Desert Eagle | |
---|---|
Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
Place of origin | United States/Israel |
Production history | |
Designer | Magnum Research and Israel Military Industries |
Designed | 1979–1982 |
Manufacturer | Israel Military Industries, Saco Defense, Magnum Research and Israel Weapon Industries, Magnum Research |
Produced | 1983–present |
Variants | See Variants |
Specifications | |
Mass | Mark VII Mark XIX |
Length | Mark VII
Mark XIX
|
Barrel length | 6 in (152.4 mm), 10 in (254.0 mm) |
Width | 1.25 in (31.8 mm) [1] |
Height | 6.25 in (158.8 mm) [1] |
Cartridge |
|
Action | Gas-operated, closed rotating bolt |
Muzzle velocity | 1542 ft/s (470 m/s) (.50 AE) |
Maximum firing range | 201 meters (220 yd) |
Feed system | Detachable box magazine; capacities:
|
Sights | Iron sights and optional optics |
The Desert Eagle or simply Deagle [4] is a single-action, gas-operated, semi-automatic pistol capable of chambering the .50 Action Express, the largest centerfire cartridge of any magazine-fed, self-loading pistol and famous for other large caliber chamberings.
Magnum Research Inc. (MRI) designed and developed the Desert Eagle. The design was further refined by (and was also manufactured by) Israel Military Industries (IMI), until 1995, when MRI shifted the manufacturing contract to Saco Defense, in Saco, Maine. In 1998, MRI moved manufacturing back to IMI, which later commercialized its small arms branch under the name Israel Weapon Industries. Since December 2009, the Desert Eagle pistol has been produced in the United States at MRI's Pillager, Minnesota, facility. [5] Kahr Arms acquired Magnum Research in 2010.
Magnum Research has marketed various versions of the short recoil Jericho 941 pistol under the Baby Eagle and Desert Eagle pistol names; these weapons are not directly related to the Desert Eagle, but share a similar visual design. [6]
The design for the Desert Eagle was initiated by Bernard C. White of Magnum Research and Arnolds Streinbergs of Riga Arms Institute, who filed a US patent application for a mechanism for a gas-actuated pistol in January 1983. [7] 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 Systems (Israel Military Industries) for production, and this is the form that went into production. [8]
The pistol is fired by a single-action hammer and has a manual safety switch on the slide. The ambidextrous safety switch rotates a drum mechanism that sits over the firing pin, causing the firing pin to lock in, which prevents it from moving forward and reduces the possibility of the gun discharging accidentally. With the safety off, pulling the trigger releases, allowing the hammer to fall downward, hitting the firing pin, and causing the chambered round to discharge.
The Desert Eagle uses a gas-operated ejection and chambering mechanism normally found in rifles, as opposed to the short recoil or blowback designs most commonly seen in semi-automatic pistols. When a round is fired, gases are ported out through a small hole in the barrel in front of the chamber. These travel forward through a small tube under the barrel, to a cylinder underneath the front of the barrel. The slide, which acts as the bolt carrier, has a small piston on the front that fits into this cylinder. When the gases reach the cylinder, the piston pushes the slide rearward, with a large pin inside the camming surface in the rear of the bolt causing the bolt to rotate and unlock. A mechanism on the left side of the bolt prevents the bolt from rotating freely as the slide moves, forcing it to remain aligned correctly with the barrel while the breech is open. The spring-loaded ejector is continually being depressed by the case, until the case is free of the chamber and the tension from the ejector is released, causing the case to eject, breaking free of the extractor in the process. The slide reaches its rearmost position, and then moves forward again under the tension of the recoil springs. The bottom lug of the bolt pushes a new round into the chamber, then the bolt locks up and the gun can be fired again.
The rotating bolt has three radial locking lugs (the fourth lug is only for pushing the next round in the chamber), with the extractor on the right-hand side fitting where the fifth lug would be, and strongly resembles the seven-lug bolt of the M16 series of rifles, while the fixed gas cylinder and moving piston resemble those of the Ruger Mini-14 carbine (the original patent used a captive piston similar to the M14 rifle). [5] [6]
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 can clog the gas release tap, preventing proper function. [6]
Switching a Desert Eagle to another chambering requires only that the correct barrel, bolt assembly, and magazine be installed. Thus, a conversion to fire other cartridges can be quickly accomplished. 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. [5] [6] 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 Desert Eagle is fed with a detachable magazine. Magazine capacity is nine rounds in .357 Magnum, eight rounds in .44 Magnum, and seven 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. [5] [6]
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. [6] 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 have a 3⁄8 in dovetail, to which an accessory mount can be attached. Later Mark VII models were offered in .50 Action Express with a 7⁄8 in Weaver-pattern rail on the barrel; the .50 Mark VII later became the Mark XIX. Barrel lengths are 6, 10, and 14 inches [6] for .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum, but only 6 or 10 inches for .41 Magnum.
The most recent model, the Mark XIX, is available in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .429 DE (introduced in 2018) and .50 Action Express. 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. There were fewer than 500 original .440 Cor-Bon Desert Eagles imported into U.S. in December 2000. These are marked by the number 440 on the left lower side of the barrel, in numerals twice the size of other calibers, and without the preceding period. A number of .44 Magnum barrels were re-chambered to produce .440 Corbon barrels, but these can be identified by the off-centered ".440" (with period) produced by adding the final 0 to the original barrel mark.
Mark XIX barrels are available in 6-inch (150 mm) and 10-inch (250 mm) lengths only. [6] All .357 Magnum barrels have exterior barrel flutes on the left, right and top sides of the barrel. All .44 Magnum barrels have flutes on the left and right side only, not on the top. The .50 AE barrels have no flutes.
All current-production Mark XIX models except for the CA approved models have Weaver rails along the top of the barrels, as opposed to the Dovetail rails on previous models. Selected Mark XIX models have ported barrels or under-barrel picatinny rails.
The DE44CA (Desert Eagle .44 Magnum California) is the only Mark XIX model approved for dealer sales to the public in the State of California. [9] The California-approved version differs from the regular XIX models in that it has an automatic firing pin block and a two-slot Weaver-style rail for mounting optics.
The Desert Eagle has been featured in more than 600 films, television shows and video games, making it well known in popular culture. [10] The commercial success of the pistol is due in part to its use in films, according to Magnum Research chairman and CEO John Risdall. [11] According to a 1994 newspaper article, the company actively solicited prop houses to use the gun. [11] By 2000, it had been used in over 40 films, including The Matrix, [12] Eraser , Red Heat , Last Action Hero , Cliffhanger , Demolition Man , Assassins , The Last Boy Scout , Double Impact , and Austin Powers . [11]
A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six cartridges, before needing to be reloaded, revolvers are commonly called six shooters or sixguns. Due to their rotating cylinder mechanism, they may also be called wheel guns.
In firearms terminology, an action is the functional mechanism of a breech-loading firearm that handles the ammunition cartridges, or the method by which that mechanism works. Actions are technically not present on muzzleloaders, as all those are single-shot firearms with a closed off breech with the powder and projectile manually loaded from the muzzle. Instead, the muzzleloader ignition mechanism is referred to as the lock.
Magnum Research, Inc. (MRI) was an American privately held corporation based in Fridley, Minnesota which manufactured and distributed firearms. The majority owners, Jim Skildum and John Risdall, had been with the company since its founding in 1979.
A semi-automatic pistol is a handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridges in its chamber after every shot fired. Only one round of ammunition is fired each time the trigger is pulled, as the pistol's fire control group disconnects the trigger mechanism from the firing pin/striker until the trigger has been released and reset.
A lever action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger guard area that pivots forward to move the bolt via internal linkages, which will feed and extract cartridges into and out of the chamber, and cock the firing pin mechanism. This contrasts to other type of repeating actions such as the bolt-action, pump-action, semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode actions. A firearm using this operating mechanism is colloquially referred to as a levergun.
The .50 Action Express (AE) (12.7×33mmRB) is a large-caliber handgun cartridge, best known for its usage in the Desert Eagle. Developed in 1988 by American Evan Whildin of Action Arms, the .50 AE is one of the most powerful pistol cartridges in production.
The .41 Remington Magnum, also known as .41 Magnum or 10.4×33mmR, is a center fire firearms cartridge primarily developed for use in large-frame revolvers, introduced in 1964 by the Remington Arms Company, intended for hunting and law enforcement purposes.
A breechblock is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech of a breech loading weapon before or at the moment of firing. It seals the breech and contains the pressure generated by the ignited propellant. Retracting the breechblock allows the chamber to be loaded with a cartridge.
The Jericho 941 is a double-action/single-action semi-automatic pistol developed by Israel Weapon Industries that was introduced in 1990.
The .440 Cor-Bon is a large-caliber handgun cartridge, first produced by Cor-Bon in 1998. Although it looks similar to a .357 SIG, this cartridge was designed after being necked down from an existing cartridge, the .50 AE to accept a .44-caliber (10.89 mm) bullet. This is fairly typical in the wildcat cartridge industry.
A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspacing rim, in spite of the fact that some cartridges are known as "rimless cartridges". The rim may serve a number of purposes, including providing a lip for the extractor to engage, and sometimes serving to headspace the cartridge.
The Wildey is a gas-operated, double- or single-action pistol designed by Wildey J. Moore. It was designed to fire several high-pressure proprietary cartridges including the .45 Winchester Magnum and the .475 Wildey Magnum. They are currently being produced by USA Firearms Corp.-Wildey Guns of Winsted, Connecticut.
The Colt Model 1900 is a short-recoil operated "self-loading", or semi-automatic .38 caliber handgun introduced by Colt's Manufacturing Company at the turn of the 20th century. The M1900 was the first firearm to be chambered in .38 ACP and was the first handgun to utilize short-recoil operation.
Break action is a type of firearm action in which the barrel(s) are hinged much like a door and rotate perpendicularly to the bore axis to expose the breech and allow loading and unloading of cartridges. A separate operation may be required for the cocking of a hammer to fire the new round. There are many types of break-action firearms; break actions are universal in double-barreled shotguns, double-barreled rifles, combination guns, and are commonly found in single shot pistols, rifles, shotguns, including flare guns, grenade launchers, air guns, and some older revolver designs. They are also known as hinge-action, break-open, break-barrel, break-top, or, on old revolvers, top-break actions.
The Grizzly Win Mag pistols were conceived, invented, designed, engineered and developed in the 1980s by the sole inventor, Perry Arnett, who licensed his patent for an interchangeable caliber semi-automatic pistol to L.A.R. Manufacturing Inc. Perry Arnett's designs were initially flawed and were improved upon by Heinz Augat. The L.A.R. Grizzly was the most powerful semi-automatic pistol ever commercially produced after the Desert Eagle.
The Marlin Model 1894 is a lever-action repeating rifle introduced in 1894 by the Marlin Firearms Company of North Haven, Connecticut. At its introduction the rifle came with a 24-inch barrel and was chambered for a variety of rounds such as .25-20 Winchester, .32-20 Winchester, .38-40, and .44-40. Variants in other chamberings remain in production today.
A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long barreled gun which needs to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder. Handguns have shorter effective ranges compared to long guns, and are much harder to shoot accurately. While most early handguns are single-shot pistols, the two most common types of handguns used in modern times are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, although other handguns such as derringers and machine pistols also see infrequent usage.
The .41 Action Express is a pistol cartridge developed in 1986 to reproduce the performance of the .41 Magnum police load in semi-automatic pistols.
The .429 DE (10.9x33mmRB) is a cartridge introduced in 2018 by Magnum Research for the Desert Eagle line of handguns.