Dags, Pikeys, and diamonds make up the quick-moving plot of the filmย Snatch.
Snatchย is one of Guy Ritchieโs best films, and itโs a good mix of comedy and action, with a smart plot and lots of players.
Ritchieโs style drips and oozes in the film, making it a stand-out movie for the early 2000s.
By Travis Pike, Pew Pew Tactical
The film follows the adventures of a pair of boxing promoters, some English organized crime figures, and a massive diamond that everyone wants.
One character, Bullet Tooth Tony, famously carries a Desert Eagle Mark 1 pistol in .50 AE throughout the film.
Early in the film, he even lays it down and says, โโฆthe fact that youโve got โReplicaโ written down the side of your gunsโฆAnd the fact that Iโve got Desert Eagle point five O written on the side of mineโฆโ
The problem here is that the Mark 1 Desert Eagle was never made in โpoint five O,โ aka .50 AE โ though, Tonyโs not lying when he says his gun has Desert Eagle .50 AE CAL written on the side.
These markings are not original Magnum Research markings so, presumably, the filmmakers added them.
So, letโs get into itโฆ
Fly, Desert Eagle, Fly
Theย Desert Eagleย has overย 600 film creditsย inย some of the most popular movies in the world.
Why? Simple, itโs camera friendly.
Seriously, is there a more distinctive automatic pistol? Itโs huge, has a unique shape that shows up well on camera, and makes an impression on the viewer.
Desert Eagle has always meant magnum caliber rounds in a semi-automatic pistol.
The Mark 1 in the film came in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .50 AE .429 DE, and several more calibers.
This gun utilizes an operating principle unique to the Desert Eagle. Itโs a gas-operated handgun that uses a rotating bolt in which the bolt uses the slide as its bolt carrier. A gas piston connects to the slide.
Gas diverted from a fired round hits the piston and forces the slide and, therefore the bolt, rearward to operate the weapon.
One can convert their Desert Eagleโs caliber pretty easily by swapping the barrel, bolt assembly, and magazine.
I guess itโs possible Bullet Tooth Tony could have converted a .44 Magnum Deagle to .50 AE, but it seems unlikely.
Whatโs more likely is that .44 Magnum blanks are easier to obtain, and the armorer already had a Desert Eagle in .44 Magnum.
Admittedly, the point five O line sounds cool as heck, so I see why Guy Ritchie kept it in place.
On Camera
Desert Eagles look great on camera but in real life arenโt all that practical for combat purposes. The pistol weighs 4.5 pounds and is nearly a foot long with a 6-inch barrel.
Itโs big, mean, and loud.
If youโve fired a Desert Eagle and a magnum revolver, you might notice that the Desert Eagle is soft shooting for a magnum pistol.
But shoot it beside a 9mm, and youโll realize itโs still got a hearty recoil. For defensive shooting, the recoil is a bit too much and slows down your ability to lay down follow-up shots.
Bullet Tooth Tony isnโt a small guy, and Vinnie Jones is a strong guy, but even he tends to prefer a two-hand grip when extending the firearm outward.
In the scenes where he holds the weapon with a single hand, notice that it never seems to be straight out in front of him.
A gun shooting blanks donโt have much recoil, and we see Tony controls the weapon just fine.
He takes advantage of the magnum caliber to shoot through the wall and save Avi and even gets a reload in after shooting eight shotsโฆalthough a .50 AE only allows for a seven-round magazine.
We know he doesnโt keep one in the chamber either because he racks the slide before firing, so that means eight in the magazine.
Final Thoughts
The Desert Eagle might be a silly gun for combat shooting, but in a film like Snatch, it does its job well.
That job is being visually interesting and eye-catching. When your name is Bullet Tooth Tony, you need a striking firearm, and the Desert Eagle is just that.
Read this article in its entirety at Pew Pew Tactical.