So today I purchased a Manurhin MR 73 revolver 3". I have been looking for a 3" revolver for some time now and came acrossed this beauty while surfing calguns.net one evening and just had to have it. Apparently these French guns are both very strong and very high quality. One of the features I look forward to trying out is the adjustable trigger weight, apparently it is designed in such a way that an extra screw turn is all it takes to adjust the pull and over travel without affecting the hammer strike capability.
After looking it over today (since I live in Cali I can't Take it home for another ten days) I can say that it is the tightest revolver I've ever held. Whether or not it's accuracy is as good as what I've read remains to be seen but I will be reporting it here when I do finally take her out to the range. It has a parkerized finish with some characteristic holster wear that I love. The man I bought it from, purchased it from a collector who got it from a French fighter pilot supposedly, who knows but it's a cool story anyway.
As I said I've been searching for the coveted 3" k frame revolver for a long time and was going to just pick up S&W's new 2.75" model 66 but then I found this one and after holding it can already tell I'm going to love it just as much as my 4" model 19... probably even more, if I'm allowed to say that here.
The only thing is I'm having a very difficult time finding any wood grips for this thing, besides Nill grips which are beautiful but pricey and not exactly the style I'm looking for, I'd really like something compact that balances out the pistol in terms of length and ergonomics, something like a boot grip. I did find some surplus original grips for the Manurhin model f1/88 but I'm not sure if these will fit the MR 73. If anyone has any suggestions or knows if these would work for me please let me know. Regardless I am very excited about my new purchase and am eager to hear your thoughts and experiences with this rare wheelgun.
Updates***
So I took it apart last night and broke it down to the bare frame, cleaned everything, oiled it up and put it back together. I have to say that I was impressed by the detail of the work as well as how tight everything was fitted. The cleaning felt like it took a little off the trigger and slicked up the action a bit as well. I adjusted the trigger to my liking, not too light but enough to make it fun at the range, which I hope to visit sometime this weekend. I will post some pics of the internals in a little bit.
The gun is worn but functions flawlessly and is very tight, tighter than my model 19, and it hasn't been fired nearly as much. It is actually tighter than my 686+ was and I had purchased it brand new!
When in lock up the cylinder does not move at all. For it's age and heavy use over all the years I am quite surprised that this is the case.
The hand uses a coil spring so it must be a first generation, meaning from the mid seventies. It is clear from the wear of the parkerized finish that the gun was used a lot. As well as from the wear on the cylinder release, as the grooves have been smoothed out over the years.
The hand was a little bit marred on the end but to be expected. There are some dings and scratches indicating the gun was probably dropped more than once over the years. I managed to find the original wood grips factory new from Manurhin through a supplier/importer stateside. Well worth the price!
There is much more to include in my description that I will have to add later along with some pics of the internals for you guys.
After looking it over today (since I live in Cali I can't Take it home for another ten days) I can say that it is the tightest revolver I've ever held. Whether or not it's accuracy is as good as what I've read remains to be seen but I will be reporting it here when I do finally take her out to the range. It has a parkerized finish with some characteristic holster wear that I love. The man I bought it from, purchased it from a collector who got it from a French fighter pilot supposedly, who knows but it's a cool story anyway.
As I said I've been searching for the coveted 3" k frame revolver for a long time and was going to just pick up S&W's new 2.75" model 66 but then I found this one and after holding it can already tell I'm going to love it just as much as my 4" model 19... probably even more, if I'm allowed to say that here.
The only thing is I'm having a very difficult time finding any wood grips for this thing, besides Nill grips which are beautiful but pricey and not exactly the style I'm looking for, I'd really like something compact that balances out the pistol in terms of length and ergonomics, something like a boot grip. I did find some surplus original grips for the Manurhin model f1/88 but I'm not sure if these will fit the MR 73. If anyone has any suggestions or knows if these would work for me please let me know. Regardless I am very excited about my new purchase and am eager to hear your thoughts and experiences with this rare wheelgun.
Updates***
So I took it apart last night and broke it down to the bare frame, cleaned everything, oiled it up and put it back together. I have to say that I was impressed by the detail of the work as well as how tight everything was fitted. The cleaning felt like it took a little off the trigger and slicked up the action a bit as well. I adjusted the trigger to my liking, not too light but enough to make it fun at the range, which I hope to visit sometime this weekend. I will post some pics of the internals in a little bit.
The gun is worn but functions flawlessly and is very tight, tighter than my model 19, and it hasn't been fired nearly as much. It is actually tighter than my 686+ was and I had purchased it brand new!
When in lock up the cylinder does not move at all. For it's age and heavy use over all the years I am quite surprised that this is the case.
The hand uses a coil spring so it must be a first generation, meaning from the mid seventies. It is clear from the wear of the parkerized finish that the gun was used a lot. As well as from the wear on the cylinder release, as the grooves have been smoothed out over the years.
The hand was a little bit marred on the end but to be expected. There are some dings and scratches indicating the gun was probably dropped more than once over the years. I managed to find the original wood grips factory new from Manurhin through a supplier/importer stateside. Well worth the price!
There is much more to include in my description that I will have to add later along with some pics of the internals for you guys.
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Been trying to justify the investment in Manurhin or Korth for a few years. Now you've done and did it. 
