 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1979; 47 years ago (1979) |
| Fate | 2010; 16 years ago (2010) buyout byKahr Arms |
| Headquarters | Pike County, Pennsylvania, |
| Products | Firearms |
| Parent | Kahr Arms |
| Website | MagnumResearch.com |
Magnum Research, Inc. (MRI) was an American privately held corporation based inFridley, Minnesota which manufactured and distributed firearms. The majority owners, Jim Skildum (President andCEO) and John Risdall (Chairman,COO), had been with the company since its founding in 1979.
In June 2010 Magnum Research, in financial difficulties, was sold toKahr Arms, an American-based producer of compact pistols.[1][2]
MRI was responsible for the design and development of theDesert Eagle pistol.[3] The design was refined and for some time the pistols were also manufactured byIsrael Military Industries (IMI) until 1995, when MRI shifted the manufacturing contract and license toSaco Defense inSaco, Maine.[4] In 1998 MRI shifted manufacturing back to IMI, which later reorganized under the nameIsrael 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 manufacturing contractors: all of theintellectual property, includingpatents,copyrights andtrademarks of the Desert Eagle since its creation have been the property of Magnum Research Incorporated,[5] excluding the patent on the production model which was owned by IMI.[6]
Magnum Research imported the IMI/IWIJericho 941 series of pistols under theBaby 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 BarakSP-21 pistol, but it is no longer offered.
Other products include theBFR series of single-action magnum revolvers, the Mountain Eagle rifle, Magnum Lite rifle, and Micro Desert Eagle.[5][7][8][9]
MRI offered custom gunsmithing services and had a line of guns that were coated withtitanium nitride in artful patterns and designs.[citation needed]
