Magnum Research
 | |
| Subsidiary | |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Defunct | 2010 buyout by Kahr Arms |
| Headquarters | Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Products | Firearms |
| Parent | Kahr Arms |
| Website | MagnumResearch.com |
Magnum Research Inc. (MRI) is an American privately held corporation based in Fridley, Minnesota which manufactures and distributes firearms. The majority owners, Jim Skildum (President and CEO) and John Risdall (Chairman, COO), have been with the company since its founding in 1979.
In June 2010, Kahr Arms, an American-based producer of compact pistols, announced its purchase of the Minnesota-based firearms manufacturer.[1]
Products
MRI was responsible for the design and development of the Desert Eagle pistol.[2] 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 in Saco, Maine. In 2000 MRI shifted manufacturing back to IMI, which later reorganized under the name Israel Weapon Industries. 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 just manufacturing contractors: all of the intellectual property, including patents, copyrights and trademarks of the Desert Eagle since its creation have been the property of Magnum Research Incorporated.[3]
Magnum Research imported the IMI/IWI Jericho 941 series of pistols under the Baby Eagle 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.[3][4][5][6]
MRI offers custom gunsmithing services and has a line of guns that are coated with titanium nitride in artful patterns and designs.
Current models
- Desert Eagle (Mark VII Pistol, Mark XIX Pistol)
- Magnum Lite (rim-fire rifle)
- Magnum Research BFR (Big Frame Revolver)
- Micro Desert Eagle (.380 ACP)
- MR Eagle Series Pistols
- Mountain Eagle (center-fire rifle)
- New Baby Eagle "Fast Action"
- Desert Eagle 1911 (.45 ACP)
- Baby Eagle II
Discontinued models
- Original Baby Eagle (9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP)
- Lone Eagle (single-shot center-fire pistol for rifle cartridges)
- Magnum Research SP-21
- Mountain Eagle pistol (.22 LR)
- MR99 Eagle (Walther P99 version)
References
- ↑ "Kahr Purchases Magnum Research Inc." (PDF) (Press release). Kahr Arms. June 10, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
- ↑ Taffin, John (2005). "The Desert Eagle of Magnum Research". Guns Magazine. 30 (8).
- 1 2 Hartink, A.E. (2002). The Complete Encyclopedia of Pistols and Revolvers. Edison, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc. pp. 165–167. ISBN 978-0-7858-1519-8.
- ↑ Bodinson, Holt (1999). "Extreme Revolvers". Guns Magazine (3).
- ↑ Spomer, Ron (1997). "Tradition or High Tech". Sporting Classics. 12 (5).
- ↑ "Micro Desert Eagle" (Press release). ESPN Outdoors. January 16, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2010.