History

The Desert Eagle is a large-framed gas-operated semi-automatic pistol designed by Magnum Research in the U.S. and by IMI in Israel; the pistol is manufactured primarily in Israel by IMI (Israel Military Industries, now Israel Weapon Industries). Manufacturing was moved to Saco Defense in the state of Maine from 1996 to 2000 which carried the XIX designation, but shifted back to Israel when Saco was acquired by General Dynamics. The Desert Eagle has been featured in roughly 500 motion pictures and TV films, considerably increasing its popularity and boosting sales.
 
Magnum Research has marketed various versions of the short recoil Jericho 941 pistol under the Baby Eagle name; these have no functional relationship to the Desert Eagle and bear only a moderate cosmetic resemblance.

The Desert Eagle was originally designed by Bernard C. White of Magnum Research, who filed a US patent application for a mechanism for a gas-actuated pistol in January 1983. This established the basic layout of the Desert Eagle. The Desert Eagle was originally designed as a revolver, but was later reshaped into a semi-automatic pistol. A second patent application was filed in December 1985, after the basic design had been refined by IMI for production, and this is the form that went into production.
 
The Desert Eagle uses a gas-operated mechanism normally found in rifles, as opposed to the short recoil or blow-back designs most commonly seen in semi-automatic pistols. Unlike most such pistols, the barrel does not move during firing. When a round is fired, gases are ported out through a small hole in the barrel near the breech. These travel forward through a small tube under the barrel, to a cylinder near the front of the barrel. The separate bolt carrier/slide has a small piston on the front that fits into this cylinder; when the gases reach the cylinder they push the piston rearward. The bolt carrier rides rearward on two rails on either side of the barrel, operating the mechanism. Its rotating bolt strongly resembles that of the M16 series of rifles, while the fixed gas cylinder/moving piston resemble those of the Ruger Mini-14 carbine (the original patent used a captive piston similar to the M14 rifle). The advantage of the gas-operation is that it allows the use of far more powerful cartridges than traditional semi-automatic pistol designs. Thus it allows the Desert Eagle to compete in an area that had previously been dominated by magnum revolvers. Downsides of the gas operated mechanism are the large size of the Desert Eagle, and the fact that it discourages the use of unjacketed lead bullets, as lead particles sheared off during firing could clog the gas release tap, preventing proper function.
 
Switching a Desert Eagle to another chambering requires only that the correct barrel, bolt assembly, and magazine be installed. Thus, a conversion to fire the other cartridges can be quickly accomplished. The most popular barrel length is 6 in (152 mm), although a 10 in (254 mm) barrel is available. The Mark XIX barrels are machined with integral scope mounting bases, simplifying the process of adding a pistol scope. The rim diameter of the .50 AE is the same as the .44 Remington Magnum cartridge, consequently only a barrel and magazine change is required to convert a .44 Desert Eagle to the larger, more powerful .50 AE.
 
The Desert Eagle is fed with a detachable magazine. Magazine capacity is 9 rounds in .357 Magnum, 8 rounds in .44 Magnum, and 7 rounds in .50 AE. The Desert Eagle's barrel features polygonal rifling. The pistol is primarily used for hunting, target shooting, and silhouette shooting.

Singleplayer/Spec-Ops

The Desert Eagle is seen in use by Captain Price and Sandman when they finish off wounded enemies, it is also seen in the hands of Price when he threatens Yuri shortly after Soap's near death. The Desert Eagle is used by Yuri in the missions Persona Non Grata, Return to Sender and Blood Brothers. At the end of the Campaign, Makarov wields a unique Golden Desert Eagle in an attempt to kill Price.

In Survival Mode the Desert Eagle is often favored over other sidearms because of its sheer power, but the Desert Eagle has a low firecap, small magazines, and just slighty higher damage than the Five Seven. Like all other handguns, the Desert Eagle is decent for the first few waves but should be exchanged for another weapon after the early waves.

Multiplayer

The Desert Eagle is unlocked at Level 76 and is very popular due to its sheer power. It is very much like it was with the Modern Warfare 2 version. It has high damage killing in two shots to the chest (three shots to the limbs, however) and a very high fire cap, but has high recoil, although recoil is more controllable than in Modern Warfare 2. Akimbo is a great attachment, as it doubles the Desert Eagle's firepower with almost no drawbacks, as its recoil prevents it from being effective outside of close range.
 
It is the first tier gun in Gun Game and equipped with a Tactical Knife.

Attachments

Attachments	Challenges	Icon
Akimbo	Get 40 kills using Akimbo on a Pistol.
Tactical Knife	Get 40 kills using a Tactical Knife on a Pistol.

Challenges