Desert pistol. Sample Desert Eagle: myths and reality

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Gun Desert Eagle it is also supplied for other purposes with combat sighting devices, including a permanent rear sight with a rectangular slot and a front sight. The sight and front sight are also mounted in transverse grooves. The sight is on the bolt frame, the front sight is on the barrel, and they can be selected individually. In the factory version, permanent sights are placed on the pistol. Can also be installed rear sight, adjustable in height and lateral displacement. For shooting at dusk, the rear sight and front sight can be equipped with luminous dots according to the trijikon system - three white dots, two white and one green, and so on.

Shock- trigger mechanism Desert Eagle - non-self-cocking, with a half-open trigger and a helical mainspring. In the lowered position, the trigger does not touch the tail of the drummer. The trigger rod branch serves both as a disconnector and an automatic fuse - it is located under the bolt carrier in such a way that the cocking of the trigger is possible only when the bolt is fully locked. The flag non-automatic fuse blocks the drummer and disconnects the trigger and the trigger sear. The flag is mounted in the recesses of the bolt carrier on both sides. The double-sided safety has become a very common solution today, which makes it possible to make the pistol equally convenient for shooting from either hand. The standard sear assembly can be replaced with a device that allows you to adjust the trigger force - with a conventional sear, many shooters report a tight trigger.

pistol grip Desert Eagle has plastic cheeks, made as a single "wrapping" part and fastened to the frame with a screw. The shooter's palm is protected from pinching by its cocked trigger by a strongly developed rear protrusion of the frame. The shape of the trigger guard with a front bend is designed to hold the weapon with two hands, and this must be admitted, it is very important, since aimed shooting from such a pistol is possible, mainly from two hands.

Food is supplied from a box-shaped metal magazine. The magazine feeder has a helical spring, and numbered holes are made in the walls of the case to control the presence of cartridges. The capacity of stores for cartridges of various calibers is as follows: for .357 "magnum" - 9, for .41 and .44 "magnum" - 8 and for .50 AE - 7 cartridges. The store button latch is located behind the trigger guard. When the cartridges are used up, the magazine feeder turns on the slide delay. Its lever is placed on the left above the pistol grip. "Desert Eagle" with a six-inch barrel, if desired, can be carried in a holster. True, as a rule, these are small open holsters in the form of a loop or “sandwich” with a leaf spring. Carrying such a "monster" in an axillary operational holster would hardly be convenient for anyone.

As befits an Israeli weapon, the "Desert Eagle" is quite unpretentious and easy to handle. In the case of prevention, it is disassembled into six parts: a frame with a trigger mechanism, a bolt carrier with a bolt, a barrel with a gas vent, a piston, a return mechanism, and a magazine. Disassembly is carried out in the following order: first, remove the magazine and make sure that there is no cartridge in the chamber; then press the axis of the barrel lock on the left (at the top of the trigger guard) and turn counterclockwise the lock flag located on the right; after that trunk
it is removed from the frame forward - this must be done carefully so as not to lose the piston placed in the gas chamber; now you can separate the bolt carrier with the bolt and remove the return mechanism from the pistol frame.

« Desert Eagle"caliber .357 with a six-inch barrel has good accuracy of battle: a series of 10 shots at a distance of 25 yards (about 23 m) fits into a circle with a diameter of no more than 6.3 cm. However, a considerable merit in this massiveness of the weapon itself is one of the most heavy and large pistols of recent times. According to IMI and Magnum Research, a six-inch barrel allows aimed fire at a range of up to 200 m, and a 14-inch barrel up to 300 m, but hopes for such high accuracy seem unfounded. Although the weight reached 2.05 kg in the .50 AE version, this did not affect the recoil force. The weight of the "Desert Eagle" is indeed too big and exceeds the acceptable for a personal weapon, therefore, to make it easier, they tried to make the frame from an aluminum alloy. The weight of the caliber .44 modification with a steel frame and a 6-inch barrel length is 1.81 kg, and with an aluminum one - 1.58 kg. However, the aluminum frame is less durable and breaks down faster with powerful cartridges. On the other hand, the gun frame can also be made of stainless steel.

"Desert Eagle" quickly rose to prominence. In the spirit of our time, weapons that were born as sports weapons began to be offered as combat, more precisely, as a powerful assault pistol for special forces of the army and police, fighters of counter-terrorism units. It was supposed to produce an "assault" version under .41 AE or 9x19 "parabellum". Gun " Desert Eagle"offered in eight finishes: polished blue bluing, the same, but with gilded levers, nickel-plated steel, shiny nickel, matt, semi-gloss or shiny chrome, and finally, gilding all external metal surfaces. This has nothing to do with the combat qualities of pistols, but it increases the price of weapons.

The performance characteristics of the Desert Eagle
Weight, kg: from 1.6 (aluminum Mark I/VII) to 2 (steel Mark XIX)
Length, mm:
269 (Mark VII)
273/374 (6/10" barrels; Mark XIX)
Barrel length, mm: 152/254 (barrels 6/10 inches)
Grooves: 6 right-hand, polygonal
Cartridge: Unitary caliber cartridges
.50 Action Express,
.440 Corbon
.44 Magnum
.41 Magnum
.357 Magnum
Principles of operation: removal of powder gases, locking by turning the shutter
Type of ammunition supply: stores with a capacity
9 rounds of caliber .357,
8 cartridges caliber.44,
7 rounds of .50 caliber

Marking
"DESERT EAGLE .357 MAGNUM PISTOL. ISRAEL MILITARY INDUSTRIES" on the left side of the casing-bolt frame.

MENSBY

4.6

The Desert Eagle pistol is recognizable throughout the world and enjoys a reputation as a superweapon among pistols. Even when meeting large predator the chances of staying alive with the Desert Eagle pistol are quite high.

The Desert Eagle pistol did not gain fame on military service or in special units, however, is rightfully one of the most famous pistols in the world. It can safely be called a legendary model. small arms which gained popularity among the masses. The popularization of the pistol was largely facilitated by computer games, as well as various films in which it was often used because of its impressive size and awesome appearance.

The Desert Eagle pistol (translated as "Desert Eagle") is a self-loading pistol large caliber.50 (12.7 mm, wait a minute, this is a caliber heavy machine guns). It was created in 1983 and is the fruit of joint work the American company Magnum Research and the Israeli company Israel Military Industries, she was also engaged in its production for a long time. The pistol was originally positioned as a hunting weapon, as well as a weapon for self-defense against various wild animals and encroachments by criminal elements.

Huge in size, an angular pistol weighing up to two kilograms is recognizable all over the world and it is not in vain that it has a reputation as a superweapon among pistols. This is largely due to a very powerful unitary cartridge - .50 Action Express (12.7x32.6 mm). This ammunition is considered one of the most "lethal" pistol ammunition on the planet. The cartridge is distinguished by the presence of a 20-gram blunt bullet with a really huge stopping power. Of course, hunting a bear or other large forest dwellers with such a pistol is a rather dubious idea, but even when meeting with a large predator, you will have a chance to stay alive if you have a Desert Eagle pistol at hand.

The original patent application for the new pistol was filed by Bernard S. White of the American company Magnum Research in January 1983. In the future, this patent served as the basis for the development of the Desert Eagle pistol, the first working copy of which was released in the United States in the same year. After that, the pistol was finalized in the Israeli company Israel Military Industries and in December 1985 received a second patent, which finally approved the characteristics and appearance weapons that were put into mass production. The pistol is in stable demand on the market despite the rather high price, depending on the model and caliber, it starts at about $1600, for example, the Desert Eagle, .357 Magnum, Black model will cost a US resident today $1572.

Initially, the mass production of the new pistol was deployed in Israel on production facilities Israel Military Industries, in 1995-2000 it was moved to the Saco Defense plant in Maine, USA, but then returned to Israel in connection with the acquisition of the Saco plant by General Dynamics. Since 2009, the pistol has been re-produced in the USA by Magnum Research. Today, the pistol is available in three main calibers: .357 (magazine capacity 9 rounds), .44 (magazine capacity 8 rounds) and .50 (magazine capacity 7 rounds).

The original goal of Magnum Research representatives was to create a new, truly unique sports and hunting self-loading pistol under one of the most powerful revolving cartridges at that time. 357 Magnum (9x33 mm). New pistol was supposed to compete with revolvers of the same caliber in sport shooting at silhouettes at long distances and hunting. It is worth noting that hunting with “one-handed weapons” is quite popular in the USA - large revolvers that can be hung with various tactical accessories and optics. In this regard, a new hunting pistol under a powerful cartridge would be guaranteed to find its buyers, and so it turned out in the end.

From a technical point of view, the Desert Eagle pistol was designed according to a scheme that is not typical for self-loading pistols, but for automatic rifles. In his automation, the designers used the principle of removing powder gases for reloading. The exhaust pipe is located under the barrel of the pistol, and the powder gases are discharged directly to the bolt carrier. Locking is performed by turning the bolt head. The bolt itself and locking with lugs (larvae) resembles the mechanism that was implemented in the famous American M16 automatic rifle. The use by the designers of a pistol of such a system was dictated, among other things, by the power of the cartridges used, which are superior to those usually used in self-loading pistols. The use of the most powerful .50 Action Express cartridge (12.7 × 32.6 mm) made the Desert Eagle pistol competitive in areas previously dominated exclusively by revolvers. Cartridge .50 Action Express was developed in 1988 specifically for this pistol model. The energy of his expansive bullet weighing 19 grams is 2200 joules.

The pistol bolt has four lugs that engage with the breech breech. The pistol uses a trigger-type trigger, the fuse is mechanical, double-sided, it blocks the bolt of the weapon. Desert Eagle sights are open, non-adjustable. The pistol is equipped with single-row magazines, designed for 7-9 rounds, depending on the caliber of the weapon.
When fired, powder gases are vented through a hole located in the immediate vicinity of the chamber, after which they are directed through the bore into the front of the barrel to the short-stroke piston. Then the piston pushes back the massive bolt of the pistol, after which the spent cartridge case is extracted. The piston and exhaust pipe of the Desert Eagle pistol, located in the barrel, define the signature recognizable massive silhouette of the weapon. Brutality to weapons is enough large dimensions also gives a characteristic muzzle, which has a triangular shape. The large length of the pistol is dictated by the relatively large stroke of the bolt carrier.

Since the start of mass production, several models of the Desert Eagle pistol have been created. The Mark I and Mark VII models have already been discontinued. The features of the Mark I model were a number of differences in the design of the pistol (the location of the cheek of the handle, the fire switch). The Mark VII model was distinguished by the presence of a Weaver rail on the barrel, which made it possible to install various additional accessories on the weapon: tactical lights, laser designators, optical sights. Also, this model received an adjustable trigger. Pistols of these models could use .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum cartridges. The most modern modifications of the pistol are produced exclusively on the basis of the Mark XIX model. It was created on the basis of the Mark VII pistol and is available today in three calibers .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .50 Action Express, also differing in barrel length - 6 or 10 inches. At the same time, re-equipping a pistol for the use of cartridges of a different caliber can be done quite simply: replace the barrel, magazine and bolt. You can also perform these steps in field conditions.

The length of the Desert Eagle pistol, even with the shortest 6-inch (152 mm) barrel, is 27 centimeters. Such dimensions make the weapon extremely impractical in urban firefight conditions, as well as inconvenient to carry in Everyday life and unprofitable option as a means of self-defense. Besides big size cartridges used with a pistol has led to the fact that its handle, in which a single-row magazine is placed, is very inconvenient for coverage. It is difficult for people with a small palm to even simply hold this weapon, not to mention firing from it.

Due to its large size, strong recoil, high weight, and small magazine capacity, this pistol was never considered by the special services or the military as a suitable weapon. It is worth noting that the manufacturer has never positioned the Desert Eagle as an army or police weapon, always emphasizing its hunting purpose. Moreover, the Desert Eagle pistol has never been tested in difficult operating conditions, the weapon is considered very sensitive to care. All this did not prevent this pistol from earning the image of an ultimatum weapon, sometimes it is even called a “hand gun”, in many ways this image is actively cultivated by computer games and the film industry. In any case, this is exactly the case when the caliber matters and the pistol is rightfully considered one of the most powerful representatives of small arms. The Desert Eagle was originally created for hunting big game and protecting the shooter from dangerous large animals, the .50 Action Express cartridge has a very strong stopping effect, and the manufacturer claims that the weapon is able to protect the owner even from a hippopotamus.

Due to the heavy weight, which can reach two kilograms, the pistol is very difficult to hold correctly. The high power of the cartridge leads to very strong recoil when firing, as well as a very loud sound of the shot. In fact, in enclosed spaces firing this pistol while using .50 Action Express ammunition may cause injury to the shooter's hearing aid even if the shooter is wearing special ear protection. Therefore, .50AE cartridges are simply prohibited in many indoor ranges. When fired from a pistol, a large tongue of flame arises, which breaks out of the barrel, which is not equipped with a flame arrester. It is very easy to detect the position of the shooter from this flash, and at dusk the flash from one's own shot temporarily blinds the shooter.

The recoil when firing from such a "hand gun" when using .50 caliber cartridges is great even when holding the weapon with two hands, although it is lower than that of other types of small arms of this caliber. The recoil is lower due to the lower initial velocity and mass of the bullet, as well as due to the implemented automation mechanism, which stretches the transmission of the shot recoil impulse to the shooter over time. When fired, for right-handers, the gun goes to the left, for left-handers - to the right, which is typical for any firearm. But due to the very powerful .50AE caliber cartridge, this effect is most pronounced in the Desert Eagle pistol. Experts note that if the grip is not strong enough or the shooter's muscles are not strong enough, recoil when fired can lead to a blow to the face with a pistol.

It can be unequivocally said that as a service Desert weapons Eagle loses to almost any pistol. It is inconvenient to wear, and covertly and completely impossible. Strong recoil when fired makes the shooter think more about how not to drop the gun from his hands than about hitting an enemy hiding behind cover. Even special power can also be attributed to the minuses in official use, such a pistol is simply not needed for shooting “only” at people. Despite all their obvious shortcomings, the pistol is in strong demand in the market, as evidenced by the huge number of modifications that are available to customers on official websites.

Perhaps one of the main purposes of the pistol, in addition to direct sports shooting and hunting, was a film career in which the weapon really achieved great success. The Magnum Research website even created a special section that can be called the official "portfolio": it lists all art films, in which the Desert Eagle pistol managed to appear.

Video of Desert Eagle pistols

Copy cost $1,400-2,100 Options: Mark I, Mark VII, Mark XIX Characteristics Weight, kg: 1.6 (aluminum Mark I/VII) to 2 (steel Mark XIX) Length, mm: 269 (Mark VII)
273/374 (6/10" barrels; Mark XIX) Barrel length, mm: 152/254 (6/10" barrels) Cartridge : Unitary cartridges of calibers

.50 Action Express,
.440 Corbon
.44 Magnum
.41 Magnum
.357 Magnum

Work principles : removal of powder gases, locking by turning the shutter Type of ammunition: stores with a capacity

9 rounds of caliber .357,
8 cartridges caliber.44,
7 rounds of .50 caliber

Pictures on Wikimedia Commons: Desert Eagle

general description

From a technical point of view, the Desert Eagle is built according to a scheme that is not typical for self-loading pistols, but for automatic rifles: the principle of removing powder gases for reloading is used in automation. The vent tube is located under the barrel, powder gases are discharged directly to the bolt carrier. Locking is carried out by turning the bolt head. In general, the bolt and locking with lugs (larvae) resembles the mechanism of the M16 automatic rifle.

Due to the need for a vapor tube, the Desert Eagle barrel looks more massive than the barrels of other pistols. Also, due to the need for space for the movement of the bolt carrier, the gun turned out to be quite long. Except great length, the disadvantage of the vapor mechanism is the requirement to use cartridges with bullets in a copper sheath (sheathed, semi-sheathed or expansive).

The use of a vapor mechanism allowed the use of much more powerful cartridges than those commonly used in self-loading pistols. The use of powerful cartridges .50 Action Express (12.7x32.6mm) makes the Desert Eagle competitive in areas previously completely occupied by revolvers.

Used ammunition

On the this moment, Desert Eagle pistols can be converted to the following calibers: .50 Action Express, .44 Magnum, .357 Magnum. The conversion is done by replacing the bolt, magazine, and barrel, and can be done in the field.

The production and sale of accessories for caliber .440 Cor-bon and .41 Magnum ammunition has been discontinued.

Magnum Research, the developer of the Desert Eagle pistols, warns that it is preferable to use ammunition that is partially coated with a copper jacket - as opposed to ammunition in which the lead core of the bullet is open from the sides. Due to the large muzzle energy of the pistol, soft lead rubbing against the walls of the barrel sticks to them, polluting the gas outlet tube. It is quite difficult to clean off this lead afterwards. In addition, hot lead will coat the reload piston and return spring, which can cause misfires and make the gun inoperable. In addition, Magnum Research does not recommend the use of ammunition reloaded from spent .

Story

Types of cutting the trunk. The one on the far right is the polygonal one used in the Desert Eagle.

The first batch of 1,000 .357 Magnum pistols is a collector's item today because their barrels are traditionally cut, and these pistols cannot be converted to other calibers.

Mass production of the pistol was started at the Israel Military Industries factories in Israel. In -2000, it was transferred to the Saco Defense factory in Maine in the USA, and then returned to the Israel Military Industries factories again in connection with the purchase of the Saco factory by General Dynamics.

However, with the right handle, you can deal with powerful recoil without much difficulty. Even after hundreds of shots in .50 Action Express, your hands won't get tired. This is primarily a matter of properly selected, comfortable handle and experience. Additional funds recoil reductions include, among other things, special barrel processing (a link to the website of the company producing such processing is located on the FAQ page of the website of Magnum Research, the developer of the Desert Eagle).

Balance

The Desert Eagle with an open magazine and a standard 6" barrel is a bit heavy on the barrel. The Desert Eagle is best balanced with a fully loaded magazine and a round in the chamber. The Desert Eagle can be fired while holding it with one hand, but is generally considered a pistol designed to be fired while holding the pistol with two hands.

Reliability

Desert Eagle pistols are very sensitive to care and have never been tested in difficult conditions, as they were developed as specialized weapons for hunting, not for service use.

Dimensions

The length of the Desert Eagle pistol with the shortest, 6-inch (152 mm) barrel is 26 centimeters. Such dimensions make it impractical in an urban shootout, uncomfortable to wear in everyday life and unprofitable as a means of self-defense. In addition, the large size of the ammunition has led to the fact that the handle of the pistol, in which the magazine is placed, is extremely inconvenient to grip - it is difficult for people with a small palm to even simply hold this pistol, let alone shoot it.

Price

The price of the Desert Eagle exceeds the price of many revolvers and other pistols of the same caliber. Desert Eagle in the base configuration costs from 1400 to 2100 US dollars. Custom fit and custom fit add another $250 to $500.

Use in the military

Movies and games

The image of the Desert Eagle is often used in movies and games. Most notable appearances:

Movies

A complete list of films in which the Desert Eagle was used can be found on the manufacturer's website.

The debut of Desert Eagle pistols in the cinema took place in the film "Year of the Dragon" with Mickey Rourke in 1985.
In the movie Lost Highway, Mr. Eddie is armed with it.
In the movie Her Name Was Nikita, Nikita uses a Desert Eagle in a restaurant scene.
In The Matrix trilogy, the Agents are armed with the Desert Eagle.
Desert Eagle pistols are used in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
In the Predator movies, Earth soldiers use the Desert Eagle.
In the films of the Raven cycle, Desert Eagle pistols are also used.
In the comedy "Nothing to Lose" the protagonist Nick Beam gets "injured" in right hand from Desert Eagle.
Goldmember from the 3rd Austin Powers movie is armed with a golden Desert Eagle.
In the movie Taxi 3, at the beginning of the film, when the hero of Sylvester Stallone wants to take the skate from the boys, they take out pistols. One of them is a black Desert Eagle.
Desert Eagle pistols are often featured in films featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. For example, they were used in the films The Last Action Hero and The Eraser. The character of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film "Red Heat" has "the best in the world - the Soviet pistol of the Podgelin system of 9.2 mm caliber", the role of which is played by a really rare Desert Eagle .357 pistol in sports performance.
In the movie Snatch, Tony, nicknamed "Bullet in the Teeth", uses a .50 Desert Eagle. True, they say that in fact, in the frame, a .357 Desert Eagle with the words "DESERT EAGLE .50 AE CAL" engraved on the side.
In the film "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man", Mickey Rourke's Hero takes the Desert Eagle from the robbers and gives it to his friend, Marlboro, for his birthday.
In the movie Showdown in Little Tokyo, Dolph Lundgren's Hero - Chris Kenner is armed with a Desert Eagle.
In the Hellsing anime series (Gonzo studio, 2003), Peter Ferguson, the commander of the Hellsing Special Forces organization (Squad A), is armed with a Desert Eagle Mark XIX pistol.
Desert Eagle is used by one of the heroines of the anime series Pirates of the Black Lagoon.
Many characters in the films Crank and Crank 2: High Voltage also use the Desert Eagle.
This pistol is used by Loc Dog, the protagonist of Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Block. The film uses a modification with an optical sight and a laser designator.
In Comtemplating Reiko, a demon husband gives his wife a Desert Eagle Mark XIX for her anniversary.
Also in From Paris with Love, the gun appears at the very end of the film.
The main villain in the movie Resident Evil: Afterlife is armed with two Desert Eagle pistols.
In the anime series Burst Angel, the main character Joe prefers Desert Eagle IMI (Israel Military Industries) pistols.
In The Slum Saints, Desert Eagle pistols are present on two Russian gangsters who were about to kill brothers Connor and Murphy McManus.
In The Slum Saints 2: All Saints Day, brothers Connor and Murphy McManus use Desert Eagle pistols.
In the movie "Bad Lieutenant" (2009) with the participation of Nicolas Cage.
In The Wire, Omar Little uses a Desert Eagle to shoot through a bulletproof shop wall.
In the film The Green Hornet (2011), the city's chief mobster, Benjamin Chudnofsky / Krowonovsky, is armed with a double-barreled pistol resembling a Desert Eagle.
In the movie Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse, Police Officer LJ and Special Forces Carlos Olivera are each armed with two "Desert Eagles"
In the film "Blood Out", the main mafioso, nicknamed "ZET", is armed with a Desert Eagle.
In the Elfen Lied anime series, a Bando soldier is armed with two Desert Eagle pistols.
In the anime series Najica Blitz Tactics, a partner is armed with a Desert Eagle pistol with an elongated barrel main character Najiki Leela.
In the movie Ninja-Assassin, before the main plot, the boss of the gang is armed with two gold-plated Desert Eagles.
In the movie Desperate, the protagonist El Mariachi was armed with it, and in the course of the film the Desert Eagle is found in many heroes.

Computer games

In the games Max Payne, Max Payne 2 and Max Payne 3, the protagonist and his opponents are armed with Desert Eagle pistols. Remarkably, in the second part, the use of two such pistols at the same time is implemented, although in practice aimed shooting in this way is impossible.
The game Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive features a seven-shot Desert Eagle available to both teams; because of its power it is one of the most popular weapons in Game.
In the Fallout and Fallout 2 games, the Desert Eagle is a good weapon among pistols, but the opportunity to get it does not appear immediately, and soon (with the growth of the parameters of potential opponents) it becomes ineffective.
In the game Half-Life: Opposing Force, the protagonist Adrian Shepard is armed with a Desert Eagle with a laser target designator.
In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. you can also find the Desert Eagle from a dead stalker named Freeman in the Wild Territory. There are two fictitious modifications of this pistol in the game: chambered for .45 ACP and SP-5 (9x39). This pistol also appears in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (Black Hawk Down). You can also find a non-existent modification *Big Ben* for a rifle cartridge there.
In 25 To Life, Sean Calderon uses a Desert Eagle chambered in .50 AE, and the player also has two or one Desert Eagle.
In Game

The Desert Eagle pistol did not gain fame in the army or in special units, but it is rightfully one of the most famous pistols in the whole world. It can be safely called a legendary model of small arms, which has gained fame among the masses. The popularization of the pistol was largely facilitated by computer games, as well as various films in which it was often used because of its impressive size and intimidating appearance.

The Desert Eagle pistol (translated as "Desert Eagle") is a self-loading pistol of large caliber .50 (12.7 mm, for a minute, this is the caliber of heavy machine guns). It was created in 1983 and is the fruit of the joint efforts of the American company Magnum Research and the Israeli company Israel Military Industries, which has also been producing it for a long time. The pistol was originally positioned as a hunting weapon, as well as a weapon for self-defense against various wild animals and encroachments by criminal elements.

The original patent application for the new pistol was filed by Bernard S. White of the American company Magnum Research in January 1983. In the future, this patent served as the basis for the development of the Desert Eagle pistol, the first working copy of which was released in the United States in the same year. After that, the pistol was finalized by the Israeli company Israel Military Industries and in December 1985 received a second patent, which finally approved the characteristics and appearance of the weapon, which was put into mass production. The pistol is in stable demand on the market despite the rather high price, depending on the model and caliber, it starts at about $1600, for example, the Desert Eagle, .357 Magnum, Black model will cost a US resident today $1572.

Initially, mass production of the new pistol was deployed in Israel at the production facilities of Israel Military Industries, in 1995-2000 it was transferred to the Saco Defense plant in Maine, USA, but then returned to Israel in connection with the acquisition of the Saco plant by General Dynamics. Since 2009, the pistol has been re-produced in the USA by Magnum Research. Today, the pistol is available in three main calibers: .357 (magazine capacity 9 rounds), .44 (magazine capacity 8 rounds) and .50 (magazine capacity 7 rounds).

The original goal of the Magnum Research representatives was to create a new, truly unique sports and hunting self-loading pistol for one of the most powerful revolving cartridges at that time. 357 Magnum (9x33 mm). The new pistol was supposed to compete with revolvers of the same caliber in long-range silhouette shooting and hunting. It is worth noting that hunting with “one-handed weapons” is quite popular in the USA - large revolvers that can be hung with various tactical accessories and optics. In this regard, a new hunting pistol under a powerful cartridge would be guaranteed to find its buyers, and so it turned out in the end.

When fired, powder gases are vented through a hole located in the immediate vicinity of the chamber, after which they are directed through the bore into the front of the barrel to the short-stroke piston. Then the piston pushes back the massive bolt of the pistol, after which the spent cartridge case is extracted. The piston and exhaust pipe of the Desert Eagle pistol, located in the barrel, define the signature recognizable massive silhouette of the weapon. The characteristic muzzle cut, which has a triangular shape, also gives brutality to weapons of already sufficiently large dimensions. The large length of the pistol is dictated by the relatively large stroke of the bolt carrier.

The length of the Desert Eagle pistol, even with the shortest 6-inch (152 mm) barrel, is 27 centimeters. Such dimensions make the weapon extremely impractical in an urban shootout, as well as inconvenient to carry in everyday life and an unprofitable option as a means of self-defense. In addition, the large size of the cartridges used with the pistol has led to the fact that its handle, in which a single-row magazine is placed, is very inconvenient to grip. It is difficult for people with a small palm to even simply hold this weapon, not to mention firing from it.

Due to the heavy weight, which can reach two kilograms, the pistol is very difficult to hold correctly. The high power of the cartridge leads to very strong recoil when firing, as well as a very loud sound of the shot. In fact, indoors, firing this pistol with .50 Action Express ammunition can cause injury to the shooter's hearing aid, even if he uses special headphones. Therefore, .50AE cartridges are simply prohibited in many indoor ranges. When fired from a pistol, a large tongue of flame arises, which breaks out of the barrel, which is not equipped with a flame arrester. It is very easy to detect the position of the shooter from this flash, and at dusk the flash from one's own shot temporarily blinds the shooter.

It can be unequivocally said that as a service weapon, the Desert Eagle loses to almost any pistol. It is inconvenient to wear, and covertly and completely impossible. Strong recoil when fired makes the shooter think more about how not to drop the gun from his hands than about hitting an enemy hiding behind cover. Even special power can also be attributed to the minuses in official use, such a pistol is simply not needed for shooting “only” at people. Despite all its obvious shortcomings, the pistol is in strong demand in the market, as evidenced by the huge number of modifications that are available to customers on official websites.

Perhaps one of the main purposes of the pistol, in addition to direct sports shooting and hunting, was a film career in which the weapon achieved really great success. A special section was even created on the Magnum Research website, which can be called the official "portfolio": it lists all the feature films in which the Desert Eagle pistol managed to appear.

Information sources:
http://www.armoury-online.ru/articles/pistols/israel/DE
https://militaryarms.ru/oruzhie/pistolety/desert-eagle
http://army-news.ru/2015/08/testiruem-legendarnyj-desert-eagle
Materials from open sources

An early version of the Desert Eagle pistol chambered for .357 Magnum

One of the largest pistols in the world, the Desert Eagle, is the result of joint work American firm Magnum Research and Israeli IMI (Israel Military Industries). The goal of the founders of Magnum Research was to create a sports and hunting self-loading pistol chambered for one of the most powerful revolver cartridges - .357 Magnum, which could compete with revolvers of the same caliber in long-range silhouette sport shooting and hunting. Work on this project began in 1978. The first patents were obtained in 1980, and the next prototype was ready. However, the weapon required serious improvement. In particular, it was necessary to increase the reliability of the automation, the principle of operation of which was borrowed from assault rifle M16 - removal of part of the powder gases from the bore and locking with a rotary bolt. The use of such a system is dictated by the power of the cartridge.

In order to improve the design, the creators of the pistol began cooperation with the Israeli IMI, a company with many years of experience in the design and manufacture of small arms. In 1982, the Eagle 357 pistol, launched into mass production in Israel, began to go on sale. The first 1000 copies had a light alloy frame, later replaced by steel. In 1985, the trunks now began with polygonal profile rifling, instead of a hexagonal one, and the pistol itself was given a new name - Desert Eagle (Desert Eagle). The Mark I variant was produced with a light alloy, carbon steel and stainless steel frame. Other options differed mainly in the shape of the safety lever and the cheeks of the handle. The Mark VII had an adjustable trigger. The Mark I and Mark VII were chambered in .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, and .44 Magnum. The frames of the Mark VII, sub-.357 Magnum variants and those using larger caliber cartridges differ in size. In 1989, a modification of the Mark VII, which received increased levers for the safety lever and slide delay, as well as a slightly modified trigger mechanism. The Mark VII barrel has dovetail slots at the top for attaching attachments. In 1995 - 2000 production was transferred to the Saco Defense factory in the United States, and then returned to the Israel Military Industries factories in connection with the purchase of the Saco factory by General Dynamics. In 1996, the most powerful of all the Desert Eagle variants was introduced and put into production, using the .50 AE cartridge specially designed for it.

Desert Eagle pistol chambered for .44 Magnum

Cartridge .50 AE (far right) compared to cartridges 9mm Parabellum, 7.62x25, .357 SIG, 10mm Auto, .40 S&W and .45 GAP (left to right)

The caliber of the bullet in the metric system of measures is 12.7 mm, and the length of the sleeve is 33 mm. The muzzle energy is 1500 - 1800 J. The rim has a smaller diameter than the sleeve itself and coincides with the diameter of the rim of the .44 Magnum cartridge case, due to which the pistol caliber can be changed by replacing only the barrel and magazine. But to adapt the pistol to use the .357 Magnum cartridge, the bolt and casing must also be replaced, since the flange diameters in this case do not match. Standard barrel can be replaced with barrels greater length. Changing the caliber and barrel length makes the weapon more versatile in use, which is especially important for hunters. However, the main change in the design of the 50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol was the new “platform”, that is, the frame, as well as the bolt and casing of increased dimensions. Currently, all variants of the pistol are produced on this "platform", designated Mark XIX. This allows the shooter to purchase one pistol for any cartridge, from .357 Magnum to .50 AE, and subsequently, without purchasing a new weapon, change the caliber by purchasing only a few necessary components, which is very profitable from a financial point of view. The Desert Eagle is currently being produced in the USA.

Automation works according to the scheme with the removal of part of the powder gases from the bore. The bore is locked by a rotary bolt with four lugs. Through the vent hole in the barrel wall, located in front of the chamber, part of the powder gases enters through the vent channel forward, and then down into the vent chamber. Then the gases act on the piston, which transmits an impulse to the bolt carrier (casing), which, moving back, turns the bolt with four lugs, unlocking the bore. The trigger mechanism is hammer, single action with a safety cocked trigger. A double-sided safety lever is located at the rear of the casing. The shutter delay lever is located on the left side of the frame. The magazine latch is located at the base of the trigger guard. Shop with a single-row arrangement of cartridges. Sights consist of a front sight and a rear sight with the possibility of making lateral corrections, but adjustable micrometric rear sights can also be installed. Weapons can be mounted Various types optical and collimator sights, laser designators and tactical lights. Early release pistols had aluminum alloy frames. Then they began to produce weapons entirely from weapons steel or stainless steel. Various coating options are used: blue bluing; blue bluing with gilding; chrome plating with a matte and semi-matte surface, as well as under polished steel; nickel plating; gilding and a combination of various coatings.

Muzzle flashes when fired from DE 50 gauge

The Desert Eagle has never been used and, moreover, was not in service with the special forces or law enforcement in any country in the world. This weapon was not originally designed for combat use. Here are a few factors that do not allow the use of this gun for such purposes: huge dimensions and a very large mass do not allow convenient or, all the more so, covertly carrying this weapon; it is impossible to quickly remove the gun if necessary; low magazine capacity even when using the smallest caliber cartridge; bullets of cartridges designed for hunting medium and large animals and shooting at long distances, hitting a person, go right through, creating great danger damage to third parties; pistols using .44 Magnum and .50 AE cartridges when fired create a huge amount of recoil and a very large muzzle flash, which does not allow you to quickly re-aim or aim the weapon at the next target; insufficient reliability of work - delays in firing with irregular care; very high ammo cost.

Pistol Disadvantages

One of the biggest problems with shooting Desert Eagle The 44, and in particular the 50, is extremely strong recoil and kick when fired, combined with a deafening sound. The recoil force of the 50 caliber DE is huge, but somewhat less than that of large-caliber revolvers using cartridges of similar power, due to the use of automation and the stretching of the recoil momentum over time. If you hold the gun incorrectly, when fired, the spent cartridge case will fly right into the face of the shooter. There is no need to talk about the consequences here. In addition, with a weak “grip”, the gun will simply hit the shooter with the barrel on the head. The Desert Eagle is used primarily for sport shooting at long range silhouette targets and occasionally for hunting with handguns on medium and even large game, thanks to the spread in the United States of hunting with a revolver, which has officially existed since the 1930s and is quite popular.

Options for the Desert Eagle pistol

A .44 Desert Eagle pistol with a laser pointer in the hands of Michael Harrigan (Danny Glover). The film "Predator 2" 1990.

Desert Eagle was the service weapon of agents in the famous trilogy "The Matrix"

Owner reviews

The owner's impressions of the reliability of the Desert Eagle: “The main drawback of the DE is its magazines, the thin lips of which are severely deformed when the magazine falls on a hard surface, after which the cartridge will already sit at the wrong angle, which leads to inevitable delays in the form of sticking when feeding. The gun is very sensitive to the quality of the cartridges. For example, there were delays when using cartridges with steel cases, while they did not occur with copper cases. Sometimes the shutter-casing is blocked by a shutter delay, regardless of the number of cartridges remaining in the magazine. It's also a very embarrassing moment. No matter how much I tried, how much I didn’t train, anyway, for 50-100 shots, at least one cartridge case, but it will fly in the forehead! Once it flew right in the eye, but, according to safety precautions, I was wearing glasses. If you slightly loosen the grip, the trajectory of the flight of the sleeve changes dramatically, towards the face of the shooter. The cheeks of the handle are made in appearance of very cheap plastic, and hard. If the hand is wet or in oil, it will slip very much. And with such a return, it is not very pleasant and quite fraught. Therefore, plastic cheeks should be immediately replaced with rubber ones. In summary, the main drawback of the gun is the low reliability of operation. Not a single trip with him to the shooting range was complete without at least one delay for one reason or another.

Popularity in games and movies

The Desert Eagle is very popular in movies and computer games Oh. DE has been seen very often in various action and fantasy action films since the mid-1980s. Beginning in 1984 and the Year of the Dragon films, Desert Eagle's films included the RoboCop trilogy, Predator 2, Eraser, Commando, Alien vs. Predator, Underworld, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and great amount lesser known. In particular, the Desert Eagle was the service weapon of agents in the famous Matrix trilogy. Such popularity is the result of the large size, spectacular design and large caliber of this "Hand Cannon". Thanks to the same qualities, the Desert Eagle is also popular in the computer games industry. It is present in such hits as Counter Strike, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Soldier of Fortune, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Jagged Alliance 2, Far Cry, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Xenus, Hitman, Fallout and many other games where it is used firearms. Once again, I will clarify regarding the use of DE as military weapons special forces is a myth and nothing more. DE was and still is very original sports weapons and a pistol for recreational shooting on weekends.

One of the currently produced Desert Eagle 50 caliber

Specifications Desert Eagle

Caliber: .357 Magnum / .44 Magnum / .50 AE
Overall length: 275mm
Barrel length: 152 mm
Weapon height: 160 mm
Weapon Width: 33mm
Empty weight: 1765 / 1895 / 2050
Drum capacity: 9 / 8 / 7 rounds

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