Within California State law, a person cannot purchase, nor can any dealer sell a Desert Eagle chambered in a .50 Action Express caliber, as well as .357 Magnum, or .41 Magnum. Like others have stated so well, you can only purchase the .44 mag. The restriction on that is, it is only available in a black oxide finish in California . The reason being is, that this is the only model that Magnum Research submitted for the California drop test. The other calibers are not "illegal" to buy as a whole gun, but just banned. Therefore we are, as citizens of California, are able to possess the gun in that caliber. We just cannot buy them that way. Consider it somewhat as a catch-22 deal. As for going outside of California to Nevada (as an example), and buying one and bringing one into state? You will be commiting crime. There is however, one loophole for buying a Desert Eagle originally chambered for the .50 Action Express round. The exception for it is; find a private party seller who was an original Nevada resident who owns a .50ae Desert Eagle, and came into California, then became a california resident, registered it here, and then sold it private party. In my experiance, I purchased the Black oxide .44 desert eagle, got the .50 AE conversion kit (barrell and magazine; which you can purchase online or through a dealer) and send the weapon into Magnum Research and have them put a new brushed chrome finish on it. That way, you can have any caliber, in any finish you want. BECAUSE, it was originally a .44, black finish and legally registered firearm to begin with, you are safely held within the California state restriction on "purchasing a .50AE Desert Eagle. So, yes, you can have a .50AE in California, but there is some work in obtaining one, if you have the funds for it. My suggestion is, go to the dealer and order it all at once. You will be looking at a price tag of around $1800 plus tax and DROS fee. NOTE: If you also want all three popular calibers ie: .50 AE, .44 Magnum, and .357 Magnum, the bolt for the .44 Mag will work with the .50AE round because the rim of both catridges are the same, however, the .357 Mag cartridge will need a different bolt for the smaller rim of the .357 bullet. Obviously, you will need to buy different magazines for each caliber. If you found this response helpful, and in good taste, then I hope you make a good decision on a pistol. If you did not find this helpful, then you can go pound sand, and I hope the D.O.J. rejects your firearm applications in the future.
