With the introduction of the Magnum Research Desert Eagle chambered in the powerful .50 AE cartridge in 1991, it rapidly became the most powerful semi-automatic handgun in production. Chambered at that time in .50 Action Express, .44 Magnum, and .357 Magnum, users began wondering whether there was an alternative to the heavy recoil (and very expensive cost) of the .50 round with the stopping power of the .44 Magnum.