Beretta is bringing in MR73 revolvers

[OlongJohnson]

I'm pretty sure K frames weren't designed with modern gaming DA shooting in mind, but they seem to live with it OK.

[falnovice]

Update: it was definitely the cylinder stop. See below for photo of the old cylinder stop side by side with the replacement that Chapuis sent me.

Attachment 78424

The damaged stop on the right has developed a rounded edge where it interfaces with the cylinder notches, which is likely why it was skipping past cylinders in fast double action fire. What's interesting is I also noticed minute deformation on the cylinder notches themselves, which I'm going to keep an eye on.

Interesting. Please keep us posted on how the new part holds up.
I really want one of these, so I hope this is a one-off error on the heat treat or something.

[Rex G]

Hmm. Perhaps, the MR73 may actually do better when with fired with powerful Magnum loads, as the effects of recoil prevent the shooter from outrunning the mechanical limits of the mechanism? Or, when fired at street-relevant assessment speed, when fast split times are not the goal, the shooter does not outrun the mechanism. Or, old, slow shooters, like me, who cannot move that fast, anymore.

Just some thoughts…

[jetfire]

I’ve got to wonder if competition-speed DA shooting is within the MR73’s design envelope, or is it something like a Python which was designed mainly for single-action shooting?

I ran a modern Python for 2,000 rounds just as hard as I ran the MR73 and its cylinder stop is fine. I have been in constant communication with the French about this particular failure, and their reaction has in general been “shit happens when you party naked” or, to phrase it differently “shit breaks when you run guns hard.” Unlike some people, they’re unconcerned by a parts failure, likely because they build the damn things.

[Rex G]

I ran a modern Python for 2,000 rounds just as hard as I ran the MR73 and its cylinder stop is fine. I have been in constant communication with the French about this particular failure, and their reaction has in general been “shit happens when you party naked” or, to phrase it differently “shit breaks when you run guns hard.” Unlike some people, they’re unconcerned by a parts failure, likely because they build the damn things.

Good to know. Thanks.

[BWT]

The MR73 was designed and manufactured for social work within the parameters dictated by GIGN, based on the contemporaneous FBI training doctrine, which encompassed both single- and double-action shooting, depending on the tactical requirements of the moment. Sixgun gaming falls outside its remit.

I’m a nobody, but… a gun that’s supposed to be shooting over 100,000 .357 loads and showing minimal wear for a shooting org that works in hostage rescue. I’d assume some guy shooting it fast was expected and I’d hope it was a defective part and not because Caleb shot it too fast. I’m referring to “Sixgun gaming falls outside its remit”.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/remit

[jetfire]

I’m a nobody, but… a gun that’s supposed to be shooting over 100,000 .357 loads and showing minimal wear for a shooting org that works in hostage rescue. I’d assume some guy shooting it fast was expected and I’d hope it was a defective part and not because Caleb shot it too fast. I’m referring to “Sixgun gaming falls outside its remit”.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/remit

One of the things that's important to remember and that isn't discussed in the references to "11 hojillion rounds of 357 Magnum" is that GIGN and the Gendarmerie at the time they had MR73s also had full time gunsmith support, much the same as LAPD or LASD did in the 60s-80s. If during the course of their regular training schedule a small part like the cylinder stop fails, the operator/officer in question would simply hand the gun to an armorer, grab a fresh one from the armory, and go about his day while the armorer did the fixing. Since those records are basically impossible to get access to, there's no way of knowing what the failure rate of certain small parts was during regular training.

[BWT]

One of the things that's important to remember and that isn't discussed in the references to "11 hojillion rounds of 357 Magnum" is that GIGN and the Gendarmerie at the time they had MR73s also had full time gunsmith support, much the same as LAPD or LASD did in the 60s-80s. If during the course of their regular training schedule a small part like the cylinder stop fails, the operator/officer in question would simply hand the gun to an armorer, grab a fresh one from the armory, and go about his day while the armorer did the fixing. Since those records are basically impossible to get access to, there's no way of knowing what the failure rate of certain small parts was during regular training.

That makes sense, and I’m not questioning that but I just figured I’d voice we’d have found a defective part. Not your employment of the gun was “out of spec”.

[overton]

short barrel MR73

[jtcarm]

Several years ago when the USPSA guys were running 625s hard, the skip chambers thing came up. It had to do with the cylinder stop wearing and the bolt notches peening. You might find some info on Enos back before everybody switched to 8 shooters. Mike Carmoney and some others were working on it.

When Smith was producing the 325 NG/PD guns, a lot of competitors had a Ti cylinder fitted to their 625s.