As I understand it production began prior to 1994 (AWB). I know a guy who has three and the last one he bought, he bought in 2001. He has them in .357, .44, and .50 AE. He bought the .357 magnum first back in the later 90s to go along with his .357 magnum revolvers, and then got the .44 magnum for the same reason, and then just got the .50 AE because he could.
As he explained it, it was still the age of magnums. Everyone still loved magnums and the ammo was relatively still inexpensive. And most folks still believed that magnums would go through body armor, not as a primary reason for buying them, but as a nice aside to buying them. They were unique and not a lot of people owned them, so it was also kind of a status symbol to own one. Also he enjoys big loud guns and finally went to ordering custom guns built on his Ruger Redhawks.
Desert Eagles are a gimmick, granted their fun as heck and I wouldn't turn one down if you gave it to me for free but when I can buy a Redhawk way cheaper and not have to be picky about factory ammo or worry about cast rounds for my reloads, the Redhawk wins my selection. I've tinkered with the idea of getting one but I just can't find the desire to make that ultimate plunge for one. Not when I feel like a S&W 625 would be a better purchase for the price point and ability to regularly shoot it far more easily. Plus I already own a SRH in .454, that round is more bad ass than .50 AE, and enough bad ass not bother with .460 Magnum.
f you could get the price down closer to $800 and the mags down to $30 you'd have something there. But for now they are way overpriced with far better selections on the market. Mayhaps not for mangum semi-autos, for but for guns by far.
Oh and I can buy a Springfield Range Officer for less than $900, get a conversion kit for $300 or so and still not have paid as much for a DE, and the mags are way cheaper. The ammo, eh, it's a reloader's round, but it will run reloads from what I have seen without too much trouble.
