DWalt
Well-known member
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
[
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.
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
[
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.
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