IMI Desert Eagle

Design details

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. 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 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 which 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 the hammer to fall downward, hitting the firing pin and causing the chambered round to discharge.

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 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 they push the piston rearward. The slide rides rearward on two rails on either side of the barrel, both with action springs around them, with a large pin inside the camming surface in the rear of the bolt that causes the bolt to rotate and unlock. A cylindrical mechanism on the left side of the bolt, called the bolt stabilizer assembly, prevents the bolt from rotating freely as the slide moves, enabling it to align correctly with the barrel again as the slide moves it forward. The spring loaded ejector pin is continually being depressed by the case, until the case is free of the chamber and releases tension from the ejector, causing the case to fly out, becoming released from the extractor claw in the process. The slide reaches its rear-most travel, then rides forward again under tension of the springs around the slide rails, 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 once the trigger is released.

The rotating bolt has four radial locking lugs, with the extractor on the right hand side fitting where the fifth lug would be, and strongly resembles the 7-lug bolt 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 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 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 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.

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. Barrel lengths were 6, 10, and 14 inches for .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum, but only 6 or 10 inches for .41 Magnum.

Mark XIX

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. There were less 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 rechambered 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 and 10-inch lengths only. 357 Magnum barrels have exterior barrel flutes on the left, right and top sides of the barrel. .44 Magnum barrels have flutes on the left and right side only, not on the top. The .50 AE barrels have no flutes.

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 the .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .50 AE versions to help reduce recoil.

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 Eagle

In 2009 Magnum Research introduced a pistol called the "Micro Eagle," designed to resemble the Desert Eagle. This pistol has a different functional design and does not support swappable barrels and ammunition but does share the gas-assisted blowback design of the IMI Desert Eagle. It is a pocket pistol, in the same class as the Walther PPK and SIG Sauer P230/232 available in .380 ACP caliber. It is meant for personal protection in close quarters and is assembled in the US by Magnum Research from imported parts. Its average weight is 14 oz depending on the type of ammunition loaded. The original design is licensed from a Czech company ZVI (which manufactured it under name the Kevin).

Customized versions

Magnum Research and aftermarket suppliers provide custom coatings and finishes on the Desert Eagle.

Users

In popular culture

The Desert Eagle has been featured in roughly 500 motion pictures and TV films, along with several video games (especially the Resident Evil series, Counter-Strike series, Grand Theft Auto series, Tomb Raider series, Far Cry series, Left 4 Dead series, and Call of Duty series), making it well known in popular culture.

The commercial success of the pistol is due in part to its use in motion pictures, according to Magnum Research chairman and CEO John Risdall. According to a 1994 newspaper article, the company actively solicited prop houses to use the gun. By 1999 it had been used in over 40 films, including Eraser, Red Heat, Last Action Hero, Rambo III, Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, Assassins, The Last Boy Scout, Double Impact, and Austin Powers.