Handgun Data Information

Saturday, December 01, 2012

Magnum Research SP-21

I received a post requesting more information on the The "Barak" ("Lightning" in Hebrew) pistol.  After some research, the Barak was developed by the IMI (Israel Military Industries, now IWI - Israeli Weapon Industries Ltd). Originally intended as a military pistol for Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the "Barak" was supposed to replace the older Jericho &  Glock pistols. So far the future of "Barak" as an IDF service pistol is uncertain, and in the meanwhile IMI decided to bring this pistol to international market. It became available in Europe early in 2003, and in USA by the late 2003. In Europe it is still known as "Barak", and in USA it is known as Magnum Research SP-21. (source:world/guns/ru)

The SP-21 is based on the later High Power (HP) design that replaced the rotating link with an integral ramp that cams the breech down when the barrel/slide recoil. Also, it sports dual recoil springs which have their own guide rods and they're captive springs. The handgun is available in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP with a capacity of 10 rounds for the .40 and .45 and 15 for the 9mm. Each pistol is supplied with a pair of magazines and they're attractively packaged in a black plastic box along with the instruction manual, trigger lock key, a pair of cleaning brushes and, of course, a fired case.

Firing the gun results in combat accuracy, basically you'll hit the target but not be really percise in the results.  There isn't much press regarding the SP-21 so prolonged track record and endurance of the weapon are questionable. The MSRP is $499 but in store prices will be lower.