IMI Desert Eagle

 Mark XIX Desert Eagle in .50 Action Express with picatinny rail

The Israel Military Industries Desert Eagle is a large-framed gas-operated semi-automatic pistol designed by Magnum Research in the US. Over the past 25 years MRI has been responsible for the design and development of the Desert Eagle pistol. The design was refined and the actual pistols were manufactured by Israel Military Industries until 1995, when MRI shifted the manufacturing contract to Saco Defense in Saco, Maine. In 1998, MRI moved manufacturing back to IMI, which later reorganized under the name Israel Weapon Industries. Both Saco and IMI/IWI were strictly contractors: all of the intellectual property, including patents, copyrights and trademarks are the property of Magnum Research. Since 2009, the Desert Eagle Pistol has been produced in the USA at MRI’s Pillager, MN facility. The Desert Eagle has been featured in roughly 500 motion pictures and TV films, considerably increasing its popularity and boosting sales.

Magnum Research has marketed various versions of the short recoil Jericho 941 pistol under the Baby Eagle name; these have no functional relationship to the Desert Eagle and bear only a moderate cosmetic resemblance.

Design details

The Desert Eagle was originally designed by Bernard C. White of Magnum Research, who filed a US patent application for a mechanism for a gas-actuated pistol in January 1983. This established the basic layout of the Desert Eagle. A second patent application was filed in December 1985, after the basic design had been refined by IMI (Israel Military Industries) for production, and this is the form that went into production.

The Desert Eagle uses a gas-operated mechanism normally found in rifles, as opposed to the short recoil or blow-back designs most commonly seen in semi-automatic pistols. When a round is fired, gases are ported out through a small hole in the barrel near the breech. These travel forward through a small tube under the barrel, to a cylinder near the front of the barrel. The separate bolt carrier/slide has a small piston on the front that fits into this cylinder; when the gases reach the cylinder they push the piston rearward. The bolt carrier rides rearward on two rails on either side of the barrel, operating the mechanism. Its rotating bolt strongly resembles that of the M16 series of rifles, while the fixed gas cylinder/moving piston resemble those of the Ruger Mini-14 carbine (the original patent used a captive piston similar to the M14 rifle). The advantage of the gas operation is that it allows the use of far more powerful cartridges than traditional semi-automatic pistol designs. Thus it allows the Desert Eagle to compete in an area that had previously been dominated by magnum revolvers. Downsides of the gas-operated mechanism are the large size of the Desert Eagle, and the fact that it discourages the use of unjacketed lead bullets, as lead particles sheared off during firing could clog the gas release tap, preventing proper function.

Switching a Desert Eagle to another chambering requires only that the correct barrel, bolt assembly, and magazine be installed. Thus, a conversion to fire the other cartridges can be quickly accomplished. The most popular barrel length is 6 in (152 mm), although a 10 in (254 mm) barrel is available. The Mark XIX barrels are machined with integral scope mounting bases, simplifying the process of adding a pistol scope. The rim diameter of the .50 AE (Action Express) is the same as the .44 Remington Magnum cartridge, consequently only a barrel and magazine change is required to convert a .44 Desert Eagle to the larger, more powerful .50 AE round.

The Desert Eagle is fed with a detachable magazine. Magazine capacity is 9 rounds in .357 Magnum, 8 rounds in .44 Magnum, and 7 rounds in .50 Action Express. The Desert Eagle's barrel features polygonal rifling. The pistol is primarily used for hunting, target shooting, and silhouette shooting.

Variants

Mark I and VII

The Mark I, which is no longer produced, was offered with a steel, stainless steel or aluminum alloy frame and differs primarily in the size and shape of the safety levers and slide catch. The Mark VII includes an adjustable trigger (retrofittable to Mark I pistols). The Mark I and VII are both available in .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum; the Mark VII has been chambered for .41 Magnum. The barrels had a 3/8" dovetail, to which an accessory mount could be attached. Later Mark VII models were offered in .50 Action Express with a 7/8" Weaver-pattern rail on the barrel; the .50 Mark VII would later become the Mark XIX platform. Barrel lengths were 6, 8, 10 and 14 inches.

Mark XIX

Mark XIX Desert Eagle in .50 Action Express with upgraded finger groove grip. Mark XIX Desert Eagle pistol beside a box of Speer 325 Grain .50 AE ammunition. The most recent model, the Mark XIX, is available in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .50 Action Express (or .50 AE). This model comes in a variety of different finishes, such as brushed chrome or titanium gold. Magnum Research offered this model in .440 Cor-bon caliber, a .50 AE derived case. Mark XIX barrels are available in 6-inch and 10-inch lengths only. Both the .357 and .44 Magnum XIX version have exterior barrel fluting, whereas the .50 AE versions do not.

The DE44CA (Desert Eagle .44 Magnum California) is the only XIX that is approved for dealer sales to the public in the State of California: it differs from standard XIXs in that it has a firing-pin block incorporated in its design.

Current-model Mark XIX Desert Eagles now have a new-style Picatinny rail along the top of the barrel, as opposed to the dove-tail style rail on previous models. Magnum Research also now offers a proprietary muzzle brake for both the .50 AE and .44 Magnum versions to help reduce recoil.

Mark XIX Desert Eagle pistol beside a box of Speer 325 Grain .50 AE ammunition

Jericho/Baby Eagle

While IMI makes a cosmetically similar pistol, originally called the Jericho 941 and marketed by Magnum Research as the "Baby Eagle", the guns bear no functional equivalence: the Jericho/Baby Eagle design is a standard double action, short-recoil design derived from the CZ-75. The one functional similarity is in the IMI developed cartridges. The .41 Action Express (or .41 AE) developed for the Jericho 941 used a rebated rim, so that the pistol could switch between 9 mm Luger and .41 AE with just the change of a barrel. This is because the .41 AE was based on a shortened .41 Magnum case with the rim and extractor groove cut to the same dimensions of the 9 mm Luger. This allowed the same extractor and ejector to work with both cartridges. The .50 AE has a similar rebated rim, cut to the same dimensions as the .44 Magnum. This is what allows caliber changes between .44 Magnum and .50 AE with just the change of the barrel and magazine. Beginning January 1, 2009, KBI began importing the Jericho (using its original trade name). KBI Jericho pistols can be distinguished from earlier Jericho models by the addition of an accessory rail just forward the trigger guard. The Jericho 941's name was derived from the two cartridges it chambers, with the conversion kit.

Micro Desert Eagle

Capitalizing on the name of the Desert Eagle, Magnum Research has introduced a pistol called the "Micro Desert Eagle". It bears no resemblance to the Desert Eagle, and does not even share the barrel and ammunition swapping abilities of the Desert Eagle as yet. The only thing it shares is the gas-assisted blowback system. It is a pocket pistol, in the same class as the Walther PPK and SIG-Sauer P230/232. It is only available in .380 ACP caliber. It is designed as a DAO (double action only) pistol with no external hammer and it is meant for personal protection in close quarters. It is manufactured in the US by Magnum Research. Its average weight is 14 oz depending on the type of ammunition loaded. The original design is licensed from a Czech company, ZVI, and its Kevin pistol.