Please refer to my original characterization of French and Swiss administrative markets that formally required extreme precision and durability orders of magnitude greater than that expected from and built into contemporaneous U.S. police sidearms.
Once again, throughout their history Smith & Wesson and Colt never had an economic incentive to forge and grind their gun parts out of tool steel. It was far more cost effective to sinter and machine softer materials, replacing the products under warranty in the rare instances of their being put to hard use. This practice qualifies their having seen "ten times more duty than the average Korth". At any rate, I am willing to test Willi Korth's guarantee that his revolvers maintain the same accuracy even after firing 50,000 full-powered .357 Magnum rounds, in a friendly wager over a comparison test against a Colt Python and/or a S&W N-frame revolver. Any takers?
The French and Swiss "requiring" more precision and durability to collect dust? That sounds about right.
The SIG P210 was designed for Luger-like precision and durability that to date has exceeded a quarter million rounds in the hands of Swiss military shooters, as repeatedly attested in print and witnessed by Kessler's match pistol auction lots. Whereas Manurhin's MR73 was made for GIGN operators, who
fired 150 rounds of full-power .357 Magnum ammo through their MR73 every day. Please refer to my original post for an account of its part in thwarting the
Air France Flight 8969 hijacking.
That's the point you entirely miss; while an old school Smith or Colt will shake apart and wear before 50,000 rounds (because they are minimally altered, hundred year old designs, duh), you don't grasp that they had been replaced by more durable, mass produced designs here (except the Smith) and all except the Rugers didn't go over well, because the wheelgun is static, history is its calling card and there wasn't and isn't a real need for a 50,000 round full power 357.....a 38, perhaps. (A Ruger Security Six was tested and ate an estimated 1,400,000 357 rounds without issue, since some apparently felt it necessary)
As far as I can tell, this urban legend has its origin
here:
I once knew of an indoor range that had one as a rental gun and it digested, by their estimate, some 1,400,000 rounds with no parts breakages and minimal maintenance. That is the essence of a good deal!
In this regard, I have long agitated for bans on wearing wife-beaters by anyone not named Guido, and propounding the "
I once knew" argument by anyone not named Groucho. Contrast this free-floating anecdotage with a
published testimonial of Manurhin MR73 withstanding 200,000 rounds of full-power .357 Magnum ammo. Note also that Ruger's Security Six has been discontinued in 1988 and replaced by the much heavier GP-100, just as S&W K-frame Model 19 has been discontinued in 1999 and replaced by the much heavier L-frame range. A 4" Manurhin MR73 Gendarmerie weighs 950g, and a 4" Korth Combat revolver weighs 1016g, versus a 4" S&W 686 weighing in at 1191g, and a 4" Ruger GP-100, at 1162g. In a nutshell, the French and the Germans continue to make Combat Magnum-sized revolvers, over a decade after American manufacturers have given up on their form factor.
There are better target rounds, defense rounds, better hunting rounds, better long range rounds than a 357; but I'm sure I'm wrong about that as well.
Right or wrong, this hypothesis remains irrelevant to the matter at hand.
What wars were these Korths used in, how many home defenses, police activities, how much game have you taken with them? Because apparently, snapping 50,000 times in front of a piece of paper is the only qualifications for service.
As I said at the outset, Korth Magnum revolvers were
never meant for any kind of service.
I'm certain you feel the workers at Henschel had far more pride than anyone in Detroit; but that's it in a nutshell.....
I appreciate your certainty, but my feelings are not an issue in this conversation.
--
Michael
massmeans.com | Zeleny
post.harvard.edu | 7576 Willow Glen Road, Los Angeles, CA 90046 | 323.363.1860 |
http://www.subrah.comhttp://larvatus.livejournal.com | "All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." -- Samuel Beckett
