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Revolvers have remained popular with some members of European tactical teams, including GSG-9.

I'M pretty positive he is GSG-9 and if memory serves me right they use the Manurin revolvers.

Great photo. That revolver appears to be a Manurhin MR 73. The MR 73 is also very popular with French police as well. Regards 18DAI

Could someone explain how you'd go about using the backward facing mag...bend your wrist to wrap your hand around it...pull out...twist your wrist back...insert? If that's the case it seems very awkward.

I find it somewhat strange that for many years U.S. police carried wheelguns while the europeans used autos- it seems this situation has reversed with nearly all U.S. forces using autos these days but more euro agencies going with revolvers.

The typical flip up and down mag arrangement puts the down mag in the dirt if you go prone. Nothing like being in a hurry to load a malfunction.

I have never been keen on 'jungle clips' in any fashion, especially when I was in the jungle!

They previously used S&W and Ruger revolvers. On the famous GSG-9 hostage rescue at the Mogadishu airport in Somalia, revolvers were used to kill several of the terrorists. Iirc, Jeff Cooper said that Ulrich Wegener, the commander of the team, went through the door of the plane with a Model 60 in his hand, and killed the first terrorist with it.

On a visit to Germany in the early 80's, I toured several police stations, and went on a ride along. There was an MP-5 under the front seat, which having never seen one before, I was very impressed with. The German officers thought nothing of it, and instead wished they could carry shotguns, like they saw in the pictures I showed them of our patrol cars.

Grass is always greener I guess......

The tag on his body armor says "Polizei", making him German or Austrian. I can't tell what kind of wheel gun that is, probably a S&W of some sort, a 686 maybe?

The GSG and other European counter terror units use the Ruger GP100, as well as the Manurhin. I forget the exact round count but the GSG operatives fire their .357 revolvers pretty much daily for training, something like 120 rounds at the start of every shift or rotation, to maintain proficiency. I assume they fire their other weapons too, but they value the .357 for it's stopping power in short range room clearing and the Manurhin and GP100 were the only revolvers that could hold up to the training requirements.

A few hostage rescue teams still carry revolvers.

On reason is that if you have to close with the hostage taker and he/she has surrounded themselves with the hostages a semiauto will possibly be jammed when fired by peoples hair,clothing, contact with bodies, etc.

Also revolvers are less lilely to malfunction when you are in a grappling situation with a "bad person".

Early on Capt. Dick Marcinko has SEAL Team 6 carrying S&W Mod 66's for that, and other reasons.

I was the Chief Investigator for the Mainz Military Police from 1982 -1984. We had very close ties with the Polizei. A good friend was the Chief of the K-5 secton of the Police Presidium in Rhine-Land Paltz[K-5 was the drug section].Ghanian Nationals [from Africa] were at the time buying up hotels or hostels and using them for drug houses and distribution points.My friend ,Jurgen, had spent an 18 month exchange in the US with a Sheriffs' Dept in New Mexico, as his father had done some 20 years before. Jurgen would call me every time they got ready to raid one of these "houses" and ask for me and my investigators to come along on the raid.I always had to tell him there had to be an American Military connection for me to have jurisdiction[he always had some "cock-a-mamie" story] When we showed up for the Pre-brief the first order of busniess was to swap their MP-5 SMGs with my guys for our Winchester mod. 1200 shotguns. In Germany shotguns were "verboten" and my guys were like pigs in heat with SMGs. Viola! A marriage made in "heaven"!!!I have great rememberances of Jurgen, the German Polizei,and my 4+ years in Germany. Nick

Looking closer at what I thought was a weight on the butt of the revolver, it appears to be a light. I think the on/off switch is visible. Interesting.

I'd like to have a few of those speed loader carriers. Regards 18DAI.

Strange question, but does anyone have an idea as to the type/weight the .357 ammo is that was used by these officers and do they still use revolvers at this time? Just curious

Hi,

this LEO is not a GSG9-member (see his "POLICE" badge on the right chest), but surely a member of the so called SEK (Sonder-Einsatz-Kommando, translated special deployment commando) of the Police departments of the federal countries here in Germany. From a buddy of mine, who used to be a member of a SEK, I know they had S&W 357 Magnum revolvers in their equipment for situations where larger caliber than 9mm Luger was requiered. The HK MP5 is for firepower, the wheelgun for penetration (cars, doors, dry walls etc.). I think I remember they had 686 with his SEK, but others might have had other models (the police departments of the federal countries issue the gun models for their responsibility, so for example the GSG9 as a unit of the state had Manurhin revolvers).

regards
Ulrich

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Life is too short to own a bad gun

I love the two Jetloaders on the holster.

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N.R.A. BENEFACTOR Member

for now all the national police force and gendarmerie use sig 226
in 9 m/m
the GIGN continue to use mr 73 in 357mag possible they have model 60 for back up or special ops .
perhaps some female staff have ruger sp101
the metropolitan police have revolver in 38 sp or 32 acp pistol