MR73
The Manurhin MR73 is French .357 single and double action revolver in use by the French Gendarmerie. The MR73 is chambered in .357 Magnum (can also fire .38 special) and holds 6 rounds in the cilinder. The revolver has both a single and a double action hammer.
The MR73 is a high end made revolver and all of the parts are hand fitted. The manufactering process has alot of strict requirements, but in the end it is the one of the most durable and accurate handgun. The pistols are factory test fired at 25m and require to shoot a 15 round group not bigger than 20mm.
The French Gendarmerie adopted the MR73 in 1973 and was the standard issue sidearm. The MR73 was chosen instead of semi automatic pistols because it can be quickly drawn since it has no manual safety, it was able to reliably shoot different loads and overall reliable since it has only a few moving parts. The MR73 was used by the GIGN during the hijacking of Air France flight 8969. Where it did what is promised to do. The GIGN (special unit of the Gendarmerie) adopted a variant of the MR73 with a 8 inch (203.2 mm) barrel with a bipod and scope attached. The sniper pistol variant of the MR73 was more compact than a rifle and was powerfull and accurate enough to fullfill that role. The sniper was able to position in smaller and cramped positions with a revolver than a rifle. The pistol was equipped with a Bushnell magnum phantom 2.5x pistol optic.
There are different variants of the MR73:
- MR73 sport, civillian sporting version
- MR73 Gendarmerie
- MR32 match, chambered in .32 S&W long, single action only
- MR38 match, chambered in .38 special, single action only
- MR22 match, chambered in .22 long rifle, single action only
- MR88 - Special police F1, special police, non high-end version
- MR93, sporting version.
- MR96, sporting version
The original MR73 features different barrel lenghts
2.25 in (57.2 mm)
2.75 in (69.9 mm)
3 in (76.2 mm)
4 in (101.6 mm)
4.25 in (108.0 mm)
5.25 in (133.4 mm)
6 in (152.4 mm)
8 in (203.2 mm)
10 in (254.0 mm)
