About six weeks ago, I started a thread about a 4” Miroku revolver in .38 Special (6 shot) which I had a chance to buy at the local gun show. Rather than expanding my earlier thread, I will start anew.

My interest in this revolver was motivated by three factors – first, it was unusual, as I had never seen one before, so I am likely to be the only kid on my block to own one. Second, it was in near-pristine condition, and the price was fairly reasonable ($300). Third, Miroku is the very highly-regarded Japanese gun manufacturer of Browning shotguns, and they do not make cheap junk. As it turned out, I did buy it two weeks ago, and have now had a chance to tear into it, and also to shoot it. Some pictures follow.

History – I don’t actually know much, and haven’t found any detailed information about its background on the internet. From what I have seen, it seems these revolvers were products of the late 1960s, and available with 2”, 3”, and 4” barrels. The shorter barreled versions were given the name of “Liberty Chief”. The 4” version seems to have been called the “Police Special.” About all the information regarding dating I can find so far comes from the 1968 and 1969 editions of Gun Digest (calendar years 1967-68), in which there is some mention made of the Liberty Chief, indicating it was imported by either the Liberty Arms Co. or the Solingen Cutlery Co., both apparently being the same company (or related companies), as they share the same address in Montrose, CA. There is no mention of the Miroku revolver in earlier or later editions of the Gun Digest, so I assume it was imported into the USA for only a short time in the late 1960s, and probably in small numbers. I did see one posting which stated that Miroku made revolvers only between 1960 and 1970. There are some internet stories suggesting the Miroku police revolvers were initially made for an order from the Tokyo Police, but the sale did not materialize for reasons unknown, so the revolvers were then exported to various places in the Far East and the USA. The only markings on mine are: “Miroku” Firearms Mfg. Co., which is stamped lightly on the right side of the frame above the trigger, and JAPAN next to the SN on the butt, as is the normal S&W location. And of course the caliber stamping on the barrel. The butt SN is 31xxx, which should correspond to 1961 production.

Features – The Miroku is an amalgamation of both Colt and S&W design features. Both the cylinder and the cylinder release are pure Colt, and the cylinder rotates clockwise, like the Colt. Likewise, the sideplate is of the Colt design, located on the left side of the frame and attached by two screws. There is no extractor rod locking lug under the barrel, as is the typical Colt practice. However, the internal lockwork mechanism is essentially that of the early S&W M&P fourth change, and the frame size is also very close to the S&W K-frame. It has fixed sights, with a square notch rear sight, and a very high “Shark Fin” style front sight. Miroku grips resemble the S&W Magna, but will not interchange with S&W grips. The Miroku grip medallion is silver, and consists of an outer wreath, inside of which is a large letter M flanked by smaller letters, B and C (B C Miroku?). The finish is very reminiscent of the Colt Royal Blue – very glossy and very deep blue, in near 100% condition. The major difference between the lockwork of the Miroku and the S&W is an unusual “hand” which is also unlike the Colt hand. It is a vertically-moving steel bar with a tooth on it which engages the cylinder ratchet, is guided by a cam on the upper part, and is attached to the trigger by a pin. This is shown in the following pictures. Lockwork disassembly is fairly straightforward, just like the S&W, but reassembly took me over an hour, as there are several tricks to installing the “Hand” that I had to discover by trial and error. However, once the tricks are learned, it is easy to do. Overall, quality and workmanship are excellent, as good as any S&W or Colt. Timing and lockup are perfect.

Range Test – I fired over 100 rounds of .38 Special wadcutter reloaded ammunition (148 grain DEWC, 3.0 grains Bullseye) through it at a distance of 15 yards over sandbags from a bench rest. The first discovery was that the group center was about 9” to the SSW of the center hold point of aim (about 8” low and about 3.5” left). I took a file to the high front sight to correct the elevation, but there was little I could do about moving the POI to the right. I am still thinking about how that can be done. 5-shot groups averaged 3”-4” C-to-C, not great, but OK for defensive use - definitely not a target gun. The rear sight notch is too narrow to get a good sight picture, i.e., no daylight can be seen on either side of the front sight. The trigger reach (the distance between the point on the grip frame where the web between the thumb and forefinger touches the frame and the center of the trigger) is too short for comfort. It measured to be 65mm (identical to the trigger reach on my Colt Detective Special), vs. 75mm for a S&W M&P). And that does make a big difference for one who has large hands. I assume it could well have been designed principally for use in smaller Oriental hands. The DA trigger pull is too heavy (but I did not measure it), while the SA pull is pretty good. So I did most firing in SA. The barrel-cylinder gap is fairly close – a 0.008” feeler gauge is the thickest which could be inserted, and it was a tight fit.

Score card:
Overall Quality: A (not surprising for this quality maker)
Finish: A+
Appearance: B (somewhat odd to Western eyes)
Ergonomics: B-/C+
Sights: C
Grouping Performance: C



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Sideplate removed, showing internals and hand


Sideplate removed, showing internals without hand


Hand bar alone. Note cam at top


Grips. Note S&W style metal medallion washer

As always, I'd like to hear from anyone who has a more complete knowledge about the story of the Miroku revolver.

A 4 incher just like yours passed through Cabelas. I was attracted to it for the same reasons as you but its price was too close to that of a Model 10 for me to jump. I figured with no known collectors to a practical buyer it should be substantially lower than a Model 10. That could be pure ignorance but all I had to go on was my gut feelings. For one thing if they are ever needed finding parts could be a problem. Plus you give up the spring kits and the variety in grip shapes available for S&Ws.

Perhaps the front sight was intentionally made too tall so that you can sight it in. A local gunsmith told me that’s what Ruger does with Vaqueros. The too narrow rear notch also allows you to adjust windage a bit while you widen it. I don’t think you’ll get enough windage movement but it will help. I’d test if a lighter Wolff S&W rebound spring would help the DA. I assume you will be experimenting with different loads. Please keep us informed. It is good to see it reviewed.

I probably won't be using any different loads. Almost 100% of my .38 Special shooting is with wadcutters, rarely anything else. I am trying to figure out a way to widen the rear sight notch toward the right (I figure it should take about 2mm) without butchering it. The notch is fairly shallow. I also concluded the original sight was purposely made overly high to allow user elevation adjustment via file use, which is what I did. I had one other pistol (a Chiappa M1911 clone in .22 RF) that required that - and it was even spelled out in the instruction manual. I think the excessive DA pull is more the result of an overly heavy leaf hammer spring rather than the rebound spring. I did not check to see if the S&W leaf spring is interchangeable with the Miroku leaf spring, but I tend to doubt it.

I realize it is impractical to cast them at home so you have to buy them but at least once try the traditional soft swaged 148 grain hollow base wadcutters & 2.7 Bullseye. At one time I could say every S&W .38 special and .357 I'd owned could be counted on to group 6 of those in 2" at 25 yards. I can't say that now because I don't get in as much range time and I have ones I have not even fired. The big city police range used to load them on automated equipment and sell us 50 in a brown lunch bag for $3. We returned the brass.

The windage problem could be a poorly installed barrel with the sight not centered. Check if the barrel is screwed in right. A slight tightening might help if it is screwed in like a S&W revolver. From the front that would be turning it clockwise.

This thread is an excuse to describe my Miroku made Auto 5 type 12 gauge. Remember Miroku manufactured Browning Auto 5s for a long time. It has the typical Browning polished blue and thick clear finish on the walnut. The brand is KFC. It came with an instruction manual written in Japanese characters. For 98 1990s dollars it’s been a good reliable gun.

Miroku also made the Browning Model 81, 92 and 95 lever actions.

Back when the SAA Army was the Technology Leader in handguns the normal practice for adjusting the Windage on a revolver was to clamp the frame up solidly in a vise and smack the barrel with a bar of babbit metal (an alloy mainly composed of lead). Basically you would bend the frame and from what I've read this was actually a Factory Endorsed procedure.

I don,t know anything about their revolvers but I have a .45 call Kentucky muzzle loader that I really like. It was made for Sears and Roebuck in the late 60,s or early 70,s. Shoots great.

Nice revolver!

Shoots left huh? Eyeball it carefully and see if the front sight is off to the right. If so just clamp-up the barrel in a vice with some hardwood blocks and turn the frame just a touch to center-up the front sight.

I've seen several of the 2" snubbys over the years, but yours is the first 4" square butt I've ever seen. Interesting piece and please keep us updated with any additional information you dig up.

When I discovered the POI was too far left, the first thing I did was to see if the front sight was canted. It is not -- it appears absolutely vertical with respect to the frame.

You're in luck that the rear sight notch is too narrow. Remember, if that is the case, you can also remove some thickness of the front sight. Between taking some off of side of the front sight, and some off of one side of the notch in the rear sight, you should be able to get it at least real close to POA. Just be careful which side of each you remove! Get it wrong and the POA will be even further off.
I've got a couple of Miroku guns, the Citori Special Trap and B92 levergun. It would be nice to have a revolver to go with them!

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Fight socialism. Never stop.

I had also thought about thinning the front sight in addition to widening the notch. I also thought about bending the front sight, but that might result in a disaster.

My only other Miroku is a 12 Ga Browning Citori. I used it for skeet for many years, never had any breakdowns, and except for wear of the metal finish at the grip and a few dings in the wood, it still looks like it did the day I bought it.

Are you sure they whacked the barrel? S&W whacks the frame, not the barrel. S&W used to train armorers in large police departments to whack the side of Model 10 frames over the barrel threads with a babbit bar to adjust windage. Brownells still sells the babbit bars. Wouldn't whacking the barrel itself bend the barrel?

Two members have written that DWalt should rotate his barrel to correct windage suggesting it is a do it yourself home job. I’m sure DWalt already know this but other readers who might act on that advise might not. Without clamping the frame in a gunsmith’s frame wrench there is a good chance the frame will warp. S&W tosses warped frames in the trash. They can not straighten them.

I was browsing on GunBroker tonight. Only two Miroku revolvers have sold (none are currently listed) and both those were 2" "Liberty Chiefs," and stamped as such on the left side. One is a basket case which was sold as parts. But that one was very interesting, as it told me some new information about them. First, they have 6-shot cylinders - I was not sure about that. Second, some of the pictures posted show the internals fairly well. Basically still on the S&W pattern, but otherwise, the guts of the LC didn't resemble mine much. It has the conventional hand instead of a sliding bar and also uses a coil hammer spring, not a leaf spring. And the hammer looks a lot different. The use of the coil hammer spring tells me that mine with the leaf spring could be somewhat earlier. Live and learn.

Nice find. I also like the odd one of a kinds. Is it possible to open up the rear site notch with a mill, or even a hand file (to be tried only if you can think pure thoughts for the duration) enough to accept a adjustable site form a J frame ( or whatever you find in the bucket at the gun show that will work) ? Probably you won't even have to tap and screw it on. With those wad cutter loads epoxy mite hold it forever. A touch of cold blue where you machined and if the empty screw holes started to look like warts you could epoxy screw heads i them.

It is easier to install a J frame adjustable sight than S&W’s adjustable for their larger frames. The reason is you do not have to mill the slot for the square bolt that the elevation screw threads into. The J frame elevation screw only presses against the top strap. In either case it is hard to believe a dab of epoxy under the front of the sight leaf would hold as the leaf is flexed upward while raising elevation. Besides, compared to carefully hand filing the top strap for the sight drilling and tapping for its attachment screw is quick and simple.

Unless he is really, really searching for a project to fill time I do not mean to encourage DWalt to install an adjustable. There are so many Model 15s around that it is not worth the trouble.

I recently found a Miroku revolver at a LGS. It seemed really nicely made, and the lockup was very tight. It's in nice shape, but the guys in the shop didn't have any history behind the revolver.

I ended up purchasing it on an impulse. It hasn't been fired much, if at all. It looks a little different than the one at the top as this one has an adjustable rear sight.

I'm looking forward to picking it up and taking it to the range.

S

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If you decide to tackle it yourself, file the RIGHT side of the rear notch to move POI right. Counterintuitively, also file the front sight on the right if it becomes necessary. This has the same effect as moving the sight left, requiring you to move the muzzle right to correct. Is that clear as mud ?

Larry

Interesting that yours already has an adjustable rear sight, sort of Miroku's version of the .38 Combat Masterpiece. Also the extractor rod is different. I wonder what the guts look like? Obviously there are more than a couple of variations of the .38 revolvers made by Miroku.

I'm still waiting to pick up the revolver since I'm in CA.

I'm curious to see how the action works as well, but I'm a little nervous if reassembly took over an hour.

There is nothing difficult about reassembly. The reason it took so long to reassemble the first time was I didn't know the trick to replacing the "hand bar." You need a thin piece of metal to compress the small flat spring, as shown in my picture, before you can seat the sideplate. I used a feeler gauge. Another thing I will mention is that the firing pin attached to the hammer seems unusually long, and it concerned me as I thought that it might cause primer penetration. But that has not happened.

That sounds great.

I'm hoping to pickup the revolver on Tuesday and maybe sneak off to the range for some test firings.

I'll post some pictures of the guts once I have it!

I know this is an old thread but here's what I recently won on GB:

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The bluing is gone and she sports "patina smudges" or what's left of the bluing. There's no rust. The bore is bright with good rifling. The mechanics work nicely. I'm looking for rubber grips. I have several spare J frame grips but they don't quite wrap around. Seems like the handle is just a pinch too fat.

I'd love to find a like new Miroku. If the revolver quality is as good as their OU shotguns, they'll be top notch.

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John

Thought I'd post some pics of the side plate off and the newly installed J frame Sile rubber grips. I had to whittle a bit on the insides of the grip but it fits nicely.
This a 1960 Liberty Chief snubby model. I didn't encounter any wayward springs as I removed the plate.

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I purchased two O/U shotguns, in 20 and 12 gauge, around 1967.

I was stationed at Randolph Air Force base, at the time.

These were Charles Daly branded, and exhibited flawless fit, and finish. I still have the 20 gauge.

The modern O/U's from Browning, (Miroku made) appear to be more or less identical to mine.

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NRA Instructor

That's what they taught back in the S&W revolver days at the armor's school.

Yes, there appears to be at least two variations of the revolver lockwork used by Miroku.

A side benefit would be being able to open your C-rats with the front sight!

That is NOT a bad looking gun by any means! I like it! I'll be crass....HOW MUCH???

Also is it 5 shot or 6 shot??

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CAJUNLAWYER...Pardon my slacker response to your post! Paid $294 total and then paid my FFL $20. The seller also included a parts kit of stuff he accumulated. It holds 6 rounds. It's a nice shooter.
Right now there's a fairly cheap one on GB with 2 days left on bidding.