founded in 1979
Minnesota, Pennsylvania
- 1979 Magnum Research’s founders, Jim Skildum and John Risdall in Pillager, MN
- January 1983 filed a US patent for a gas-actuated pistol
- 1985 – 1995 pistols were manufactured by Israel Military Industries (IMI)
- 1995 – 1998 manufactured by Saco Defense in Saco, Maine
- 1998 – 2009 manufactured by Israel again
– 2005 IMI was privatized and renamed Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) - 2009 manufactured in Pillager, Minnesota
- June 2010 purchased by Kahr Arms
- 2015 moved to Pennsylvania
– 620-acre
– 40,000 square foot
Magnum Research
12602 33rd Avenue SW
Pillager, MN 56473
About Magnum Research
Magnum Research, Inc. is the Minnesota company behind the Desert Eagle, the gas-operated, large-caliber semi-automatic pistol that became one of the most recognizable handguns in the world. Founders Jim Skildum and John Risdall developed the design from research in the 1970s, and Israel Military Industries began producing it under contract in 1982. Manufacturing later moved to Saco Defense in Maine, then back to Israel, before the company began bringing production home: the first Minnesota-made prototypes were built in 2009 at its plant in Pillager, Minnesota.
In 2010 Magnum Research was purchased by Kahr Firearms Group. In March 2019 the company announced that all Desert Eagle production had moved to Pillager after a roughly ten-year effort, with a target of about 10,000 pistols that year. The Desert Eagle is offered in four magnum chamberings, and the Pillager plant also builds the BFR (Biggest Finest Revolver) single-action revolver. Magnum Research’s catalog also includes MR1911 pistols made by BUL in Israel. The company remains part of Kahr Firearms Group as of 2026.
Key Facts
- 1979: Jim Skildum and John Risdall launch Magnum Research
- 1982: Israel Military Industries begins producing the Desert Eagle under contract
- 2009: First Minnesota-made Desert Eagles built in Pillager
- June 2010: Kahr Firearms Group acquires Magnum Research
- March 2019: All Desert Eagle production confirmed in the United States
Sources
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