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| DESERT EAGLE |
| The fact that the Desert Eagle is the largest, most powerful semi-automatic in the world with its up to .50AE caliber round causes no surprise that it has become the weapon of choice for some of the most famous heroes of the film world! This piece of heavy artillery was designed as a target / sport pistol, and its appearance in many Hollywood movies has given this 'heavy cannon' something of a wonder-weapon reputation. As one of the few gas-operated handguns ever produced and more significantly - one of the most heavy and powerful, the Desert Eagle Pistol was conceived in 1979, when three individuals with an idea for creating a gas-operated, semi-automatic, magnum-caliber pistol, founded Magnum Research Inc. in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dozens of companies had chased the dream of putting magnum calibers into semi-auto pistols, but only Magnum Research Inc. (MRI) really succeeded. Since then - in addition to producing tens of thousands of satisfied customers - the Desert Eagle has appeared in well over 100 movies and television shows. MRI patented the basic design of the Desert Eagle in 1980, and the first working prototype of the pistol was completed in 1981. It was about 80% functional, with a rotating bolt, full gas operation and excellent shooting characteristics. The final refinements to the pistol were made by Israel Military Industries (IMI), under contract to Magnum Research, Inc. After research that included thousands of rounds of test-firing, a fully functional .357 Magnum production model was produced in an edition of just over 1,000 pistols. These pistols, collector's items today, have traditional land-and-grove rifling, and they will not accept extended barrels or caliber conversion kits. Development of the Desert Eagle was not yet complete however and in 1985 the barrel was changed to incorporate polygonal rifling, to help enhance the pistol's accuracy. In 1986, a .44 Magnum version of the pistol was perfected; it was the very first semi-automatic .44 Magnum pistol successfully brought to market. Also in 1986, Magnum Research set aside 1,000 serial numbers for the Collector Edition Presentation Series, consisting of 100 Gold Editions, 400 Silver Editions and 500 Bronze Editions. Further enhancements to the Desert Eagle line continued. In 1987, the .41 Magnum Desert Eagle Pistol (not currently in production) was introduced to fill a specific market niche and in 1989, the Mark VII model of the Desert Eagle became standard. All Desert Eagle Pistols manufactured since 1989 have Mark VII features: enlarged safety levers, an enlarged slide release and an improved, two-stage trigger. Most recently, MRI successfully introduced the .50 Action Express Desert Eagle Pistol to fill an unmet need in the sporting/hunting market. Since MRI introduced the caliber - once considered impossible to build - several other manufacturers have begun to produce .50 Magnum (a.k.a. .50 Action Express) firearms. For our full product range see the Airsoft Guns at the Airsoft Gun Room |