The Desert Eagle is a semi-automatic, gas-operated pistol that is manufactured in Israel by IMI (Israeli Military Industries) for Magnum Research, Inc. Magnum Research, based in the USA, developed and patented the original Desert Eagle design, but the refining was done by IMI. Manufacturing was moved to Saco Defense in the state of Maine from 1995 to 1998, but shifted back to Israel because of concerns over quality control. The Desert Eagle is unusual in that most semi-automatic pistols use short recoil or blow-back mechanisms; the gas-operated mechanism used by the Desert Eagle is more commonly found in rifles. In fact, the rotating bolt and locking mechanism bear a strong resemblance to that of the M16 series of rifles. The advantage of the gas-operation is that it allows the use of far more powerful cartridges than traditional semi-automatic pistol designs, and it allows the Desert Eagle to compete in an area that had previously been dominated by magnum revolvers.
| Desert Eagle Specifications | |
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| Country of origin: | Headquarters/engineering, Fridley, Minnesota, manufactured in Israel |
| Operation: | Single Action |
| Action: | direct impingement gas-operated |
| Cartridge: | .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .440 Cor-bon, .50 Action Express |
| Length: | 10.25 inches with 6 inch barrel (260mm with 152mm barrel) |
| Height: | |
| Width: | |
| Weight (Empty): | .357 Magnum Mark I/VII 47.8 oz (aluminum frame) or 58.3 oz (steel frame), Mark XIX .50 AE 70 oz (1.36, 1.65, and 2 kg) with 6 inch (152mm) barrel |
| Barrel: | 6, 10, and 14 inches (152, 254 and 356mm) |
| Magazine capacity: | 9 (.357), 8 (.41 and .44) or 7 (.440 or .50) rounds |
| Magazine type: | Detachable Clip |
Three different versions of the Desert Eagle were manufactured: the Mark I, Mark VII, and Mark XIX. The Mark I and Mark VII are no longer produced, but had steel or aluminum frames and were available in .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum and .44 Magnum. The Mark VII was also available in .50 Action Express, though the .50 Mark VII is physically identical to the Mark XIX instead of the slightly smaller .357/.41/.44 Mark VII design. Magnum Research still has limited numbers of 6 and 10 inch (152 and 254 mm) barreled .44 Magnum Mark VIIs with aluminum or steel frames in stock, though the Mark VII has been out of production for several years. The most recent model, the Mark XIX, is available in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .50 Action Express (or .50 AE). Magnum Research also showed some models in .440 Cor-bon caliber, a .50 AE derived case, but no .440 Cor-Bon components are listed in their catalog and the .440 seems to have gone the way of the .41 Magnum.
Switching a Desert Eagle to another chambering requires only that the correct barrel, bolt assembly, and magazine be installed. Thus, a conversion to shoot the other cartridges can be quickly accomplished in the field. The most popular barrel length is 6 in (152 mm), although 8, 10 and 14 in (202, 254 and 356 mm) barrels (which are rarely seen) have been available. The barrels are machined with integral scope mounting bases, making adding a pistol scope a very simple operation.
It is fed with a detachable box magazine, just as with any other semi-auto pistol. Magazine capacity is nine rounds in .357 Magnum, 8 rounds in .44 Magnum, and 7 rounds in .50 AE. The Desert Eagle is a sport pistol which is mainly used for target shooting and hunting, due to its unwieldy size and weight, extreme muzzle flash, thunderous sound, and often high price tag.
While IMI makes a cosmetically similar pistol, originally called the Jericho 941 and now 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. The one functional similarity is in ammunition. 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.
Use in Popular Culture
The Desert Eagle is found throughout many forms of entertainment, the most notable of which are movies and video games. Examples include the blockbuster film The Matrix, the Guy Ritchie movie Snatch, Team America: World Police and Alien vs. Predator, as well as in popular video games such as SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, Tomb Raider, Duke Nukem, Counter-Strike, the Hitman series, FarCry, Max Payne, Max Payne 2, the Fallout games, Half-Life: Opposing Force, Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield, Metal Gear Solid, The Punisher and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.
The weapon's popularity in video games suddenly surged with the release of the FPS Counter-Strike. It appeared first in Michael Cimino's 1985 film Year of the Dragon. The scene features detective Stanley White (Mickey Rourke) fending off Triad members invading his home with a Desert Eagle hurriedly plucked from a nighttable.
The character Whip from the King of Fighters fighting game series uses a Desert Eagle, though her handling of it is very unrealistic - she effortlessly fires it one-handed, despite her small size. Furthermore, the individual bullets do minuscule damage, even compared to the lightest punches and kicks available in the game.
Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield, the main character in several of Australian author Matthew Reilly's novels, uses a Desert Eagle as his primary handgun. It is also used prominently by other characters in the books.
Mack Bolan, of Don Pendleton's "The Executioner" and spinoff "Mack Bolan" books, often uses a .44 Magnum Desert Eagle in his "Eternal War". Quite often, Bolan uses the gun single handed while running which would result in less accurate hits, if the gun did not leave his hand. It is usually seen in conjunction with a Beretta 93R while Bolan is using it, and is one of Bolan's more preferred guns.
The character Jo in the anime Bakuretsu Tenshi uses two Desert Eagles as her primary weapons.
In these instances, it may be referred to by the slang term "Deagle" or "D-Eagle", an obvious portmanteau of "Desert" and "Eagle".
Practicality
Because of its extreme popularity in both the music and movie world, the Desert Eagle is often viewed as something of an ultimate weapon. However, its large size, harsh recoil, tendency to stovepipe when the shooter "limp wrists", and expensive unit and ammunition price makes it seem something of a novelty to many shooters. Additionally, the .50 AE cartridge is simply deemed by many to be unnecessarily powerful for self defense or military purposes. Its primary intended market—big game pistol hunters—is flooded by similar products such as the S&W 500, among other heavy frame revolvers. Thus, the weapon does not enjoy popularity with many shooters in the .50AE calibre. However, the .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum versions are more popular, and very popular with Metallic Silhouette shooters in Australia. This is because of the handgun laws prohibiting any handgun over .45 calibre for sporting purposes. Despite the drawbacks, the Desert Eagle does have major advantages over most other large-bore handguns and thus retains a strong core group of fans.
However, that does not stop it from being misused, generally by those unfamiliar with firearms. Due to its extreme popularity, it is often rented or even bought by those who have no real experience with firearms but who are attracted by the popularity and machismo that comes with the weapon. A popular misconception with the Desert Eagle is its recoil. Many assume it has an unforgiving kickback due to its high caliber and large size, however the Desert Eagle's recoil itself is not the main problem, since the weapon's weight actually softens the impact of the discharge. The slide on the weapon fires back violently and resumes its original position with authority, (the "click" and "clack") which produces the harsh recoil-like action.
The Desert Eagle, while a well-made and solid gun, is actually rather heavy and not especially well balanced, which tends to lead to poor accuracy with those not trained in its use. The high price tag does not endear itself to most shooters either, especially when handguns that will do a similar job with a more practical cartridge are available for considerably less money.