Need Sleep...

"Snuze: Needs another Swede" (markg) 02/19/2015 at 21:25 • Filed to: None

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Trying to force myself to be tired so I can go to sleep. I need to get up and go in to work early so I can get some stuff done. Hopefully then I can get out early and pickup my Valentine's day gift (to myself).

Some vintage McLaren for your time.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Snuze: Needs another Swede 02/19/2015 at 22:31

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And for those interested, the Valentine's day gift is a Manurhin MR 73 4" Police model.

If you were following any of the Charlie Hebdo incident a few weeks ago, this is the favored side arm of France's elite GIGN counter terrorist unit.

wafflesnfalafel > Snuze: Needs another Swede 02/19/2015 at 22:59

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That whole thing has got to be a Patton throwback - pearl handles.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > wafflesnfalafel 02/19/2015 at 23:14

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"They're ivory. Only a pimp from a cheap New Orleans whorehouse would carry a pearl-handled pistol." - General George S. Patton

Also, I don't think Patton would carry a French handgun. He carried a pair of Colt Peacemaker Single Action Army .45's and later replaced one of them with a Smith & Wesson Model 27 in .357 Magnum.

The GIGN has it's own storied history, no sense in going about mucking it up with tacky grips.

wafflesnfalafel > Snuze: Needs another Swede 02/19/2015 at 23:29

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that is awesome - hadn't seen that quote. Do you know why GIGN uses those revolvers? I saw those on the news a while back and wondered, (thinking it was a Patton thing.)

Snuze: Needs another Swede > wafflesnfalafel 02/20/2015 at 10:41

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A .357 Magnum revolver has some really great advantages that people tend to discount. You can shoot .38 Specials out of a .357, and on the MR 73 in particular, Manurhin supplied a special cylinder that would accommodate 9x19mm Parabellum using moon clips. So it gives you a lot of flexibility - .38 Special is outdated, but it's a very low recoil cartridge and relatively cheap, so it's great for practice. 9mm is NATO standard so ammo is cheap and plentiful, also good for practice.

But for duty use, the .357 is an absolute beast of a cartridge, it's a real man stopper. That's the big appeal. The trade off, of course, is revolvers only hold 6 shots. But studies have shown that the 9mm, especially using plain ball ammo, is not that effective. So even if you have something like a Beretta, with a 15 rd magazine, it may take 2 to 3 shots to stop a target, something a .357 Magnum can do in 1 shot.

Also, revolvers don't jam like a semi-automatic. If something malfunctions in your semi-auto, you have to clear it. Best case is you tap the mag and rack the slide and the jam is cleared. Worst case, though, you end up with a malfunction that requires the weapon to be field stripped. With a revolver, just squeeze the trigger again and it will automatically cycle over to the next cylinder.

GIGN picked the Manurhin in particular because they are made in France and are both incredibly durable and extremely accurate. They are all hand fitted, it takes a skilled craftsman 12 hours to do the final assembly. Everything is blueprinted and all the working surfaces are honed and polished. It also has a match grade trigger which is user adjustable in both single action and double action. I don't think any other revolver, at least at the time these were introduced, has that feature. And they are way overbuilt. They were designed to withstand indefinite usage at 130% of the rated pressure of the .357 Magnum cartridge, and up to 200% over pressure without catastrophic failure.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > wafflesnfalafel 02/20/2015 at 23:37

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Well, it showed up today. It's showing a lot of holster wear, but I like character, and who knows, maybe its seen some work. But it feels nice and tight, a real quality piece - so far it's living up to every legend I've heard about Manurhin quality. I got a box of ammo and am going up to my gun smiths tomorrow, I'll let him take a look at it and hopefully we can put a few rounds through it.