Just yesterday my new-well-used MR73 finally arrived, and just as I'd expected, it's a very impressive piece, even as clapped out as it is (more on that later). I see the occasional mention of various people owning/have owned one, but I was curious if anyone is actively shooting these with regularity. I plan on shooting mine a lot, after all.
My example is a pretty well worn, but not as bad as I'd expect for a gun with a likely +30 year service history, that was also likely used frequently for training if nothing else. It's a Century import, so likely one of the German "FBI-equivalent" trade in service guns. The bluing is completely worn at the sides of the muzzle and cylinder corners, but is more or less still present everywhere else (not bad for a ton of holster duty), and more importantly, nothing is actually rounded with wear. Lots of surfaces scratches, but no rust of any sort, and you can readily tell that at one time the bluing was immaculate (still is in the sheltered nooks & crannies). Hammer and trigger are still straw colored. The attached photo of the left side (sheltered side) shows the bluing much better than the right which has a lot more surface scratches covering it.
As I'd expected from reviews and research, the trigger pulls are quite excellent on these guns. Heavy, but short and smooth DA, and a ridiculously short SA trigger that is nearly rifle-like. As far as small fixed service sights go, I actually like the sight picture a lot (three equal square blocks with a little daylight between them), even if I'd prefer them to be a bit larger for shooting. Mine has the big, ugly rubber grips that are a little slippery, but feel as comfortable as the Hogue's on my S&W. The shooting posture is a little different with your hand a bit further back than on a S&W (not quite like a Bisley, but getting there). Weight seems quite reasonable, balance seems very similar to my much-larger N-Frame TRR8 (which has an aluminum frame) so recoil should be very pleasant. Even though DA is heavier, it is so much shorter than a Smith that you can pull the trigger really fast without moving the gun very much.
Main detractors are a few dings on the lug below the muzzle that appear to have been from the gun being dropped onto concrete/stone at one point (crown is okay, though), the upper side plate screw is absent (still two others holding it on, but they're a little buggered up), and one of the extractor star pins (think older S&W's) has apparently worked itself out and is gone. Mechanically, there is nearly imperceptible end shake (not surprising for a forged frame as massive as a cast Ruger's), the crane/yoke is solid, as is the extractor star and its front/back latch/detent. The potential problem, if it can be so called, is the bolt and bolt stops are a bit peened/worn, allowing about .04" of side play (total) side to side when engaged. The notches are still sharp/orthogonal, but the mating faces are pushed back, raising small burrs on the notches and bolt that can just barely catch a fingernail. It seems like the original play would be about half what it is now (so like .01" of wear/peening each on the bolt and notches)
The amount of play is less than my as-new S&W TRR8 which shoots fine, so I'm not concerned about safety, but the little burrs have caused a weird wear pattern in the cylinder blue (a constant line from the initial operation, and a more recent interrupted line that kind of zig zags to either side from where the raised burr now contacts the cylinder). This gun is definitely a silk purse that's been thrown into the Sow's pen for decades, so I think it'd be a good candidate for refinishing/repair into a go-to carry gun. But I'd want to do something about the bolt/timing, if nothing else smoothing off those burrs.
Have any Manurhin owner's out there who might have encountered similar issues ever replaced the bolt with a wider version to take up some of the extra slop, or would that be likely to induce timing issues on the other cylinders? At least on mine, the wear/peening appears very constant (as is the amount of play at each cylinder). I think the main reason I'd want to tighten that up would simply be to milk a little more accuracy from the barrel (which still looks new despite an obviously well-used breechface). In DA, I can readily state without firing that it'll be more accurate than my Smith; the 'stacking' is quite different, and the MR73 feels like it gets a much lighter pull as the trigger breaks. SA trigger is heavier and both have over-travel screws, so the Smith probably still wins there, simply because I don't practice near as much dry-fire as I probably should
TCB
My example is a pretty well worn, but not as bad as I'd expect for a gun with a likely +30 year service history, that was also likely used frequently for training if nothing else. It's a Century import, so likely one of the German "FBI-equivalent" trade in service guns. The bluing is completely worn at the sides of the muzzle and cylinder corners, but is more or less still present everywhere else (not bad for a ton of holster duty), and more importantly, nothing is actually rounded with wear. Lots of surfaces scratches, but no rust of any sort, and you can readily tell that at one time the bluing was immaculate (still is in the sheltered nooks & crannies). Hammer and trigger are still straw colored. The attached photo of the left side (sheltered side) shows the bluing much better than the right which has a lot more surface scratches covering it.
As I'd expected from reviews and research, the trigger pulls are quite excellent on these guns. Heavy, but short and smooth DA, and a ridiculously short SA trigger that is nearly rifle-like. As far as small fixed service sights go, I actually like the sight picture a lot (three equal square blocks with a little daylight between them), even if I'd prefer them to be a bit larger for shooting. Mine has the big, ugly rubber grips that are a little slippery, but feel as comfortable as the Hogue's on my S&W. The shooting posture is a little different with your hand a bit further back than on a S&W (not quite like a Bisley, but getting there). Weight seems quite reasonable, balance seems very similar to my much-larger N-Frame TRR8 (which has an aluminum frame) so recoil should be very pleasant. Even though DA is heavier, it is so much shorter than a Smith that you can pull the trigger really fast without moving the gun very much.
Main detractors are a few dings on the lug below the muzzle that appear to have been from the gun being dropped onto concrete/stone at one point (crown is okay, though), the upper side plate screw is absent (still two others holding it on, but they're a little buggered up), and one of the extractor star pins (think older S&W's) has apparently worked itself out and is gone. Mechanically, there is nearly imperceptible end shake (not surprising for a forged frame as massive as a cast Ruger's), the crane/yoke is solid, as is the extractor star and its front/back latch/detent. The potential problem, if it can be so called, is the bolt and bolt stops are a bit peened/worn, allowing about .04" of side play (total) side to side when engaged. The notches are still sharp/orthogonal, but the mating faces are pushed back, raising small burrs on the notches and bolt that can just barely catch a fingernail. It seems like the original play would be about half what it is now (so like .01" of wear/peening each on the bolt and notches)
The amount of play is less than my as-new S&W TRR8 which shoots fine, so I'm not concerned about safety, but the little burrs have caused a weird wear pattern in the cylinder blue (a constant line from the initial operation, and a more recent interrupted line that kind of zig zags to either side from where the raised burr now contacts the cylinder). This gun is definitely a silk purse that's been thrown into the Sow's pen for decades, so I think it'd be a good candidate for refinishing/repair into a go-to carry gun. But I'd want to do something about the bolt/timing, if nothing else smoothing off those burrs.
Have any Manurhin owner's out there who might have encountered similar issues ever replaced the bolt with a wider version to take up some of the extra slop, or would that be likely to induce timing issues on the other cylinders? At least on mine, the wear/peening appears very constant (as is the amount of play at each cylinder). I think the main reason I'd want to tighten that up would simply be to milk a little more accuracy from the barrel (which still looks new despite an obviously well-used breechface). In DA, I can readily state without firing that it'll be more accurate than my Smith; the 'stacking' is quite different, and the MR73 feels like it gets a much lighter pull as the trigger breaks. SA trigger is heavier and both have over-travel screws, so the Smith probably still wins there, simply because I don't practice near as much dry-fire as I probably should
TCB
)
)
, but the gun I have is definitely worth what I paid; it looks to be in much better overall condition than those from AA (maybe with the exclusion of the cylinder/bolt condition; I only see one turn line on those)
