Just Share for Guns Specifications

Original Eagle 357 pistol, circa 1982

 

Desert Eagle mark VII pistol, caliber .44 Magnum

 

Same Desert Eagle mark VII pistol, caliber .44 Magnum, with slide locked open to show its multi-lug rotary bolt

 

Current production Desert Eagle Mark XIX, caliber .50AE

 

The Desert Eagle Mark XIX pistol with caliber conversion kit including two additional barrels, one bolt and disassembly tool.

The Desert Eagle Pistol was conceived in 1979, when three people with an idea for creating a gas- operated, semi-automatic, magnum-caliber pistol founded Magnum Research, Inc. in St. Paul, Minnesota (USA). Early pistols, then known as Eagle 357, were announced in 1982

Magnum Research, Inc. 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. The serial numbers for these pistols start at #3001.
Development of the Desert Eagle was not yet complete, however, 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.
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. 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.
In around 1996, Magnum Research, Inc. successfully introduced the .50 Action Express Desert Eagle Pistol to fill an unmet need in the sporting/hunting market. Since Magnum Research introduced the caliber - once considered impossible to build - several other manufacturers have begun to produce .50 Magnum (a.k.a. .50 Action Express) firearms, but only one semiautomatic pistol design survived to date, and it is the Desert Eagle (there are few semi-custom or limited production revolvers and rifles made in this caliber as well). During the same period the basic design was upgraded to current Mark XIX specifications. Key improvement was the adoption of one frame size for all calibers (before that, mark I and Mark VII pistols had different frame sizes for different calibers). This unification allowed to use different barrels on same frame, permitting easy change of caliber with switch of only few components - barrel, magazine, and bolt (there are two nomenclatures of bolts used in Mark XIX pistols, one for smaller .357 Magnum ammo, and another for larger .44 Magnum and .50AE ammo; this is possible because .50AE case has rebated rim of the same diameter as .44 Magnum).
Today Desert eagle pistols are used for competition shooting (in disciplines like Silhouette shooting) as well as for hunting and general plinking (although the cost of gun and its ammunition makes it rather expensive fun gun). General belief of the Desert Eagle being used by various Special Operation forces so far found absolutely NO proofs. Indeed, for the price and weight of this empty gun one can easily have two pistols like Glock 17 or SIG-Sauer P228 plus good supply of ammunition; furthermore, these pistols will be much more reliable in severe combat conditions, and provide much bigger magazine capacity. Add to it severe recoil in its larger calibers (especially .50AE), huge muzzle blast and super-loud sound, and you'll see why only Hollywood warriors use this monster as a combat weapon. In real life, if you need a weapon more potent than a typical combat pistol (such as Glock or SIG-Sauer or Beretta or any other respectable model chambered for caliber between 9mm and .45ACP), you shall get either a rifle or submachine gun, period.
One last note - Magnum Research company, trying to capitalize on the fame of this pistol, also used Desert Eagle moniker to sell entirely different sidearm, the Jericho 941 pistol, also made in Israel by IMI. While Jericho looked like scaled-down Desert Eagle, in fact it is entirely different weapon inside, and, unlike its bigger brother, a truly useful combat weapon in its own right.

Desert Eagle is a gas operated, locked breech weapon that uses stationary (but removable) barrel. Locking is achieved using the separate rotating bolt with four radial lugs that enter the breech of the barrel for engagement with respective cuts. Bolt is inserted into open-topped slide, which is operated using gas, which is bled from the bore through the small port drilled close to the chamber. Short stroke gas piston is located below the barrel closer to the muzzle, and gas chamber is linked to the gas port with long channel, bored below the barrel. Trigger is of single action type, with exposed hammer and ambidextrous safety, located at either side of the slide. Magazines are single stack, with different configuration for each major caliber. Sights are either fixed or adjustable, both front and rear being dovetailed into the barrel and slide respectively. Recently made pistols also had top of the barrel shaped to accept scope rings directly.

9mm UZI pistol, right side.

9mm UZI pistol, left side.

UZI pistol was developed by Israel Military Industries (now IWI Ltd) during early 1980s from the famous Micro-UZI submachine gun. Intended users for the UZI pistol were various security agencies and services which wanted a high-capacity semi-automatic pistol, and civilian shooters (mostly in USA) which also wanted such gun with "cool Uzi style". Despite somewhat rough appearance UZI pistols were reliable and quite accurate. It also must be noted that 'original' UZI pistols should not be confused with full-size weapons based on semi-automatic only full-size Uzi carbines but without the shoulder stock. 

UZI pistol is blowback-operated semi-automatic weapon which fires from closed bolt. It has a stamped steel receiver and the bolt is fully enclosed inside. Bolt is of 'telescoped' design, that is, it is hollow in the front and encloses the rear part of the barrel when in battery. Uzi pistol has a single action trigger and utilizes an internal sliding striker (firing pin). manual safety of of sliding type, and is located above the grip on the left side of the gun. Magazines are of double stack design, interchangeable with other guns of Uzi family (in 9mm caliber). Sights are of open type, with flip-up rear sight, adjustable for windage

Bul "Impact" pistol, which was a predecessor to Bul "Cherokee".

Bul Cherokee full-size pistol, pre-2005 production.
Image: Bul Ltd

Bul Cherokee full-size pistol, current production.
Image: Bul Ltd

 

Bul G. Cherokee "Tactical" full-size pistol, with optional shoulder stock and fore-grip.
Image: Bul Ltd

 

Bul G. Cherokee "Spec-Ops" full-size pistol, with optional shoulder stock, silencer, red-dot sight and tactical light.
Image: Bul Ltd

Bul Cherokee Compact pistol.
Image: Bul Ltd

In around 1999 private Israeli company Bul Ltd developed a new polymer-framed pistol, intended for security, civilian self-defense and sport markets. Designated as Bul Impact, this pistol was based on Italian Tanfoglio line of pistols, itself being a modification over popular Cz-75 pistols. During early 2000s Bul replaced the Impact pistol with more modern Cherokee pistol, which retains same basic Cz-75 type action but has a polymer frame of improved shape, and is also available in several modifications, and in 2005 Bul company further improved Cherokee line with introduction of the new frame design. These pistols are widely used by Israeli security agencies, as well as by several foreign police and military special operation services.

Bul Cherokee pistols are short-recoil operated, locked breech pistols that use modified Browning-type locking. Barrel is cammed in and out its locking recesses in slide by a cam track, cut in the barrel extension located below the breech. Frame is made from polymer, with slide rails being on inner side of the frame / outer side of the slide. Recent production Cherokee pistols have two types of frames - standard and G. type, the latter having wider grip, which better suites shooters with large hands. Additional benefit of G. Cherokee pistols is that these can accept optional detachable shoulder stocks which are installed using a hollow cavity in the bottom back of the (wider) grip. Frames of all current production Cherokee pistols are provided with integral Picatinny type rail. Triggers are of double action type, with exposed hammers and frame-mounted safeties. Safety mechanism permits for "cocked and locked" carry. Magazines are of double stack design.
Bul Cherokee pistols produced in two sizes - standard (full-size) and compact, which feature same frame but shorter barrels and slides and thus are better suited for concealed carry.

Bul M5 "Government" model pistol.

 

Bul M5 "Commander" model pistol, with optional "V-jet" ported barrel.

 

Bul M5 "Ultra-X" model pistol.
Image: Bul Ltd

 

Bul M5 "Ultimate Racer" model pistol for sport shooting.
Image: Bul Ltd

The M5 pistol was developed in 1991-92 timeframe by a private Israeli company called Bul Ltd. Manufacturing of this gun commenced in 1994 and ever since it became quite popular as sporting (IPSC and IDPA), self-defense and service weapon, used by numerous police and special military forces around the world, to include Latin America, Asia and Europe. Produced in a wide spectrum of modifications, Bul M5 pistols combine time-proven design and ergonomics of legendary US M1911A1 pistol with most modern materials and production techniques.

Bul M5 is short recoil operated, locked breech pistol that uses Browning-type tilting barrel locking with single swinging link that connects breech of the barrel with the frame. Wide-body frame is produced from impact-resistant polymer and can accommodate any caliber available in M5 product line without any changes (obviously, caliber change requires swapping barrels, magazines, springs and possibly slides). The single-action trigger system is same as in M1911A1 pistol, providing high accuracy potential and efficient safety measures, combining manual frame-mounted safety and automated grip safety. Pistols utilize double-stack high capacity magazines. Bul M5 pistols are produced with two frame sizes - standard and carry / Ultra-X. Additional configurations are permitted by installation of either a standard lenght (5" / 128mm) barrel or "Commander"-style shorter barrel (4,25" / 107mm) on standard frame; Ultra-X frame is fitted only with short (3,25"/80mm) barrel. Ultra-X frames also use shorter magazines, but also can use longer magazines from full-size models.
For sport purposes Bul manufactures a wide spectrum of specially tuned pistols which may or may not have various additions such as magazine wells, compensated barrels, red-dot sight mounts etc.
These include the Ultimate-Racer, the Modified and the IPSC models. The Ultimate Racer usually comes in 0.38 Super Cal, while the Modified and IPSC in 0.40 S&W

Original Eagle 357 pistol, circa 1982.

Desert Eagle mark VII pistol, caliber .44 Magnum.

Same Desert Eagle mark VII pistol, caliber .44 Magnum, with slide locked open to show its multi-lug rotary bolt.

 

Current production Desert Eagle Mark XIX, caliber .50AE.

 

The Desert Eagle Mark XIX pistol with caliber conversion kit including two additional barrels, one bolt and disassembly tool.

The Desert Eagle Pistol was conceived in 1979, when three people with an idea for creating a gas- operated, semi-automatic, magnum-caliber pistol founded Magnum Research, Inc. in St. Paul, Minnesota (USA). Early pistols, then known as Eagle 357, were announced in 1982

Magnum Research, Inc. 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. The serial numbers for these pistols start at #3001.
Development of the Desert Eagle was not yet complete, however, 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.
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. 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.
In around 1996, Magnum Research, Inc. successfully introduced the .50 Action Express Desert Eagle Pistol to fill an unmet need in the sporting/hunting market. Since Magnum Research introduced the caliber - once considered impossible to build - several other manufacturers have begun to produce .50 Magnum (a.k.a. .50 Action Express) firearms, but only one semiautomatic pistol design survived to date, and it is the Desert Eagle (there are few semi-custom or limited production revolvers and rifles made in this caliber as well). During the same period the basic design was upgraded to current Mark XIX specifications. Key improvement was the adoption of one frame size for all calibers (before that, mark I and Mark VII pistols had different frame sizes for different calibers). This unification allowed to use different barrels on same frame, permitting easy change of caliber with switch of only few components - barrel, magazine, and bolt (there are two nomenclatures of bolts used in Mark XIX pistols, one for smaller .357 Magnum ammo, and another for larger .44 Magnum and .50AE ammo; this is possible because .50AE case has rebated rim of the same diameter as .44 Magnum).
Today Desert eagle pistols are used for competition shooting (in disciplines like Silhouette shooting) as well as for hunting and general plinking (although the cost of gun and its ammunition makes it rather expensive fun gun). General belief of the Desert Eagle being used by various Special Operation forces so far found absolutely NO proofs. Indeed, for the price and weight of this empty gun one can easily have two pistols like Glock 17 or SIG-Sauer P228 plus good supply of ammunition; furthermore, these pistols will be much more reliable in severe combat conditions, and provide much bigger magazine capacity. Add to it severe recoil in its larger calibers (especially .50AE), huge muzzle blast and super-loud sound, and you'll see why only Hollywood warriors use this monster as a combat weapon. In real life, if you need a weapon more potent than a typical combat pistol (such as Glock or SIG-Sauer or Beretta or any other respectable model chambered for caliber between 9mm and .45ACP), you shall get either a rifle or submachine gun, period.
One last note - Magnum Research company, trying to capitalize on the fame of this pistol, also used Desert Eagle moniker to sell entirely different sidearm, the Jericho 941 pistol, also made in Israel by IMI. While Jericho looked like scaled-down Desert Eagle, in fact it is entirely different weapon inside, and, unlike its bigger brother, a truly useful combat weapon in its own right.

Desert Eagle is a gas operated, locked breech weapon that uses stationary (but removable) barrel. Locking is achieved using the separate rotating bolt with four radial lugs that enter the breech of the barrel for engagement with respective cuts. Bolt is inserted into open-topped slide, which is operated using gas, which is bled from the bore through the small port drilled close to the chamber. Short stroke gas piston is located below the barrel closer to the muzzle, and gas chamber is linked to the gas port with long channel, bored below the barrel. Trigger is of single action type, with exposed hammer and ambidextrous safety, located at either side of the slide. Magazines are single stack, with different configuration for each major caliber. Sights are either fixed or adjustable, both front and rear being dovetailed into the barrel and slide respectively. Recently made pistols also had top of the barrel shaped to accept scope rings directly.

Full-size Jericho 941 pistol with slide-mounted safety/decocker.

Same gun, right side.

Full-size Jericho 941 pistol with frame mounted safety, marked as "Uzi Eagle".

Full-size Jericho 941 pistol with slide mounted safety-decocker, marked as "Desert Eagle".

Semi-compact Jericho 941 pistol.

Compact Jericho 941 pistol with steel frame.

Compact Jericho 941 pistol with polymer frame.

During the early nineties, the state-owned Israel Military Industries (IMI) company developed a conventional combat pistol, the Jericho 941. This was actually an international effort, since the design of the pistol was based on the Italian Tanfoglio system, itself a well-made clone of the Czechoslovak Cz-75 pistol. The original model index, the ‘941’, came from the two calibers initially available in this pistol, the ubiquitous 9mm Luger (9x19) and the new .41AE, which was developed in 1986 by the American company Action Arms. This cartridge, which was ballistically similar to more ‘modern’ .40 S&W, was designed to be used in 9mm pistols with minimal modifications (new barrel and return spring, and possibly new magazine), and thus had a rebated rim of the same diameter as the 9mm cartridge. Early Jericho pistols were often shipped with two sets of barrels and springs, one in 9mm and another in .41AE. The .41 was good cartridge, by no means inferior to the rival .40 S&W, but it lacked one essential feature – strong marketing support. Because of the failure to sell this caliber to the public, the .41AE has been dropped from Jericho line and replaced by more successful .40 S&W chambering, and, later on, complemented with .45ACP. Jericho pistols are widely exported from Israel, and also used by Israeli private security and police forces.
Manufacture of the Jericho pistols has been commenced with the great help (and probably certain parts) from famous Tanfoglio company of Italy; not surprisingly, design of Jericho pistols is similar to that of Tanfoglio pistols and based on famous Czechoslovak CZ-75.
One specific aspect of the Jericho pistols is that it has been imported in various countries (most notably the USA) under a variety of names, other than its original one. Its main US importer, the Magnum Research Co imported these pistols under trade marks like "Baby Eagle", "Baby Desert Eagle" and even "Desert Eagle", trying to capitalize on the commercial success of the much bigger and entirely different "Desert Eagle" pistol, also made in Israel by IMI and marketed by Magnum Research. It must be noted that unlike the original Desert Eagle, which is more of a hunting weapon, the Jericho is a true combat / self-defence weapon, comfortable to handle, carry and fire, as well as reliable and accurate.
It must be noted that recently the small arms business of IMI has been privatized, and Jericho pistols are currently made by IWI (Israeli Weapon Industries) Ltd.

Jericho 941 are locked breech, short recoil operated pistols, which are available with either a steel (all models) or polymer frame (only compact and semi-compact models). Locking is of the conventional Browning type, with cam-controlled barrel tilting and dual locking lugs located on the barrel just ahead of the chamber area. The slide rails are located inside the frame, as in all pistols patterned after the CZ-75. There are three basic configurations of pistol: standard, semi-compact (standard frame and short slide and barrel), and compact (short slide and barrel, short grip). Triggers are double-action, with an exposed hammer. Typical safety arrangements may include either a frame mounted safety (left side of frame only) which may lock the hammer cocked or not, or a slide-mounted ambidextrous safety which decocks the hammer automatically when engaged. Barrels have polygonal rifling. Sights are fixed, both front and rear sights being dovetailed to the slide. Magazines are double-stack; the capacity varies with caliber.

How to field-strip (disassemble) Jericho / Baby Eagle pistol: 1) remove the magazine by pressing the magazine release button; 2) check that the chamber is empty; 3) Put your left thumb through the trigger guard and with the other fingers grasp the top of the front part of the slide firmly. Retract the slide slightly back until the two vertical notches on the rear part of the frame and slide are aligned with each other; 4) while holding the slide in position as described above, push the slide stop pin inwards from the right side of the frame, then pull the slide stop out of the frame from the left side; 5) push the slide and barrel assembly forward and out of the frame; 6) Remove the return spring from below the barrel; 7) pull the barrel out of the slide.
Reassemble in reverse order.