From: baechler@lia.di.epfl.ch (Emmanuel Baechler)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Superiour revolvers (was: Re: Smith & Wesson Autos)
Date: 15 Dec 92 13:30:14 GMT


# Less than half the price of the 73, that makes it very iteresting
# indeed. What are the prices in Switerland at the moment?

I paid my 686 900 sfr. Now, it the same. A MR-93 is around 1050 sfr. A US
dollar is around 1.4 sfr. As you can see the prices are quite close. At
least, they are comparable.

# Only problem is that the Norwegian police have this strange ide that
# you do not need more than one gun in each caliber. If you want more
# than one, you will have to show some specific reason. I might be
# difficult to sell them the idea that I need both a 6" 586 in .357 and
# a 5"? MR-93 in .357 :-)

Isn't "collection" a good reason in Norway?
There may be a good motivation: a 6" revolver has difficulties with the
UIT size limits, especially when you add an orthopedic grip. The revolvers
with a 5.25" barrel don't have this problem.

# The primary reason for getting a MR-93 would be a (presumably) better
# trigger, along with the satisfaction of owning something which is a
# bit more carefully built. I use my 586 mostly for competitions where
# speed is more essential than accuracy, so a good trigger is very
# essential. It is not IPSC, but something which is essentialy the
# military or UIT large bore pistol "feltskyting" (field shooting?)....

The 686 is much better than what most poeple think. At least mine is, even
if it is not finished with the care that I want. Altough the MR-93 is cast
(The cylinder and the barrels are however the ones of the MR-73), it is
however very well made and finished. The difference with the finish of a
Ruger is more than impressive.

Out of the box, the trigger of the MR-93 is better than the one of the 686
in double action. In single action I still prefer the one of the 686, but
the difference is small. The S&W is simply a bit more "direct". Both are
excellent. In addition, with it's design, you can easily remove the trigger
mechanism of the MR-93 and prepare it. Finally, Manurhin is preparing a
match trigger mechanism wich will be simply plugged in the revolver, instead
of the standard one.

Finally, I found my report on the MR-93:

------------------------------------------------------------------

In several of my previous postings, I spoke of the MR-73, which the most
impressive revolver I have ever seen. Unhappily, it is not well commercialized
in the US. The few people who were able to try it found it truely
outstanding, and, unhappily, horrendously expensive.

Manurhin has now produced a new revolver, which keeps the quality and the
accuracy of the previous one, while the price is much lower (around $100
more than my S&W 686).

First of all, the look of this gun is entirely original, it doesn't look
like any other one. Personally I love its ultra-modern style.

Second, the ergonomy is excellent. The grips have been designed by Morini
and they are excellent. The bore is also lower than on the other revolvers.
this means that this guns raises much less than the other .357, even with
Remington 125Gr SHJP ammo.

The double action trigger of this revolver is the best I have ever
tried. As the one of the S&W, it is "double stage", but it is lighter
and smoother than the one of my 686. Contrary to this one, it doesn't
really require any improvement, and it is perfect out of the box. Even
better, this trigger is modular: it is fixed on the sideplate, and
goes with it, making cleaning and improvements easier.  If you need an
adjustable match trigger, one is currently under design, and the owner
will be able to place it directly.

The sights are excellent. The front sight can be changed (which is not new).
More interesting, the rear sight can be changed too! Both an adjustable and
a fixed front sight are delivered with each revolver. The adjustable sight
is mounted on the revolver (and adjusted for shooting at 25 meters). The
user can however replace it by the fixed one. This is not only convenient
for the user, it is also for the manufacturer too: there's no more need for
two different series of guns (one for combat and one for target).

The adjustment of the cylinder is different too. Instead of locking it at
the front of the ejecting rod, the cylinder crane contains a vertical pin
locking it just under the barrel. This method is claimed to get the same
accuracy than the other one, but it requires the precise adjustment of
much less pieces, and it is more robust.

As on the Dan Wessons, the Cylinder latch is on the cylinder crane, but
it is on the other side. This allows to open and unload the revolver in
a single gesture. It takes a small moment to be accustomed to it but it
is extremely efficient.

The barrel is also separate from his "enveloppe". This allows a very precise
adjutment of the space between the cylinder and the barrel. IN the same time

the "enveloppe" can be adjusted independently, which provides a better
placement of the front sight.

Manurhin, used a lot of invesment casting for this revolver. The two
only forged pieces are the cylinder and the barrel (which are the ones
of the MR-73). All the other pieces are cast. Each piece is finished
on a separate CNC mini-worskop, and each piece must meet tolerances of
at most 1 hundredth of milimeter (for some pieces, the tolerances may
be tighter). This allows Manurhin to assemble a gun in four hours,
without any more manual finish. The overall quality AND finish is
however absolutely excellent.

I have a MR-93 since three months and a half. I am really impressed by this
gun. I love its look, and it works impressively well. Sometimes, living in
Europe has its privilleges too. I simply hope that you will able to share
this one quickly.

Emmanuel Baechler.                        | Tel.: ++41-21-693-2732
Laboratoire d'Intelligence Artificielle   | e-mail: baechler@lia.di.epfl.ch
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne  |     or: baechler@liasun6.epfl.ch
MA-Ecublens                               | Standard Disclaimer
CH-1015 Lausanne	Switzerland

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