Have you ever wonder what the strongest revolver being manufactured is? According to the gent over at Sootch00, it’s the Manurhin MR73.
Never heard of it? That’s not really surprising considering there aren’t very many of them in the United States. The revolvers are made in France at the same factory that used to make Walther PPs and PPKs. That’s thanks to the fact that Walther was not able to produce them in Germany after the war, so the company contracted with Manurhin for the manufacturing.
Because the Manurhin MR73s aren’t super well known here in the States, they are pretty hard to come by. Sootch00 says that since 1973, these are the best revolvers in production. So good, in fact, that the French Special police forces helped design them to fit their standards. They are so well made that the MR73s are designed to take a full 150 fully loaded 357 magnums a day. He went on to say that some revolvers are documented to have run at least 175,000 rounds through them.
The MR73s that are in the country are being imported, but most are police surplus. He says the prices can range from $500 for used ones on surplus sites to $6,000 for a new model. The ones reviewed by Sootch00 are the police/combat models that come in 357 Magnum as well as 38 Special. Manurhin did have a 9mm cylinder to swap into the frames, but in the 1980s French law changed to make the 9mm illegal, so the company had to stop production.
The models have 3”-10” barrel options, with the longer barrels having bipods and scopes mounted to help with precision. The grips that are found most often are the military rubber ones, as it’s nearly impossible (or cost-prohibitive, perhaps) to find the walnut grips. He also
likes the beavertail on the grip to hold for 2nd and 3rd shots (or more) of the 6-round cylinder.
Each MR73 spends about twelve hours in the factory getting all the parts hand-fitted. They have hammer forged barrels along with the forged cylinders and receivers out of what they refer to as ordinance steel alloy. They are roughly the size of a K-frame with a straight back single- or double-action hammer.
MR73 accuracy is solid and known to be accurate even after many rounds. Supposedly the revolver’s accuracy has to be at most a .8” grouping at 25 yards in order to leave the factory. Not only that but the revolvers are tested with loaded ammo that has pressures about 30 percent stronger than commercially available loading.
He said that since they are surplus, that they’ll need to be taken apart to clean them up. With a two-piece grip and replacement parts being hard to come by, you’ll want to take it slow and easy and make sure you’re using gunsmithing tools to minimize any potential damage.
So, there you go, the Manurhin MR73 revolver — the strongest revolver out there.
French Badassery: The .357 Magnum GIGN Revolver Sniper
Bucky Lawson (June 14, 2021)
“The coolest combat revolver ever made.” That’s how Forgotten Weapons firearms guru Ian McCollum describes the Manurhin MR73 “Sniper Revolver.” A bold statement, but I have to agree that it would be tough to top a hand-fitted double-action .357 Magnum with an eight-inch
barrel designed to fire “multiple hundreds of thousands of rounds” over its lifetime that’s also equipped with a scope and bipod.
The MR73 was the standard service pistol of the elite French counterterror unit known as the Groupe D’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (National Gendarmerie Intervention Group) or GIGN. Think of them as the rough equivalent of the American FBI Hostage Rescue Team or the German GSG 9. The GIGN revolver first entered service in 1973 and has not been officially retired, though it last saw widespread operational use around 2000.
I wasn’t personally aware of the MR73 and its official role until quite recently, and I thought to myself, “Why in the name of Sam Colt would a high-speed outfit like the GIGN choose a revolver as its primary sidearm?” Well, they had some pretty good reasons, as I learned. Ian does a great job explaining them in his video, keeping in mind the context of the early 1970s when all this went down:
• The only autoloaders available to the GIGN at the time were the Colt 1911, Browning Hi-Power, and French Mac 50, all single action only pistols.
• At the time, it was standard to not carry “cocked and locked,” meaning that any SA autoloader would require some kind of manipulation upon being drawn.
• The available autoloaders only met reliability standards with FMJ ball ammo, but since GIGN envisioned much of their mission to be hostage rescue, possibly in confined quarters such as airliners, they needed to use JHP to prevent over-penetration. A revolver gave them that capability with the reliability they needed.
• GIGN philosophy focused on fewer high precision shots as opposed to volume of fire, again reflecting their mission parameters. Because of this, capacity wasn’t a major concern, especially considering the available autoloaders only had standard capacities of eight or nine rounds anyway. GIGN was thinking in terms of two to three well-aimed shots.
Mechanical Stuff
So, the Manurhin Firearms Division designed the MR73 to the exacting standards laid down by the GIGN. Chambered in .357 Magnum, it features, essentially, what Ian describes as “improved Smith & Wesson lockwork” beefed up to handle the demanding training schedule of the GIGN. They had to be able to maintain a pace of around 150 rounds per day, every day, over the lifespan of the gun. As mentioned earlier, “multiple hundreds of thousands of rounds” without major wear and tear or malfunctions. And that is with .357 Magnum combat loads. No .38 Special plinking for this hot rod.
The MR73 was available with 3, 4, and 5 ¼ inch barrels, and every GIGN revolver was extensively hand fitted. As Ian notes, “the quality is there.” The trigger is equipped with roller bearings for a smooth pull and is adjustable in both SA and DA. Ian describes a “heavier cocking stroke” (snicker) for the hammer, but a lighter and smoother DA pull designed for a high level of precision. And high precision they are. The factory accuracy standard was no more than a 20-millimeter (0.8 inches) group at 25 meters. Ian says the MR73s are “supremely accurate revolvers.” Now put a scope on that.
The scope was a 2.5x Bushnell Magnum Phantom (again, consider the context of the time) with a simple crosshair reticle. The bipod was a Harris 1A2 Ultralight with a proprietary mount designed by GIGN and manufactured by Manurhin.
Mission
The sniper version came about in 1981 when the GIGN took over Presidential security from the police. According to Ian, the Presidential Mansion has certain windows that make great spots for snipers as part of the security setup but are so cramped that a rifle would have had to stick way out past the sill. So, the “supremely accurate” MR73 GIGN revolver, with an eight-inch barrel, scope, and bipod was slotted in. The shots in that role were expected to be no more than 100 yards, well within the capabilities of the scoped revolver, especially with a highly trained GIGN shooter on it.
As mentioned earlier, the MR73 hasn’t seen widespread operational service since about 2000, but it hasn’t been officially retired. It serves as the standard GIGN sidearm in ceremonial duties and it is believed that certain GIGN operators still carry it, as they have a lot of freedom regarding their personal weapons and gear. Ian says that GIGN “Likes the idea that they are high-speed operators using .357 Magnum revolvers,” so that may well be the case. There are a “handful” of sniper versions still in the armory, but none are known to have been used in that role for fifteen years or so.
Manurhin
Ian gives a brief, but interesting, history of the Manurhin company, including their involvement with Walther after World War II. I personally own a Manurhin P1 version of the venerable Walther P38. The company has been bought up by at least a couple of conglomerates over the last few decades, its current parent company being the French hunting firearms manufacturer Chapui Armes. Beretta USA has partnered with Chapui Armes to import a new civilian MR73 to the US, with the same standards and quality (and price). Damn fine-looking firearms.
Ian doesn’t hold back on his final evaluation of the weapon: “Every bit as good as the Colt Python, arguably better, given the longevity they can stand up to… The MR73 is, I think, without a doubt, the finest revolver they (Manurhin) ever made and, arguably, one of the best revolvers ever made, period.”