Posted: 3/10/2009 11:09:32 AM EDT
|
Baby Eagles and Jericho Pistols
I have been on a mission, looking for a practical pistol that is unique. I have custom 1911’s, the world’s largest production revolver, and a variety of normal guns in unique chambering, but I wanted something different. My criteria: Steel frames, .45 ACP, cocked and locked carry option, minimum of 10 rounds capacity, and great ergonomics. Oh and lest I forget… military issue. It was a tall bill to fill until I rediscovered the Jericho. 
The Jericho pistol is a collaborative effort between Israeli Military Industries (I.M.I.) and FRATELLI TANFOGLIO S.N.C. (Tanfoglio). Tanfoglio had developed the basic design of their “Combat” handgun as the chassis of their line of firearms. It was based on the popular CZ-75 internal rail frame, which in turn was loosely based on the Sig P210. Tanfoglio pistols feature a high sweeping beavertail and mimics a grip style of a 1911 with a “high arch” main spring housing. This forces the hand up and into a better shooting position. Also like the Sig P210, the bore axis is extremely low to the angle of the arm minimizing felt recoil with larger calibers. However, they were most often sold in 9x19mm (A.K.A 9mm Luger, 9mm parabellum, and 9mm NATO). 
However, like the CZ-75 there were a few issues still to be refined in the Tanfoglio pistol line. The slide is reminiscent of a Browning P-35 (Hi-Power). The slim and recessed area near the muzzle does make a slender feeling gun and aids with a quicker draw since a holster releases the slide quicker than a slab sided 1911, but it also decreases weight where it is most needed at the muzzle. In addition, the Tanfoglio has a pinned in front sight like a cheaper production 1911. The front sight on my Colt 1991A1 flew off at the 3,000 round mark never to be seen again. Now, I am a firm believer in the benefits of a dovetail installation. I take an extremely forward grip on my pistols in shooting and a trigger guard that is checkered or textured is much preferred over a rounded one for serious situations. Enter I.M.I., in the early 1990’s they were designing a new fighting pistol of the Israeli Defense Force (I.D.F.). The wanted something which was inherently accurate, double action, with an exposed hammer, and the ability to be carried in a variety of conditions with options for cocked and locked carry or de-cockers. However, they also wanted something more. They wanted to use the .41 magnum. Long advocated by Elmer Keith and Bill Jordan as an intermediate step between the .357 and the .44, the .41 magnum was introduced in 1963. It was a cartridge ahead of its time and yet just behind the curve. We now are deploying the 40S&W in a variety of platforms, but the revolver in law enforcement had run its course in the mid to late sixties. The .41 AE was the perfect cartridge for their new platform. I.M.I. decided to take the best features of the .41 Rem Mag and make it into an autoloading cartridge, which would be useable in both a pistol and the UZI submachine gun. The UZI was ideally suited for caliber conversions and in the U.S. is often seen with 22 long rifle conversion as well as .45 ACP conversions. However, the most commonly encountered is the 9x19mm. I.M.I. decided it’s new round would have a rebated rim to match the 9x19mm case head, thus allowing the same bolt and magazine to be used for both cartridges. The design requirements were met in the .41 Action Express developed at Action Arms Inc. by general manager Evan Whildin a former ATF agent. (AA has a long history of association with I.M.I. including having employed Uzi Gal in the late 1970’s. Unfortunately, the AWB effectively killed this innovative company which closed its doors in 1995) I.M.I. took the design a step further in 1988 when they took the .41 AE case and necked it down to accept a 9mm bullet creating what would be the “first” .357 Sig. The .357 Sig was introduced in 1994. The first commercially available .41 AE was manufactured by I.M.I. (sometimes-marked Samson) in Israel. The loading are an exact replica of the .41 magnum police loadings with noticeably less recoil then the 45 ACP. Armed with this new cartridge, I.M.I. introduced the Jericho 941. The numeric designation reflecting the calibers the gun was designed for. Unlike most guns, which began life paired with the 9x19mm, the Jericho was from the start intended to use the much stouter .41 AE. Original commercial guns shipped with two barrels allowing easy interchangeability between the two cartridges. In order to help with the recoil and control, the frame was extended to the end of the barrel and significantly thickened. A polygonal rifling pattern was chosen and the front sight was dovetailed in. Unlike other manufacturer’s products, the Jericho is able to be used with lead bullets as well as jacketed bullets. The .41 AE was not destined for a long life. How many times have you seen the American Rifleman TV show sponsored proudly by Sampson? Smith and Wesson with their marketing power and friends pushed forward the 40 S&W. With the so-called “experts” fighting to kill the 10mm for being too powerful and the marketing pressure to switch, it is easy to see why the .41 AE suffered from the same curse as its revolver rimmed brother. In the mean time, I.M.I. sought to market its baby further then their national borders. First brought to the U.S. by Mossberg who dubbed the gun the “Uzi Eagle”, it has been imported by KBI Inc. as the Jericho and by Magnum Research as the “Baby Eagle” and the “Baby Desert Eagle” and for a brief time as just the “Desert Eagle” in an attempt to boost sales. The Tanfoglio is imported by EAA as the “Witness” and the magazines are interchangeable with the Jericho/Baby Eagle. Except for the aforementioned differences in the Tanfoglio/Witness, all are the same gun save for the rollmarks; so chose by your preference and price point. The Jericho has been available in 9x19mm, 9x21mm, 9x23mm, 9 AE, .40 S&W, .41 AE, and .45 ACP. One would imagine a conversion to .357 Sig would be relatively easy to accomplish with a custom barrel. It is made in many varieties, which is a testament to the adaptability of the design. The double action / single action (DA/SA) trigger can be found with either a frame-mounted safety that provides for safe cocked and locked carry or hammer down carry, or a slide mounted “Walther style” de-cocker safety that can also lock the gun. Either configuration will lock the gun so it cannot be fired with the safety so engaged unlike a Sig de-cocker. Three basic frames are available in either steel or polymer: Full Sized, Semi-Compact, and Compact. The .45 ACP is only available in Semi-compact. For comparison a traditional 1911 weighs 39 ounces and is 8.25 inches long. ....................................Standard........................Semi-compact..........................Compact Barrel Length................4.5 inches..........................3.9 inches...........................3.6 inches Length...........................8.2 inches........................7.75 inches..........................7.2 inches Weight.........................38.5 oz..........................37 (poly 29) oz...................33 (poly 26) oz Caliber...........9x19mm, 40 S&W, .41 AE.......9x19mm, 40, 41, 45.................9x19mm, 40, 41,45 Mag capacity ........15-9mm, 12-.40................15-9mm, 12-.40, 10-.45..............10 rounds all I was fortunate enough to find a Jericho marked Semi-compact in 45 ACP with the cocked and locked frame safety at Tucker gun (http://www.tuckergunllc.com/) for a reasonable price. Baby Eagles have a MSRP of $560. Jericho models in used condition generally retail for $600. Magnum Research offers every finish that is available for the Desert Eagle for the Baby Eagle including the purple titanium nitride (TiN) and gold plated. These exotic finished drive up the price dramatically. This summer, the Robar Companies Inc. (http://www.robarguns.com/) is offering a discount on their premium finish dropping the cost to two hundred and fifty dollars per gun. A NP3 finish or a Roguard finish would compliment a Jericho nicely at less cost than a hard to find factory example. Grips, holsters, and magazines are hard to find for this little gem stateside. Fortunately, the EAA Witness magazines are plentiful in all calibers and usually only run $20 per magazine. Custom grips are available as are Hogue wrap-around’s with finger groves, but I honestly prefer the look and feel of the originals. Holsters are available from Blade-tech but as with all plastic/kydex/PVC holsters excessive wear is a concern. Galco makes a Yaqui speed scabbard which is adjustable to fit “any” gun. If you want a holster specifically designed for the Jericho, you will need to look for either Fobus, or Frontline. Frontline is an Israeli company that makes holsters for the Israeli Police Force, which issues Jericho pistols. They have all materials including leather, kydex, nylon and N.G., which is a proprietary material. I had an opportunity to run two boxes of ammo through the Jericho. I found the recoil control to be simply amazing. The low bore axis, high grip and serrated and squared trigger guard combine to allow extremely rapid firing on target at reasonable ranges. Felt recoil was less than a five-inch government model 1911 as well. 
One of the most impressive things about the Jericho is the sights. While they are not by any means “low profile” their geometry attracts the eye easily for precision work and the three white dots allows for quick acquisition during rapid fire. Often tritium night sights are chosen, but these dots are hard to pick up in sunlight when most shooting is done. I am proud to report that in the entire 100 rounds that were fired there was not a single failure. No failure to feed, no failure to fire, and every shot worked perfectly. Accuracy was above average with offhand 7-yard groups averaging three inches. I expect greater accuracy is possible with a proper rest or less sweat running in my eyes. The Jericho/Baby Eagle platform is a solid steel modern fighting handgun with superior round capacity coupled with fantastic ergonomics. This should be on the short list for consideration for a primary defensive handgun. (C) 2008 M. Douglas KingII |
|
Quoted:
Great write up. The good news is that Charles Daly will be importing the frame safety equipped Jerichos soon!  I wrote that over a year ago and never got anywhere with it. When I heard the CD news I figured someone might want to read it. I wish they'd import true 941's with both barrels. |
| I too prefer the decocker on the slide, but really only because that's what I'm used to. I don't see any inherent advantage in a decocker, or slide mounted safety over a frame mounted one. As long as it makes the gun not fire until I flick it off it's good in my book. |
I have both The Jericho and The Barak (IMI SP-21), in 45, looks like this
Both use the same mags, both shoot great, The Barak will show your weakness in trigger control. |
|
I have one of the earlier imported Jericho 941s from the early 90s with low ser. # 5000 range and its by far my favorite of my stash. Ive got the .41 AE barrel, mags and spring for it but have only ever shot 9MM. Ive got a line on .41AE cases and have 200 on order and plan to load some up and try that. Cant wait. I also scored 3 mags in .41AE. And I know where I can find some more possibly. Cool thing is my load datas were all tested with a Jericho 941.
Its a fine pistol, and accurate to boot. Ive fired untold #s of rounds of 9mm from it and I honestly cannot remember ever having a malfunction of any kind. A comfortable grip thats the right angle for me and not to fat. In 9MM the pistol will hold 17+1 rounds. Thats almost a box ! 10+1 in the .41AE. My next wish is for a baby Eagle in .45. An all steel one. I dont care for the new poly frames Magnum Research has come up with. WHY MESS WITH A GOOD THING ? GB frequently shows up some Jerichos from time to time ....some sales are just the pistol , others are the entire conversiton kit + pistol with case. The packages usually go at a premium price though. If you want one of these fine ORIGINAL pistols I suggest nabing one up now. While you still can. If you want the next best thing jump on a Baby Eagle. A nice write up DKing Thanks. |
| I picked up an IMI-made Baby Eagle compact, short barrel, short grip in 9mm in the mid 90s. Frame-mounted safety, so no learning curve or retraining from my 1911. A VERY accurate and controllable gun with the 3-dot sights. I ended up getting an Accumold holster for a Glock, fit like a glove. And I like the fact that it's all steel - lots of "thunkability" if need be! |
|
I just came across this thread and thought I would comment.
DKing's writeup is an excellent history of the Jericho line and I found only one error. Jericho's were first introduced to the US market by our comapny, K.B.I., Inc. in 1990, not Mossberg. Mossberg came after us and before Magnum. We sold the gun as the full package with both the 9mm and .41AE barrels, recoil springs, 2 mags for each caliber and 2 boxes of UZI brand ammo, one 9mm and one .41AE. A custom RIG cleaning kit was also included in the package. We later sold it as a stand alone 9mm pistol as the .41AE was basically DOA as S&W and Federal came out with the .40S&W and that killed the .41AE. As of January 1st of this year the Jericho line is now back in our hands. It is available in 9mm, .40S&W and .45ACP in three different sizes and in steel and polymer frames. Picatinny rails are now standard (except in Compact) and they sport new lo-profile snag free LPA 3-dot sights. (This is the version that MRI was selling as the Baby Eagle II before they lost the line at the end of last year.) You can see the full line of Jericho pistols by visiting our website here: Jericho Website |
|
Quoted:
Thank you for the correction. I did my best with limited resources. The only publication that expressed any interest wasd www.georgiacarry.org With your permission I'll edit it to make the correction. As a side note do you have any 41 ae barrels left? Sorry, I checked our parts department and while we have a lot of spares for the earlier Jericho's, we don't have any .41AE barrels remaining. |
|
Quoted:
I just came across this thread and thought I would comment. DKing's writeup is an excellent history of the Jericho line and I found only one error. Jericho's were first introduced to the US market by our comapny, K.B.I., Inc. in 1990, not Mossberg. Mossberg came after us and before Magnum. We sold the gun as the full package with both the 9mm and .41AE barrels, recoil springs, 2 mags for each caliber and 2 boxes of UZI brand ammo, one 9mm and one .41AE. A custom RIG cleaning kit was also included in the package. We later sold it as a stand alone 9mm pistol as the .41AE was basically DOA as S&W and Federal came out with the .40S&W and that killed the .41AE. As of January 1st of this year the Jericho line is now back in our hands. It is available in 9mm, .40S&W and .45ACP in three different sizes and in steel and polymer frames. Picatinny rails are now standard (except in Compact) and they sport new lo-profile snag free LPA 3-dot sights. (This is the version that MRI was selling as the Baby Eagle II before they lost the line at the end of last year.) You can see the full line of Jericho pistols by visiting our website here: Jericho Website Last I'd heard there would be frame safety models available, but I'm not seeing them on site. What's the status on those? |