. All
groups were fired from single action. The results shown
below are the best groups for each gun and ammunition.
FULL SIZE
SEMI-COMPACT
AMMO VELOCITY/ ENERGY GROUP
V E LOCITY/ ENERGY
GROUP
Aguila 230-gr. FMJ
819 FPS
342 FPE
1.66” 793 FPS
321 FPE
1.85”
Corbon +P 200-gr. JHP 1078 FPS
516 FPE
.93”
1034 FPS
474 FPE
1.43”
Hornady American
Gunner 185-gr. XTP
982 FPS
396 FPE
1.05” 956 FPS
375 FPE
1.27”
Hornady Critical
Defense 185-gr. FTX
1049 FPS
452 FPE
1.16” 1014 FPS
422 FPE
1.31”
Ruger 118-gr. ARX
1340 FPS
470 FPE
1.55” 1307 FPS
447 FPE
1.17”
A PACT chronograph was used to record velocities
which are listed in feet per second. Energies are listed in
foot pounds of energy. All groups were fired from a seated rest with targets at 15 yards. Temperature was 85
degrees with 20 percent humidity. The pistols displayed
an excellent degree of accuracy. During my initial sighting of the pistols I found that the guns were shooting
about 3” low at 15 yards so I placed small target pasters
above my Shoot N C targets for aiming points. The Baby
Desert Eagle III three-dot combat sights were easy to
line up and the single-action trigger was crisp enough
to enable me to shoot these small groups. Corbon’s +P
200-gr. JHPs produced the best group at just .93” in the
full size gun. The semi-compact’s best group was fired
with the new Ruger 118- gr. ARX bullets. This is the second caliber I have tested with the new Ruger bullets. In
my experience thus far they have provided 100 percent
reliability, light recoil, excellent accuracy and shoot to
the same point of aim as conventional loads and gives
shooters a new and very unique choice for defense ammunition. For the field portion of my evaluation I set up
some steel targets at 15 yards. Both guns were easy
to shoot. The solid heft of the Baby Desert Eagle IIIs
made recovery from muzzle rise quick and it was effortless to place very rapid follow-up shots. Felt recoil was
negligible and that made concentrating on the sight picture and trigger press simple.Disassembly of the Baby
Desert Eagle III guns is easy and requires no tools.
With the magazine removed and the chamber unloaded
place the manual safety in the “fire” position. Push the
slide rearward, just a bit, until the witness mark on the
frame and slide line up. Now remove the slide catch
by pushing its pin from the right side of the frame. Run
the slide for