Why so much hate towards the Desert Eagle?

[Nydhog502]

I understand that there are a lot of kids who have never shot a gun and are all "Desert eagle is teh best gun teh eva" and such, but why so much hate towards it? I will admit I used to play counter-strike years back and I am a gamer. Is that why I bought a Desert Eagle? No. Do I think it is the best gun ever? Not at all. Do I think it is a sturdy and fun gun to shoot? Hell yes. I understand why there is some animosity towards the gamer crowd regarding the Desert Eagle, but why is it that people scoff so hard at them? I own one for one of the better reasons to own any gun: I love to shoot it.

[saspic]

I suppose it's the impracticality of it. Not just the size and recoil, but the fact that it uses gas to cycle and has a rotating bolt almost makes it more like a little rifle than a handgun.
Still, if I was rich I'd get one. In pimped out Titanium gold tiger stripe finish. Come to think of it, I guess the crazy factory finishes don't help its reputation, either.

[Stevie-Ray]

I don't see where you're getting all this "hate" on the Desert Eagle. For the most part, people will bring up impracticality and such, but if the question is "would you like to have one" the answer is generally yes more than no. Like me, I'd love to have one, but it would have to be given to me or I would have to find one incredible deal on one. Fascinating piece of machinery, but I don't have a use for one or the extra coin to spend on such a frivolous piece. That's certainly not hate, though.

[Hook686]

I think it relative to the user's view on the handgun. Thinking in terms of a concealed handgun, the DE really sucks due to size. For a carry firearm in the woods while hiking it really sucks due to weight. Carried hunting as a replacement for a rifle it shines due to weight and size. At the range I enjoy shooting full house .44 magnum rounds far more with this handgun than any other. Whether in .357 magnum, or .44 magnum, I find the DE a useful and enjoyable to shoot handgun ... just not made for concealed carry.

[jimbob86]

............. uhmmmmm .......errrrr ......... 'cuz they are as practical as a football bat?

Don't get me wrong- I don't "hate" them ....... I just find the Gamerfanboy assertions that they are the Best. Handgun. EVVAAAAAR. really ridiculous.

Would I like one? For free? Sure! So I could sell it to one of those fanboys and finance the purchase of something useful, like an AR or something I'd like, say a Python......

[Chaz88]

I got a chance to shoot one of those hand cannons in 50 once. While I could not think of a practical reason to have one, it sure was fun. On the other hand if I bought one it wouldn't be the first I got "just because I wanted one"

EDIT: I also do some gaming. If I have the option I always choose the long gun. In particular the sniper rifle.

[DasFriek]

I shot one in .44mag and loved it,even tho it was a handful for sure.
I dont hate or even dislike it,i just consider it a novelty.

But i do hate one thing about it,its the kind of thing the Glock has image wise.The gangsta's,thugs,and what ever we can call them and still be "PC" and how they act when they go by the DE case and see the Gold plated .50's and Tiger striped ones.
Happens at the Glock case also,just not as loudly.

If i did have enough disposable cash id love the long barreled version with a good optic on it and enjoy it at the range.

[nimbleVagrant]

My simple black .50ae is nothing more than an amusement. I may even get a bigger kick out of letting my friends and family try it out than shooting it myself. It's a singularly special experience to shoot a Desert Eagle, especially the big .50. Beyond that, it sits in the safe. It has no other purpose for me.

[HiBC]

First off,I must confess,I begin with oh,skepticism,maybe even disrespect when a post applies Love and Hate to a make/model of firearm.It is just a bit dramatic for me.It is an embarrassment to the forum,IMO.

My earlier experience was with my brother's Jurras .44Automag,and later he got a Desert Eagle.Both in .44 magnum.

While I am not saving and wishing for either,I can think of applications.

And,since it is a product of Israel,I can imagine situations,like drving a fuel truck,where one might be comforting.A travel companion.

Make a goog hog gun,Hogdogs?

I don't do computer games,etc.Moron gangbangers can make any gun look stupid,but it ain't the gun.

[Colt46]

I can't see carrying that thing anywhere.

[RT]

I wanna gets me a Deagle wit da beamz, yo!
I don't hate the Deagle, I just don't see a need for it in my collection. I would rather have a large bore revolver, a carbine, or $1000 worth of ammo.

[Nydhog502]

Ah well. I guess to each their own. I love my Desert Eagle and that's all that really matters. No such thing as a gun for everyone I guess.

[rep1954]

It's a big, heavy, ugly gun that I would love to own someday chambered for 50 A.E.

[DiscoRacing]

Too Big... Too Heavy... just the way I like em

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Unless you're buying new, they're not extraordinarily expensive. And the Mark VII is only minimally different from the Mark XIX (with the exception of the wacky finish jobs for the latter). The last 4 auctions on GunBroker for the Mark VII in .44 magnum went for $750-800.

I bought my brother-in-law's '94 Mark VII .44 magnum at a reasonable price last weekend; he wanted to sell it, and I wanted something with a bit more bang than my two .40 cal M&Ps.

It's a massive, nearly indestructible hand cannon. And although it has a lot of boom, it doesn't beat the crap out of you when you shoot it.

It sure beats the crap out of whatever you point it at, though . . .

[sserdlihc]

No hate here for the DE. I just don't find it practical for any of my applications. That's not to say that I wouldn't get one if the right price and oppurtunity came along. Kinda like a Mateba, it isn't practical for me but I would like to have one to shoot at the range on oocasion!

[teeroux]

Unpractical ok.

But how many folks will argue the practicallity of their 12in barrel, monster magnum, single action revolver?

I think it just gets a bad wrap for being a hevy, magnum, auto-loader.

[The Great Mahoo]

I wouldn't say I hate the Desert Eagle, or so called DEagle. I just have no interest in them. As others have pointed out, it just isn't pratical at all, being far too large, too heavy, and not exceeding other guns for the roll of a handgun. I do think they'd make great large-bore bench shooting guns, but I'm not terribly into that, and will stick to rifles for that job.

The media drive for villans and heros showing how badass they are by carrying these hulking pistols doesn't help, nor does all of the glamourized finishes and such that they are often depicted in.

I'd say that most of the anti-Deagle remarks are just backlash from the media making negative stereotypes about our hobby, much more so than people drinking their hateraid on anything in particular.

[XD45Compact]

If you're a seagoing person, it might save your life in an emergency if you happen to lose your anchor. You can tie some rope around it and I think they rate it good to anchor any vessel under 75 feet.

[LukeA]

I count it in the same category as an AR with $2000 worth of crap hanging off of it. It's your money, not mine. Spend/waste it however you see fit.

Full Disclosure: I have shot a Desert Eagle in .50AE. It was pretty cool

[spamanon]

I am not sure there is really a lot of actual hatred towards the gun. I think it is more likely yet another case of people not seeing the difference between opinion and fact. Some folks seem to think that because they don't like something, for whatever reason, that the thing is actually unlikable. :barf:

See another recent thread about "billboarding" the slides of certain 1911s for another example.

[XD Gunner]

.50AE vs .500S&W

For a .50 handgun, there is no substitute for the big Smith....well, maybe the Smith 460 for the flexibility.

The DE is a cool gun, and I would like to have one, however, practicality-it has none.

[GunsAmerica Actual]

I don' think there is hatred for gun. The first version didn't feed very well in the rimmed .44mag round and I got rid of mine for that reason. I've always thought they looked like the old battlestar galactica blasters.

There was a best looking gun thread on THR and I said it was the tiger striped .50 that Demi used in Charlies Angles II.

[Hog Hunter]

Me personally, I have never shot a DE. I have always wanted one just to have in the collection for the fact that it is one of thoes popular hollywood guns, and to brig out at the family reunion. ""LOOK WHAT I GOT!!!!""
I would probally carry it for a truck gun, hell i carried a 8 3/8 smith 44 mag for a long time.
Huntin? definatly would take it huntin cause i dont think ive ever herd anyone say i shot a deer/hog with a desert eagle. I like em!!

[Brian Pfleuger]

Originally Posted by jimbob86

I just find the Gamerfanboy assertions that they are the Best. Handgun. EVVAAAAAR. really ridiculous.

Would I like one? For free? Sure! So I could sell it to one of those fanboys and finance the purchase of something useful, like an AR or something I'd like, say a Python......

First off, I don't see why anyone else's positive opinion on ANYTHING would make you have a negative opinion of it. That's just silly.

Second, it's ironic that you say that you'd sell the DE for something "useful" like an AR. I view the AR as more useless than the DE.