Its certainly got my vote, anyway. In fact, its got my vote as the best revolver period. That’s how highly I think of this stellar French wheelgun. 
The Manurhin MR 73 was developed in France in the early 1970‘s. It was introduced, not surprisingly, in 1973. The main reason for its introduction was to arm the French police with something much more substantial than the old and weak 32ACP pistols they had been using since being liberated from Nazi occupation. Manurhin also built the MR 73 to supply the elite French counter terrorist unit, GIGN with a top of the line weapon to replace their Smith & Wesson 19s. A GIGN Trooper fired an average of 40,000 rounds per year and the S&W simply wasn’t up to the task. This revolver was built largely by hand out of the finest materials. It was built to extremely high standards of quality and durability. While the MR is fairly small revolver (about the size of a S&W K frame), its strength is enormous. The barrel, cylinder, and frame are all forged from ordnance-certified tool steel.
Barrel lengths varied from 2.5" all the way up to 10.75". The shorter barrel lengths were used primarily for police and defensive models with fixed sights, while Sport, Target, and Silhouette models with adjustable sights and larger grips were generally offered in barrel lengths of 5.25" and longer. The main caliber was 357 Magnum, but they were also offered in 38 Special, 32 S&W Long, 22LR, and a conversion cylinder for 9mm Luger was offered with the 357 Magnum models. The MR 73 served many purposes and filled many needs. There was a caliber suited for almost anything.
The barrel is cold hammer forged and the rifling is formed in this process, not cut in an extra step. The inner surface of the barrel is, likewise, extremely hard and incredibly smooth. This makes the bore of the MR 73 all but indestructible. The Manurhin factory museum displays an example that has fired about 100,000 full power 357 Magnum rounds with no signs of slowing down. Another torture test had an MR 73 firing 170,000 rounds of Norma 158gr 357 Magnum without hurting the gun. Its been estimated that the bore could handle 300,000 rounds before beginning to show wear. I’m not sure whether or not I believe that last sentence, but if there’s any revolver with that kind of stamina, its this one. You sure wouldn’t see a Smith, Colt, or probably even a Ruger doing it.
The MR 73‘s cylinder’s strength is just as impressive. Each revolver is factory tested with ammunition loaded to well over the 357 Mag’s maximum pressure. In fact, the factory guarantees no cylinder deformation with pressures up to 90,000psi, which is remarkably impressive. The manufacturing of the cylinder involves it being machined out of the forged steel. The cylinder chambers are burnished after being drilled, resulting in them being glass smooth and incredibly rigid.
Despite all these terrific superlatives of construction, the basic design of the Manurhin was based on the Smith & Wesson revolver. However, there were some key differences. The hammer on the MR only moves about 40 degrees from fully cocked to rest, whereas a typical Smith & Wesson hammer moves about 15 degrees more. This makes the trigger pull quite short. To compensate for the heavier spring needed for the shorter travel, the MR 73 employs several roller bearings in the action to smooth its function. Without getting into specifics, the unique mechanism also allows the trigger weight to be finely adjusted independently from the mainspring. This means the trigger pull can be lightened without fear of a weak hammer strike. This is accomplished through a special adjustment screw on the front of the grip strap (visible in the pictures). Other than this, the MR 73 internal parts are of much higher strength and quality than a S&W of the same period. As mentioned above, the Manurhin’s parts are all forged from the highest grade steel. Smith & Wesson typically used a much softer and lesser grade of steel and then case hardened it. While this worked well for the most part and most aplications, it paled in comparison to Manurhin’s far superior construction methods.
The MR 73 has a strikingly unique appearance, unlike any other revolver I can think of. Its got sort of a lurched forward aggressive stance to it, which I find cool. The mirror-like bluing is beautiful and deep as an ocean. The checkered walnut grips came in a few different styles. Each one looks great and supports an excellent hold on the revolver. The grips are always adorned on the bottom by gold MR medallions. The hammer and trigger are strawed to a handsome burnt bronze hue. There’s also four distinctive plum colored “dots” on the left side of the frame, which are the result of frame pins reacting differently to the bluing salts. Its just a really beautiful revolver, in my opinion, and there’s no mistaking it for anything else.
Performance was another priority for the Manurhin company and the MR 73 was built for match grade accuracy and smooth function. An MR 73 revolver didn’t leave the factory unless it produced a 5-shot group of under 20mm at 25 meters. That’s about 3/4 of an inch. Again, this is quite impressive and basically as good as it gets. This is all from a service based revolver, mind you. With its longer barreled and target sighted variants, it was a service revolver that also turned into some of the best sporting and target revolvers the world had ever seen. Does this story sound vaguely familiar?
The MR 73‘s story line is very similar to a legendary auto pistol from Switzerland. Both the MR 73 and Sig P210 were designed with service as the main purpose. Because their design was so outstanding and their construction so exemplary, these guns were capable of so much more. They both proved that over the years. For a service gun to be able to shoot with the best target guns in the world, really amazes me. The MR 73 is the Sig P210 of revolvers, in my opinion. They are two of the finest handguns ever built and they just happened to start life as service guns.
I just picked up this early production commercial Police/Defense model with a 4“ barrel to add to my 6“ MR 73 Sport. The Police/Defense models were offered in barrel lengths of 2.5, 3, and 4“ in length. This example bears a very low, four digit serial number of just over 3000 and was produced in the mid 1970's. Condition is superb and I’m not sure it was ever fired outside the factory. The bluing and grips are both perfect. Its complete with a lanyard loop in the butt of the grip frame. As you can see, this gun came with the box and accessories, but no papers or test target.
Being such an early build, it differs slightly from my Sport model, which was built a few years later. As you can see, there is a screw in the top of the frame near the hammer that was later deleted in favor of wedging the frame together. The internal trigger spring varies slightly as well, as Manurhin improved the design over the years for faster firing.
By now, you can obviously tell, I’m a huge fan of this revolver. I love the performance, the ergonomics, the appearance, the history, and the amazing build quality. While I love vintage American revolvers, I’m fairly confident in saying that neither Smith & Wesson or Colt ever produced a firearm approaching this combination of quality, refinement, performance, and brute strength and durability. In fact, I don’t think its even close when you factor everything in together.
How does it measure up to the legendary Korth Combat, you may ask? The Korth Combat is, without a shadow of a doubt, the finest factory revolver money can buy. Its certainly more refined than the MR 73 and arguably just as accurate, strong and durable. Having said that, I like the MR 73 more. For me, it exudes a character and “soul” that the Korth lacks, to a degree that it transcends the German gun as a whole. The Korth is basically perfect in form and function. In fact, maybe its too perfect to the point that it lacks personality in my eyes. It may sound silly to some, but the MR 73's pedigree coupled with everything else, puts it on top of the Korth in my book.
Hopefully, this thread brings the Manurhin a little more attention going forward. When everything is combined and all factors are taken into account, its got my vote as the best revolver ever made.
Please enjoy the pics and thanks for reading.
The Manurhin MR 73 was developed in France in the early 1970‘s. It was introduced, not surprisingly, in 1973. The main reason for its introduction was to arm the French police with something much more substantial than the old and weak 32ACP pistols they had been using since being liberated from Nazi occupation. Manurhin also built the MR 73 to supply the elite French counter terrorist unit, GIGN with a top of the line weapon to replace their Smith & Wesson 19s. A GIGN Trooper fired an average of 40,000 rounds per year and the S&W simply wasn’t up to the task. This revolver was built largely by hand out of the finest materials. It was built to extremely high standards of quality and durability. While the MR is fairly small revolver (about the size of a S&W K frame), its strength is enormous. The barrel, cylinder, and frame are all forged from ordnance-certified tool steel.
Barrel lengths varied from 2.5" all the way up to 10.75". The shorter barrel lengths were used primarily for police and defensive models with fixed sights, while Sport, Target, and Silhouette models with adjustable sights and larger grips were generally offered in barrel lengths of 5.25" and longer. The main caliber was 357 Magnum, but they were also offered in 38 Special, 32 S&W Long, 22LR, and a conversion cylinder for 9mm Luger was offered with the 357 Magnum models. The MR 73 served many purposes and filled many needs. There was a caliber suited for almost anything.
The barrel is cold hammer forged and the rifling is formed in this process, not cut in an extra step. The inner surface of the barrel is, likewise, extremely hard and incredibly smooth. This makes the bore of the MR 73 all but indestructible. The Manurhin factory museum displays an example that has fired about 100,000 full power 357 Magnum rounds with no signs of slowing down. Another torture test had an MR 73 firing 170,000 rounds of Norma 158gr 357 Magnum without hurting the gun. Its been estimated that the bore could handle 300,000 rounds before beginning to show wear. I’m not sure whether or not I believe that last sentence, but if there’s any revolver with that kind of stamina, its this one. You sure wouldn’t see a Smith, Colt, or probably even a Ruger doing it.
The MR 73‘s cylinder’s strength is just as impressive. Each revolver is factory tested with ammunition loaded to well over the 357 Mag’s maximum pressure. In fact, the factory guarantees no cylinder deformation with pressures up to 90,000psi, which is remarkably impressive. The manufacturing of the cylinder involves it being machined out of the forged steel. The cylinder chambers are burnished after being drilled, resulting in them being glass smooth and incredibly rigid.
Despite all these terrific superlatives of construction, the basic design of the Manurhin was based on the Smith & Wesson revolver. However, there were some key differences. The hammer on the MR only moves about 40 degrees from fully cocked to rest, whereas a typical Smith & Wesson hammer moves about 15 degrees more. This makes the trigger pull quite short. To compensate for the heavier spring needed for the shorter travel, the MR 73 employs several roller bearings in the action to smooth its function. Without getting into specifics, the unique mechanism also allows the trigger weight to be finely adjusted independently from the mainspring. This means the trigger pull can be lightened without fear of a weak hammer strike. This is accomplished through a special adjustment screw on the front of the grip strap (visible in the pictures). Other than this, the MR 73 internal parts are of much higher strength and quality than a S&W of the same period. As mentioned above, the Manurhin’s parts are all forged from the highest grade steel. Smith & Wesson typically used a much softer and lesser grade of steel and then case hardened it. While this worked well for the most part and most aplications, it paled in comparison to Manurhin’s far superior construction methods.
The MR 73 has a strikingly unique appearance, unlike any other revolver I can think of. Its got sort of a lurched forward aggressive stance to it, which I find cool. The mirror-like bluing is beautiful and deep as an ocean. The checkered walnut grips came in a few different styles. Each one looks great and supports an excellent hold on the revolver. The grips are always adorned on the bottom by gold MR medallions. The hammer and trigger are strawed to a handsome burnt bronze hue. There’s also four distinctive plum colored “dots” on the left side of the frame, which are the result of frame pins reacting differently to the bluing salts. Its just a really beautiful revolver, in my opinion, and there’s no mistaking it for anything else.
Performance was another priority for the Manurhin company and the MR 73 was built for match grade accuracy and smooth function. An MR 73 revolver didn’t leave the factory unless it produced a 5-shot group of under 20mm at 25 meters. That’s about 3/4 of an inch. Again, this is quite impressive and basically as good as it gets. This is all from a service based revolver, mind you. With its longer barreled and target sighted variants, it was a service revolver that also turned into some of the best sporting and target revolvers the world had ever seen. Does this story sound vaguely familiar?
The MR 73‘s story line is very similar to a legendary auto pistol from Switzerland. Both the MR 73 and Sig P210 were designed with service as the main purpose. Because their design was so outstanding and their construction so exemplary, these guns were capable of so much more. They both proved that over the years. For a service gun to be able to shoot with the best target guns in the world, really amazes me. The MR 73 is the Sig P210 of revolvers, in my opinion. They are two of the finest handguns ever built and they just happened to start life as service guns.
I just picked up this early production commercial Police/Defense model with a 4“ barrel to add to my 6“ MR 73 Sport. The Police/Defense models were offered in barrel lengths of 2.5, 3, and 4“ in length. This example bears a very low, four digit serial number of just over 3000 and was produced in the mid 1970's. Condition is superb and I’m not sure it was ever fired outside the factory. The bluing and grips are both perfect. Its complete with a lanyard loop in the butt of the grip frame. As you can see, this gun came with the box and accessories, but no papers or test target.
Being such an early build, it differs slightly from my Sport model, which was built a few years later. As you can see, there is a screw in the top of the frame near the hammer that was later deleted in favor of wedging the frame together. The internal trigger spring varies slightly as well, as Manurhin improved the design over the years for faster firing.
By now, you can obviously tell, I’m a huge fan of this revolver. I love the performance, the ergonomics, the appearance, the history, and the amazing build quality. While I love vintage American revolvers, I’m fairly confident in saying that neither Smith & Wesson or Colt ever produced a firearm approaching this combination of quality, refinement, performance, and brute strength and durability. In fact, I don’t think its even close when you factor everything in together.
How does it measure up to the legendary Korth Combat, you may ask? The Korth Combat is, without a shadow of a doubt, the finest factory revolver money can buy. Its certainly more refined than the MR 73 and arguably just as accurate, strong and durable. Having said that, I like the MR 73 more. For me, it exudes a character and “soul” that the Korth lacks, to a degree that it transcends the German gun as a whole. The Korth is basically perfect in form and function. In fact, maybe its too perfect to the point that it lacks personality in my eyes. It may sound silly to some, but the MR 73's pedigree coupled with everything else, puts it on top of the Korth in my book.
Hopefully, this thread brings the Manurhin a little more attention going forward. When everything is combined and all factors are taken into account, its got my vote as the best revolver ever made.
Please enjoy the pics and thanks for reading.
