What to Know about Desert Eagle Airsoft Pistols

The Magnum Research Desert Eagle is easily one of the most recognizable sidearms in the world. Designed by Magnums Research and first produced in 1983 by Israel Military Industries, the Desert Eagle is most famous for its prolific appearances in numerous iconic movies such as The Matrix, Red Heat, Demolition Man and Snatch, largely due to Magnum Research actively lobbying prop houses during the 1990s. 

The Airsoft Desert Eagle is one of the most popular airsoft pistols around, sharing its head turning size and exaggerated operation with its real steel counterpart. All airsoft Desert Eagle are guaranteed to have a heavy kick regardless of brand simply from the sheer size of the firing action, but which is the best airsoft Desert Eagle?

Check our list of Best airsoft 1911

HOW WE CHOSE THE BEST AIRSOFT DESERT EAGLE

There are a number of important factors we considered when compiling our list of Best Airsoft Desert Eagle, these include:

FUN FACTOR – Airsoft is a hobby so airsoft guns must be able to generate joy. We look at recoil, sound, design, optional accessories, and overall awesomeness that make the gun interesting. Non-shooting models can also be fun, like a beautiful revolver with realistic ammo that you can load into a rotating cylinder. We rate each of our picks on how much pleasure you can derive from ownership.

REALISM – What makes Airsoft guns attractive for so many is that they replicate real guns. While many manufacturers try their best to recreate the details and feel of a real gun, some succeed while others fail horribly and end up with something more akin to a toy. We rate how real each of our top picks feels and looks.

PERFORMANCE – Power measured in feet-per-second (FPS), range and accuracy are the key metrics we use to determine the best airsoft gun. From there, we also prioritize airsoft guns with an adjustable hop-up and high-quality buckings to ensure that they give the consistency and accuracy you need. All FPS ratings are universally based on 0.2 gram BBs.

BUILD QUALITY – We look for good quality construction, materials and refinement not only in the external components but also internally. The fit tolerances, discernable wobbles and rattles, smoothness of operation, durability of components, etc are all considered.

VALUE – Affordably priced airsoft guns that rank highly in all the above categories are prioritized over more expensive airsoft guns that offer the same, as "bang for your buck" is an important consideration for most airsoft players.  These criteria rates if you are getting more for your money compared to similar guns in the same class, meaning is it a good deal. For more information on how to determine the value of an airsoft gun, check out this article on what goes into the cost of an airsoft gun.

COLLECTABILITY – Sometimes an Airsoft gun stands out simply because it is unique either because it’s not produced by anyone else or holds enough of a cultural or collectable value to make you want to have a piece of history regardless of its utility. This criteria in particular rates whether the gun is a must-have for collectors. Some rare or limited edition Airsoft guns even appreciate in value in the secondary market and we rate their investment value where applicable.

CYBERGUN AIRSOFT DESERT EAGLE .50AE GBB AIRSOFT PISTOL (BY WE)

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FUN★★★★★
REALISM★★★★
PERFORMANCE★★★★
BUILD QUALITY★★★★
VALUE★★★★
COLLECTABILITY★★★★

The Cybergun Desert Eagle by WE is undoubtedly one of the biggest and one of the hardest kicking handguns on the airsoft market today. In addition to being full metal, this Desert Eagle airsoft gun is fully licensed by Cybergun so you can expect it to have all the correct IMI and Magnum Research markings making it the most aesthetically realistic Desert Eagle airsoft gun in existence.

Being one of the hardest kicking Green gas pistols in airsoft, it is naturally not designed for small hands as its strong recoil spring means that the slide locks back into place with a very loud and solid slap with an attractive blowback sound being music to your ears.

Most importantly however is the sheer breadth of models available with the Cybergun Desert Eagle coming in a variety of makes and colors ranging from silver, black, gold, two tone and even special edition custom Deadpool versions. Ultimately the Cybergun Desert Eagle is easily one of the most gratifying pistols to shoot in airsoft to this day.

Pros

  • Full metal externals
  • Fully licensed with IMI and Magnus Research markings
  • Possibly the biggest and hardest kicking airsoft handgun in the industry
  • Comes in variety of models and colors

Cons

  • Heavy weight
  • Hard to find a holster
  • Plastic grips

TOKYO MARUI DESERT EAGLE .50AE HARD KICK CHROME STAINLESS GBB AIRSOFT PISTOL

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FUN★★★
REALISM★★★
PERFORMANCE★★★★
BUILD QUALITY★★★
VALUE★★★
COLLECTABILITY★★

While the Tokyo Marui GBB Desert Eagle airsoft gun might be older than the others and has to use a plastic slide, it still packs a punch with its strong recoil spring ensuring the airsoft pistol kicks back with a solid slap. As seen and used by Agent Smith in the movie The Matrix as well as countless other movies and videogames like Counter-Strike, it truly is one of the most gratifying pistols to shoot in airsoft to this day.

What you might not suspect however is that there is also quite a wide range of upgrade parts for the Desert Eagle to further improve the feeling and abilities of the pistol for the more discerning customers. Parts such as metal kits, internal parts, and much more add a lot of value to this already fantastic airsoft Desert Eagle.

Pros

  • Hard kick
  • Large size
  • Excellent Marui accuracy and consistency

Cons

  • Plastic slide
  • Not ideal for small hands
  • Lack of holstering options

KWC DESERT EAGLE L6 CO2 GBB AIRSOFT PISTOL - BLACK

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FUN★★★★
REALISM★★★
PERFORMANCE★★★
BUILD QUALITY★★★
VALUE★★★★
COLLECTABILITY★★

A big, heavy pistol most comfortable in large hands, this modern take on a cultural classic is not for the faint of heart or limp of wrist. The KWC Desert Eagle runs on CO2 so while it clocks in at a very reasonable 330 fps, it kicks like a mule and is probably as loud as one too.

Built with a metal upper and polymer frame the KWC Desert Eagle has the mass and weight distribution to feel and move right in your hands, it has nice crisp switches, trigger pull and magazine release to make it perform with the best and while the rail top is indeed 20mm, the curved beveling around the edges means that may not necessarily fit all rail optics.

At 340 fps it’s not the most powerful gun around but will be about as powerful as a pistol can be for indoor use before you start to get complaints about excessive force. With CO2, it hardly chokes on gas flow either with the ability to shoot clean strait lines over close range. The fixed iron sight is good enough but if you do manage to put a red dot on the Desert Eagle then you will have yourself a corridor clearing compact cannon.

Pros

  • Immense size and extreme recoil makes for a great shooting experience
  • Unique platform with an outsized cultural impact

Cons

  • Smaller hands may find it hard to reach the trigger
  • Limited aftermarket upgrade parts

TOKYO MARUI DESERT EAGLE EBB AIRSOFT PISTOL - SILVER

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FUN★★★
REALISM★★
PERFORMANCE★★★
BUILD QUALITY★★
VALUE★★★★
COLLECTABILITY★★

A Desert Eagle for the newest of shooters, sporting a highly refined nickel plated finish; this Desert Eagle is a beauty considering its status as an affordable EBB. This gun uses 4 AAA batteries like the other EBBs in Marui's lineup which allows its slide to move back on each shot with a hammer that actually cocks. Sight rails on the barrel allow you to install sights and it has a fixed hop-up for up to 25 meters of travel and utilizes removable stick type magazines.

While this gun only shoots at 150fps, its low power and ease of use makes it an excellent starter toy for new players wanting to experience airsoft for the first time.

Pros

  • Snappy electric blowback action
  • Ease of use, only requires batteries and bbs to operate
  • Nickel plated finish
  • Ideal for beginners learning about safety

Cons

  • Plastic slide and body
  • Low fps
  • Fixed hopup

TOKYO MARUI BIOHAZARD RESIDENT EVIL RE:2 LIGHTNING HAWK .50AE MAGNAPORT CUSTOM (LIMITED EDITION)

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FUN★★★★
REALISM★★
PERFORMANCE★★★
BUILD QUALITY★★★
VALUE★★★★
COLLECTABILITY★★★★

The Tokyo Marui Lightning Hawk is a gas pistol patterned after the same gun found in the remake of the legendary video game Biohazard 2 or Resident Evil 2. Like all ‘Biohazard Edition’Marui guns, the Lighting Hawk comes in an extremely elaborate real wood decorative box denoting itself as a prized collector’s item. While it uses the older Marui design and has to use a plastic slide, it still packs a punch with its strong recoil spring ensuring this exceptional collectors gun kicks back with a solid slap.

The gun itself is the same high quality plastic you have come to expect from TM and also comes with an extra silver slide to customize it to your every desire. Based off the Desert Eagle platform, the shooting experience will be very stratifying as it should boast incredible recoil impulse and full length cycling made even more significant by the lengthened barrel. Ultimately a unique and collectable novelty that will surely turn heads.

Pros

  • Excellent and unique design
  • Highly collectible packaging
  • Excellent Marui level performance

Cons

  • Already large gun now even larger
  • Plastic body
  • Front heavy due to extended barrel
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