The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibiting the importation of inexpensive handguns prompted Jennings to design the MP-25, a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol, and enter the firearms business.

At the time, Jennings operated a machine shop that made parts for Southern California aerospace companies.

The first variation of the Raven had a large button sliding safety on the side, and was manufactured in Baldwin Park, California.

[2] In parallel with this growth, gun-control advocates started pushing legislation in Washington, in state capitals, and in city councils to ban inexpensive weapons.

[2] Phoenix was owned in equal shares by Jennings's ex-wife, his children, four of his grandchildren, and by Raven's former general manager.

It protrudes from its hole when the slide nears the end of its rearward travel, contacting the spent case and sending it up and out of the pistol.