The Baby Eagle/Jericho 941 is a double action/single Action, semi-automatic pistol developed by Israel Weapon Industries and introduced to the market in 1990 as the Jericho 941. It was first imported into the US in 1990 by K.B.I., Inc. of Harrisburg, PA. and was later imported by O.F. Mossberg & Sons and named the Uzi Eagle, and was imported by Magnum Research, Inc., and named Baby Eagle until the end of 2008. Beginning January 1, 2009 until it ceased business in January 29, 2010, K.B.I., Inc. (which also imported Charles Daly firearms), resumed importation as the Jericho.
The original Jericho 941 was based on the well-respected CZ-75 pistol designed and produced by Česká zbrojovka (CZ) of the Czech Republic and built using parts supplied by the Italian arms house Tanfoglio, which had been making their own CZ-75 clones. Using a well-tested design allowed IMI to avoid the teething problems most new pistol designs experience, and subcontracting much of the basic fabrication work to Tanfoglio allowed IMI to quickly and economically put into production a pistol that would have enough Israeli content to satisfy government contract requirements.
The single most significant innovation attempted by IMI was offering a new, much "hotter" cartridge, the .41 Action Express (see below) to go along with the Jericho 941. The ballistics difference between 9MM and .41 AE is generally considered[citation needed] similar to the difference between .38 Special and .357 Magnum in the USA - the .41 AE was perceived as a "magnum autoloader round".
Unfortunately the .41 AE was even less successful in gaining traction in the marketplace than the 10 mm, and was soon discontinued. Experience with heavily loaded rounds gave IMI a considerable lead, however, in chambering for the soon-to-be successful .40 S&W and also allowed the Jericho to "up-chamber" to the very popular .45 ACP. Shooters praise the accuracy of the Jericho/Baby Eagle, its reliability, and its pricing. It is generally considered to be a very slim design, for a large caliber pistol with a double-stack magazine, with "natural" pointing due to grip angle. The Jericho 941 design has been modified to include accessory rails on the frame for mounting lasers or weaponlights, a popular feature on many current-generation semi-automatic handguns.
