A heavy duty hand cannon with an imposing title and a big bang to match, the Desert Eagle is one of the most famous handguns in history. It appears in hundreds of movies and games, from The Matrix to Call of Duty, Max Payne to Austin Powers, but despite its prominence in our favorite media, it is seldom seen in the real world. So how did a gun that sees almost no serious use get so much pop culture attention? 

In this episode of Loadout, Dave Jewitt visits the Royal Armouries to talk to Keeper of Firearms & Artillery Jonathan Ferguson to find out why the Desert Eagle might not be the all-conquering weapon that games and movies would have you believe. 

You can check out more episodes of Loadout right here. -    • How Games Are Lying To Us About Silen...  

You can check out our Firearms Expert Reacts series here. -    • Firearms Expert Reacts To Fallout 4’s...  

If you're interested in seeing more of Jonathan's work, you can check out more from the Royal Armouries right here. -    / royalarmouries  

If you would like to support the Royal Armouries, you can make a charitable donation to the museum here. - https://royalarmouries.org/support-us...