Magnum Research Inc. (MRI) was an American privately held corporation based in

Fridley, Minnesota Fridley is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 29,590 at the 2020 census. Fridley was incorporated in 1949 as a village, and became a city in 1957. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area as ...

which manufactured and distributed firearms. The majority owners, Jim Skildum (President and CEO) and John Risdall (Chairman,

COO COO or coo may refer to: Business * Certificate of origin, used in international trade * Chief operating officer or chief operations officer, high-ranking corporate official * Concept of operations, used in Systems Engineering Management Process ...

), had been with the company since its founding in 1979. In June 2010 Magnum Research, in financial difficulties, was sold to Kahr Arms, an American-based producer of compact pistols.

Products

MRI was responsible for the design and development of the

Desert Eagle The Desert Eagle is a gas-operated, semi-automatic pistol known for chambering the .50 Action Express, the largest centerfire cartridge of any magazine-fed, self-loading pistol. Magnum Research Inc. (MRI) designed and developed the Desert Eagle ...

pistol. The design was refined and for some time the pistols were also manufactured by Israel Military Industries until 1995, when MRI shifted the manufacturing contract and license to

Saco Defense General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Unit ...

Saco, Maine Saco is a city in York County, Maine, York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,381 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as General ...

. In 1998 MRI shifted manufacturing back to IMI, which later reorganized under the name

Israel Weapon Industries Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), formerly the Magen division of the Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI), is an Israeli firearms manufacturer. It was founded in 1933. Formerly owned by the State of Israel, the Small Arms Division of IMI was pr ...

. Since 2009 the Desert Eagle Pistol has been exclusively produced in the USA only, at MRI’s Pillager, Minnesota facility. Both Saco and IMI/IWI were strictly manufacturing contractors: all of the

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

, including

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

s and

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

s of the Desert Eagle since its creation have been the property of Magnum Research Incorporated, excluding the patent on the production model which was owned by IMI.United States Patent 4,619,184
/ref> Magnum Research imported the IMI/IWI

Jericho 941 The Jericho 941 is a double-action/single-action semi-automatic pistol developed by Israel Military Industries (now Israel Weapon Industries) introduced in 1990. It was first imported into the United States in 1990 by K.B.I., Inc. of Harrisbur ...

series of pistols under the

Baby Eagle The Jericho 941 is a double-action/single-action semi-automatic pistol developed by Israel Military Industries (now Israel Weapon Industries) introduced in 1990. It was first imported into the United States in 1990 by K.B.I., Inc. of Harrisbur ...

name until the end of 2008 and resumed importation of this model in 2011 under the name Baby Eagle II. Currently, the Baby Eagle name is used on a new series of striker-fired polymer-framed pistols. For a time they also imported the Barak SP-21 pistol, but it is no longer offered. Other products include the BFR series of single-action magnum revolvers, the Mountain Eagle rifle, Magnum Lite rifle, and Micro Desert Eagle. MRI offered custom gunsmithing services and had a line of guns that were coated with

titanium nitride Titanium nitride (TiN; sometimes known as Tinite) is an extremely hard ceramic material, often used as a physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating on titanium alloys, steel, carbide, and aluminium components to improve the substrate's surface prop ...

in artful patterns and designs.

Current models

* Magnum Research DE1911G, DE1911C, and DE1911U *

(Mark VII pistol, Mark XIX pistol) * Magnum Lite ( rimfire rifle) *

Magnum Research BFR The Magnum Research BFR is a single-action revolver manufactured by Magnum Research. Modelled after the Colt Single Action Army, it is made from stainless steel and chambered for a number of very powerful pistol calibers, such as .500 S&W Magnum ...

(Big Frame Revolver) * Micro Desert Eagle (

.380 ACP The .380 ACP (9×17mm) ( Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pisto ...

) * MR Eagle Series Pistols * Mountain Eagle (center-fire rifle) * New Baby Eagle "Fast Action" * Desert Eagle

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

(

.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...

) * Baby Eagle II

Discontinued models

* Original

( 9mm, .40 S&W, or

) * Lone Eagle (single-shot, center-fire pistol for rifle cartridges) * Magnum Research SP-21 * Mountain Eagle pistol (

.22 LR The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smooth ...

) * MR9/MR40 Eagle (

Walther P99 The Walther P99 () is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm for law enforcement, security forces and the civilian shooting market as a replacement for the Walther P5 and the P88. The P99 an ...

versions, with the frame supplied by Walther)

References

{{reflist

External links

Magnum Research, Inc.

IMI Systems
Companies based in Pike County, Pennsylvania American companies established in 1979 Firearm manufacturers of the United States Firearms manufacturers in Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies established in 1979 Companies disestablished in 2010 1979 establishments in Pennsylvania 2010 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies based in Minnesota