Desert Eagle

The Desert Eagle is a gas-operated, semi-automatic, magnum-caliber sporting pistol manufactured in the United States by Israeli Military Industries for Magnum Research and is primarily used by target shooters and hunters. The Mark XIX is the latest version of the revisions the Desert Eagle has gone through since its creation. The pistol is popular in media due to its large size and powerful caliber, but is never used by professionals for the same reasons. Its unwieldy weight, recoil, noise, and the high price of the weapon and its ammunition also dissuade potential customers. Cartridges it can be configured to fire include .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .440 Cor-Bon, and .50 AE.

The Weapon Equivalents of this weapon for both Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 are the .357 Magnum Revolver, and the .44 Magnum, respectively.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare depicts the .50 AE version of the Desert Eagle, as the in-game model has a seven-round magazine. It is a very powerful pistol; it can kill in two hits at close range. Although the other pistols can do the same, the Desert Eagle is unique in that it does not require Stopping Power to achieve two-hit kills, making it a popular sidearm for players using Perks other than Stopping Power. The Desert Eagle has the highest hip-fire accuracy of any gun in the game. Unlike the other pistols, it cannot be fitted with a silencer. The Desert Eagle is unlocked at level 43, and a golden version is unlocked at Commander (Level 55), making it the only golden weapon that does not require the completion of any expert challenges to acquire.

The Desert Eagle is popular because of its sheer power. However, some people choose to avoid it as it has a low magazine capacity of just 7 rounds (and a total ammo count of 21). It is also one of the loudest weapons in the game, and has high visual recoil.

The Desert Eagle can only be found in the single-player level Crew Expendable. The Desert Eagle can only be obtained during the campaign if the player runs ahead of the other SAS members in the first cargo hold of Crew Expendable, at which point an Ultranationalist leaps out of a storage container armed with the Desert Eagle. It is also seen being given to Khaled Al-Asad by Imran Zakhaev to execute President Al-Fulani in The Coup, and is again seen being wielded by Imran Zakhaev during Game Over. Contrary to popular belief, SSgt. Griggs does not use a Desert Eagle while saving Soap in Game Over, but a nickel-plated M1911 .45.

Singleplayer
The Desert Eagle is now more common in the campaign than it was in Call of Duty 4, appearing as the first sidearm you use in the game in S.S.D.D. and appearing sometimes in the hands of militia that ambush you from around corners. It is also found in the makeshift hospital in Of Their Own Accord right next to Cpl. Keating's computer. Akimbo Desert Eagles can also be found twice in the level, Takedown, and it can be found in the armory in Loose Ends. It also appears in Just Like Old Times, in the control room just before Shepherd blows it up. Its rate of fire seems to have been slowed down compared to the rate of fire in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Multiplayer
The Desert Eagle is unlocked at level 62. In Multiplayer it appears alongside another powerful handgun, the .44 Magnum. Since the .44 Magnum is unlocked before the Desert Eagle, has more minimum damage and has less recoil, it is much more popular. The .44 Magnum does however have a six round capacity as opposed to the Desert Eagle's seven rounds.

The Desert Eagle is somewhat similar to the one in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. One benefit is that it now accepts attachments. However, its recoil has been increased considerably, both by increasing the kick and reducing the speed at which it re-centers. The gun now sports a titanium carbon nitride finish, as opposed to the polished chrome finish it had in the previous game. The Desert Eagle is seen with tactical rails on both the top of the gun and the underside of the barrel, and it also has a tactical laser mounted underneath. However, this is all purely aesthetic, as the Desert Eagle cannot equip any attachments on the rails and players cannot utilize the flashlight. Another new feature is the addition of a white 3-dot-sight setup (on which the front sight is off-centered, although this has no real effect on gameplay or aiming). It is interesting to note that while using the Tactical Knife attachment, the Desert Eagle's sights become centered.

With the Akimbo attachment, the Desert Eagle can kill a target by simply firing both guns at the same time (assuming both bullets hit the target). This can make Akimbo Desert Eagles very effective at close range especially in hardcore, as the player only needs to hit with a single bullet and the player has 14 shots with both Desert Eagles combined.

In Hardcore, the Desert Eagle is an effective weapon since the base damage and base health is 30. This means it can get a one shot kill at any distance. However the sheer recoil of the Desert Eagle limits its overall effectiveness to close-medium range combat (close range with Akimbo).

Weapon Attachments:

 * FMJ
 * Akimbo
 * Tactical Knife

Trivia

 * In the armory in "F.N.G." there is a two tone Desert Eagle; the same color scheme used in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
 * The Desert Eagle's front iron sight is backwards in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 * On Infinity Ward's website the Desert Eagle was voted the favorite weapon of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 * The chrome Desert Eagle from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare can be seen at multiple times in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign, including in the hands of Cpl. Dunn in "S.S.D.D." and by the dead HVI in "Exodus".
 * A Desert Eagle shot can be heard upon entering Prestige Mode in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
 * The Desert Eagle can make a Juggernaut stumble.
 * In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the Desert Eagle is capable of one-shot kills at any range in Hardcore mode, assuming that the target is not using Juggernaut, Last Stand, or behind cover. It can also do this in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 provided that the target is not using Painkiller, Last Stand, Final Stand, or behind cover.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the Desert Eagle's ironsight is slightly misaligned, however, this is fixed when the Tactical Knife attachment is used.
 * In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the Desert Eagle had a random recoil. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the gun's recoil arcs towards the upper right. The Desert Eagle is one of only three weapons that has this arcing recoil; the second being the Barrett, and the third being the P90.
 * Throughout the Modern Warfare series, the Desert Eagle's firing sound is often used during cinematic moments when a different handgun is actually fired, due to its louder and more dramatic report.
 * If the player does not intervene and allows the farmer to be executed in "Hunted" in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, a Desert Eagle can be heard when he is, in fact, killed with an M9.