I traded away my Desert Eagle 44 mag for just this reason. I'm sure I did permanent damage.
When I was younger (and dumber), I really wanted to get a "BIG BOOM" handgun... Sure, I had a Ruger Redhawk, and I did the 300gr JSP load where you fill the case w/ WW296 and put the bullet on, but that huge boom and muzzle flash just wasn't enough...
I wanted to get a big single shot pistol. T/C had their .30/30, 444 Marlin, and 45-70, but I just didn't think that was going to be enough... I really wanted the .375JDJ, reputed to be, at the time, the worlds most powerful handgun cartridge. And it was. 270gr bullets at over 2400fps! It had been used to take down cape buffalo and elephants in Africa!
Before I could get around to buying one of those, I picked up a Star Firestar in .40 S&W. This little, all steel .40 really kicks hard. It's about the size of a pocket .380, and the safety really bites into the bone of my thumb. After about 50 rounds of shooting that gun, I've had enough for one day... After a while, I realized that while it's fun to have a "hand cannon," I didn't really enjoy shooting it that much... And spending serveral hundred dollars on yet another set of dies and accessories really wasn't that attractive.
Mark