Evidently, the Henry folks figured there was a niche for the .41 in their product line. Good for them, and why not? Seems like when you think there couldn't be another rifle caliber needed, a half dozen more come out on the market in a factory offering, and I say that's a fine thing, indeed. At the very least, it sure makes for interesting threads on this site. No?
I've got the Marlin M94 I mentioned earlier in this thread, and it goes along with the NM Blackhawk in .41 RM I've had since the early 80's. I reload for it (and the Marlin, too), and love the thing. My handloads are used in both guns.
I had a work buddy who had a Super Blackhawk with a 10" barrel (I think it was 10 inches, as it was a Buntline looking thing) that I got to shoot one day with him. It also had the hard rubber Pachmayr "checkered" grips on it, and he had a fingerless leather glove he used when shooting it. Right before he gave it to me to shoot, he said I might want to use the glove, but I braved it and shot a cylinder-full bare handed. I knew right off that I didn't care for the .44 mag, and that's the last time I ever shot one. That was at least 30 years ago. My NMB Ruger .41 has the 6" barrel, and has just the factory grips on it, and I can shoot it just about as much as I care to when I take it out. It also has a Super Blackhawk hammer on it, which makes operating it quite a bit nicer, more streamlined in the holster, and looks really cool, to boot.
I never have been any kind of a dedicated handgunner, but I've shot my Ruger enough to feel comfortably secure packing it when I don't carry a rifle in the mountains while hiking or backpacking. At 10 or 15 feet, if it has to be used in a bad scenario (God forbid, but Bill Ruger protect me), and I have the time to come into any kind of shooting position, it's gonna hurt a lot on the receiving end after the flash. That being typed out here, I'm just fine with never having to find myself in a position like that...
Packing that handy little Marlin carbine around in the field is a joy for sure, and I think it's great the Henry folks are making that new .41 available to anyone with a S&W or Ruger who wants a rifle to go with it. I had to hunt a long time to find that Marlin I own, as they're kind of scarce. Had I not found one years ago, I'd no doubt be looking seriously at the Henry. And that's just my opinion. Again, kudos to the Henry folks!