Double Bell 779S Desert Eagle GBB Pistol

We all recognise this iconic pistol from innumerable video games, TV shows and movies; none come bigger than the mighty Desert Eagle! This pistol has seen its fair share of action on the big screen and has also developed a significant fan base thanks to its inclusion in the Call of Duty and Counter-Strike video game series, to name but a few. Double Bell's Desert Eagle appears to be a perfect clone of the Tokyo Marui design made legendary by its ferocious recoil and well designed rotary HOP-up unit which can be adjusted externally for convenient mid-game tuning.

Up front, we have the intimidatingly large bore we expect from a GBB pistol replicating a real world platform chambered in .50AE. The inner barrel sits slightly recessed inside the outer barrel to maintain the big bore styling of the Desert Eagle and give it a more realistic look when shown on film and keeping its true nature as a replica well hidden. Unfortunately, this means there are no threads on the barrel so tracers and suppressors are a no-go without extensive modification.

The Desert Eagle is a split slide design and keeps the barrel fixed in place for maximum accuracy with only the rear of the slide reciprocating, just like the real thing. This provides an edge in gas efficiency but given how large the rear slide is, still provides that ultra-immersive recoil any Desert Eagle fan will love! The added perk to the split side design is that the front sight blade remains stationary during firing, allowing a speedy shooter to already be indexing their front sight on the next target before the slide even returns.

This split slide configuration works well with the extremely long sight base of the Desert Eagle and allows this real-world target pistol to provide the impressive accuracy it is known for in its Airsoft iteration. The top of the outer barrel features a proprietary Desert Eagle mounting rail, used on the real pistol for long eye relief pistol scopes. We are not sure if this rail is functional or not, but it is an integral part of the Desert Eagle styling and the pistol would just not look right without it.

Just behind the rail, we can find the adjustable HOP-up unit but you would be forgiven for not seeing it at a glance. The HOP-up adjuster is hidden beneath a sliding cover, as it is in the original Tokyo Marui version on which the design is based. To access the adjuster you will need to lock the slide back using the slide lock lever on the left side of the frame and pull the cylindrical sleeve on the barrel just in front of the chamber rearwards.

With this done you will see the rotary adjuster which is helpfully marked with the direction to increase and reduce the HOP-up effect. The advantage of this system is that you don't need to field strip the Deagle to adjust the HOP-up, opening up the opportunity to adjust mid-game for the perfect shot trajectory.

Moving rearwards we arrive at the slide of the Desert Eagle, which features deep linear serrations on either side to ensure you have a good grip on the slide for when you need to cock the pistol. This is essential for a GBB pistol, as whilst you may not have to cock the slide with every shot you will still need to pull the slide back in the event of a jam, or if loading the pistol from a closed slide.

The safety catch of the Desert Eagle can be found on either side of the slide, allowing access to this essential control for both left and right-handed users. When ready to fire, a red enamel dot below the safety catch provides a helpful indication that you are holding a hot pistol. In "safe" mode, the catch will sit at its lowermost position, concealing the red enamel dot beneath.

Each of the safety catches features deep serrations to promote a perfect grip and ensure the safety can be used easily when wearing gloves, or in poor weather conditions. The rear sight lives at the rear of the slide and is a simple flat open sight ideally suited to target shooting. Raising the Desert Eagle and aligning the sights is evidence enough that this pistol is intended for accuracy; the sights align perfectly with absolute ease, and the large front post drops nicely into the rear sight notch with no effort at all and no need to "search" to find your front sight.

The frame of the Desert Eagle is constructed from the same smoothly finished polymer as the slide and fits perfectly with minimum wobble, providing a smooth slide-frame interface for flawless cycling. The grips boast comfortable crackle texture on each side and in a small strip along the rear, keeping the Deagle firmly planted in your hands and allowing you to control its epic recoil in any weather conditions. The controls all lie well within reach when the pistol is held in a firing grip, with the slide release being enlarged and equipped with aggressive texturing to ensure you can operate it when wearing thick, full-finger gloves.

The magazine release takes the form of a small metal button on the left side of the pistol grip and can be reached relatively easily whilst being less vulnerable to accidental mag drops than pistols with extended magazine releases. The controls on the Desert Eagle are finished in a lovely brushed metal look, which contrasts nicely with the black textured grips and the silver slide and frame, adding visual interest to the pistol and building on its realistic appearance.

The hammer can be found at the rear of the frame and reciprocates with each shot, and can also be manually actuated for those cool movie standoff moments. At the rearmost point in the frame, we can see an extension, known as a "beaver tail", which helps keep the pistol correctly positioned in the shooter's hand and prevents the hammer from "biting" the web of your hand during firing.

Whether you are an action movie fan, a recoil seeker or a collector of unique firearms designs, the Double Bell Desert Eagle should give you what you need! Benefiting from the superb TM design but in a more affordable package complete with a hard storage/transportation case, Double Bell is one to watch for affordable and unique GBB pistols!

Features

• Alloy outer barrel
• High density polymer slide and frame
• Inner barrel is recessed into the outer - Realistically sized bore
• Open iron sights - Long sight radius = Improved accuracy
• Ambidextrous safety catch - Great for left or right-handed shooters
• Incredible recoil - Despite the polymer slide this thing kicks like a mule!
• Low profile magazine release - Prevents accidental mag drops in game
• Comfortable but large crackle textured grips - Good for medium/large hands
• Extended slide lock/release - Easy to reach from a firing grip
• Realistic field stripping process - Disassembly catch on the right side
• Spare nozzle included in the box - A useful spare to have in case of failure
• Supplied in a polymer hard storage case with wave foam - No need to buy this separately!

Package Includes

• Double Bell 779S Desert Eagle GBB Pistol
• 27rnd Desert Eagle Green Gas magazine
• User manual
• Spare nozzle
• Hard storage/carry case