By Denis Prisbrey
The old saying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is pretty much rule No. 1 in the case of .44 Magnum autopistols.
A revolver can be trimmed down quite a bit to shoot the .44 Magnum—if you’re sufficiently resistant to pain and have access to a good carpal tunnel surgeon—but there’s no way to hold back on either size or weight in a reliable .44 Magnum pistol, and regardless of the maker, usually you’ve got to be a hardcore admirer to find any beauty in what has to be a big and chunky steel blaster. There’s no room for plastic in this particular section of the gun world, and svelte does not apply.
Over the years, there have been a few attempts to produce .44 Magnum semi-autos for what is undeniably a very niche market, but the Magnum Research Desert Eagle is the only one in (mostly) continuous production s ince its introduction over 30 years ago, and it’s arguably the most famous.
