First revolver! MR-73

[SlimPickens67]

Just picked up my first revolver, a 3" Manurhin MR-73 in .357 mag with adjustable sights and Trausch grips. Picked it up used for €300. It's got a few nicks here and there but the bore is good and mechanically it's in decent shape.

A couple snapshots:

The business end


Manurhin stamp





Pic with my CZ-75B. You can't really see it in the pics but the bronzing is actually more of a plum colour than black. I like it a lot.


So far I've only fired it once at the gun shop and done a bit of dry-firing but I've already fallen in love with the trigger. I'm looking forward to getting some range time with it. Unfortunately my gun shop was out of .357 mag, though :banghead: so it looks like its first day at the range will be .38 special only.

Anyhow, I finally understand what you revolver guys are on about! I fear this may become a habit

 

[firesky101]

I really like those grips, enjoy your introduction to a wonderful caliber.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Very unusual for those of us stateside to see a Manhurin revolver. Looks like a target model with those grips and full length lug.

 

[SlimPickens67]

I've been told the 3" with adjustable sights is rather rare. Most of the 3" models had fixed sights with the rear sight cut into the frame, like this

 

[JFrame]

AUURRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!


I'M JEALOUS!!!!!



Great buy, Slim! The Manhurin is on my short list of "gotta have" guns...


.

 

[Gordon]

Kudos!

 

[HGM22]

This gun has an interesting wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manurhin_MR_73

Says essentially French SWAT police used scoped 8'' barreled MR-73s for "tactical purposes". Why not just use a rifle?

Neat looking gun. Did you get that gun in the U.S.?

 

[MrBorland]

That's a heck of a first revolver. Congrats. We'll be looking for the range report soon.

 

[BCRider]

Congrats on the new gun and the conversion to "The One True Way"

I did quite a bit of shooting when I got first got into the sport and never saw myself as a revolver guy. Then one day I got to play with a 4 inch Model 19. And as they say "the rest is history. I currently don't quite own as many DA revovers as I do semi autos. But if I add in the SA revolvers in both cartridge and black powder C&B to the equation I'm heavily biased towards wheelguns.

 

[mjackson]

Congrats, on your first revolver! I believe that is a Gendarmarie model, which is one that would be issued to one of France's elite police units. I have a Sport model chambered in .32 Long, but I have my eyes on a 4" Gendarmarie model. How did you find that specimen, if you don't mind sharing?

 

[PabloJ]

Years ago when S&W cost about $450 and Python about $650 this cost over $1000. I suspect this explains its rarity in los Estados Unidos.

 

[SlimPickens67]

Thanks for the comments, guys.

@HGM22: Nope, I live in France so they're pretty easy to find on the used market now that most police carry SIGs.

@mjackson: I found this one on a French equivalent of Gunbroker and had it sent to my local gun shop while I waited for my paperwork to come through (that's a bit of a pain here; on the bright side, once you do have your papers you can get just about anything you want)

I'll keep you posted with the range report!

 

[SlimPickens67]

Managed to round up some .357 (S&B 158gr FMJ) and was able to get to the range half an hour before closing. Shot a few cylinders worth of .38 special and then figured I'd try out the .357 before I had to go. This is what I managed single action freehand at 25m.



I'm sure I can do a lot better with a bit of practice but I'm happy to say I really like shooting .357 and it isn't nearly as "snappy" as I'd been told.

Looks like the MR-73 is going to be getting a lot of range time

 

[JFrame]

Slim -- ya ain't doing my "jealousy count" any good there, buddy!

Glad to see and hear that revolver's working out nicely for you -- keep enjoying!


.

 

[mjackson]

I bet those Trausch grips help a lot with recoil.

 

[mio]

congratz! not a gun ive heard of but i love the way those grips look. man i cant imagine a store let alone a gun store being out of .357 mag (i either buy mine at the party store or gas station most of the time) but im glad to see you got a hold of some. happy shooting!!

 

[SlimPickens67]

@mjackson: I imagine they must, although this is the only magnum I've ever shot, so that's just a guess

@mio: I was surprised they were out, too. Unfortunately gas stations don't carry ammo over here!

 

[mjackson]

Slim, which variations of the MR-73 are rare in France?

 

[SlimPickens67]

Well, I've had a couple people on a Swiss / French gun forum tell me that the 3" gendarmerie model was rare and I'd never seen one before while the 4" and 5 1/4" models are a relatively common sight. It might not be the rarest, though. Manurhin sold the rights (and the machines) for the MR-73 and the MR-88 to Chapuis a while back and Chapuis doesn't make the 8" Gendarmerie or the 9" Silhouette model anymore.

Here's a link to an owner's manual from the 80's that (among other things) lists all the variants available at the time.

http://www.chapuis-armes.com/img/chapuis/MR73.pdf

And here's the page with the current list (at the bottom of the page)

http://www.chapuis-armes.com/manurhin/64-mr-73-sport-5-1-4.html