Manurhin Special Police
- Category
- Revolver
- Barrel
- 102 mm
- Weight, empty
- 930 g
- Introduced
- 1979
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Manurhin Special Police is a French all-steel double-action revolver chambered in .357 Magnum, introduced around 1979 as a less expensive alternative to the costly Manurhin MR73 for French law enforcement. It was a joint project between Manurhin of France and Sturm, Ruger & Co. of the United States, built on Ruger Service Six frames and lockwork supplied from the US and assembled in France with French-made barrels and cylinders. The six-shot fixed-sight revolver served various French police organisations before evolving into the fully Manurhin-designed MR88.
The Special Police was born of a rare transatlantic collaboration: Ruger shipped Service Six frames and lockwork to France, where Manurhin finished them with its own precision barrels and cylinders, giving French police a rugged .357 revolver at a fraction of the price of the exquisite MR73.
Also offered in .38 Special and 9mm Luger. The Ruger Service Six basis kept costs down relative to the flagship MR73; the design was later succeeded by the Manurhin MR88.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Manurhin (Manufacture de Machines du Haut-Rhin)
- Category
- Revolver
- Country
- France
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1979 to 1988
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 102 mm
- Overall length
- 235 mm
- Weight, empty
- 930 g
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Revolving
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Double action
- Capacity
- 6
- Magazine
- Revolving cylinder
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 440 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 784 J
- Effective range
- 50 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Swing out cylinder
Ruger service six frame
Fixed sights
French made barrel and cylinder
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 53 .357 Magnum revolvers | 930 g | 1.10 kg | Lighter than about 70% |
| Overall lengthAmong 50 .357 Magnum revolvers | 235 mm | 245 mm | Shorter than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 53 .357 Magnum revolvers | 102 mm | 107 mm | Shorter than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 53 .357 Magnum revolvers | 6 | 6 | Near the median |
Answers
Questions about the Manurhin Special Police
How much does the Manurhin Special Police weigh?
The Manurhin Special Police weighs 930 g (2.05 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Manurhin Special Police?
The Manurhin Special Police is chambered in .357 Magnum.
How many rounds does the Manurhin Special Police hold?
The Manurhin Special Police holds 6 rounds, fed from a revolving cylinder.
How long is the Manurhin Special Police?
The Manurhin Special Police is 235 mm (9.25 in) long overall, with a 102 mm (4.02 in) barrel.
Who makes the Manurhin Special Police?
The Manurhin Special Police is made by Manurhin (Manufacture de Machines du Haut-Rhin) (France). It was designed by Manurhin / Sturm, Ruger & Co..
When was the Manurhin Special Police introduced?
The Manurhin Special Police was introduced in 1979 and discontinued in 1988.
How does the Manurhin Special Police operate?
The Manurhin Special Police uses a revolving action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- French National Police
- France
- French Gendarmerie
- France
Provenance
Confidence in this record
60%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/manurhin-special-police' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "manurhin-special-police", "name": "Manurhin Special Police", "manufacturer": { "id": "manurhin", "name": "Manurhin (Manufacture de Machines du Haut-Rhin)", "countryCode": "FR", "foundedYear": 1919, "website": "https://www.chapuis-armes.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "bd690f0aa082b6750e4021f91672891b77a155aa9b5d299499654255f3ffac74" }, "category": { "id": "revolver", "name": "Revolver", "description": "Handguns with a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers" }, "country_of_origin": "FR", "year_introduced": 1979, "barrel_length_mm": 102, "weight_empty_g": 930, "action_type": "revolving"}