41 Magnum

R

rambilt

New member
There seems to be shortages of ammo in this caliber.. Would you own a gun of this caliber if that is so?

I'm looking at a Raging Bull 6" in Matte SS for less than 500 NIB. I can't find the ammo in my local Walmart or Academy. They have 'em in one of the LGS but kind of expensive.

v/r


Rick
 
I would love to have a .41 magnum just for the nostalgia factor, even if ammo is scarce. I was thinking an old S&W model 57 or 58. It is on my list of guns to own before I die. Introduced in 1964, the 41 magnum revolvers were designed as a police alternative to the .357 and 44 mag, with a hunting cartridge available. I understand it to be a good handgun hunting round. It failed in the police market so it has never been a big seller. Since there are not as many out there, ammo may be hard to find.
 
I have a 4" S&W Model 58 in .41 Magnum.

Ammo supply is not a problem when you reload your own, which in many cases can be done for 1/5th to 1/10th the cost of a box of ammo from the LGS.
 
The .41 magnum...

Even Elmer preferred the .41 magnum over the .44 magnum...because he said it was flatter shooting. It is a great round. I think 70% of the people who have this cartridge reload the ammo themselves. If I ever get a model 58, it will become my BBQ gun!:D
 
shortages of ammo in this caliber

Yes there is a shortage of ammo. in .41 Magnum.
Since the .41 owners are watching this caliber bight the dust
ammo. manufacurers are declining to manufacture ammo for it.
The .41 Magnum is a RELOADER'S caliber.
 
I have the .41mag 6.5" RB and love the gun. But I reload for it. Factory Shells are very high if you can find them.
 
There seems to be shortages of ammo in this caliber..
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There's a more or less perpetual "shortage" of .41Mag ammo because it's a slow-selling boutique item and most stores prefer to stock items that sell faster, even if the profit margin is lower.
I can't find the ammo in my local Walmart or Academy.
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...and you probably won't in the future either. See above. To emphasize what's largely already been written, factory ammo in this caliber is hard to find and expensive.

In addition, AFAIK all recent-production loads are designed to take full advantage of the potential of the caliber, which is another way of saying that they have WHOA HOLY SMOKES!!! levels of recoil, noise, and muzzle flash. :eek: This is significant because, unlike almost every other commonplace Magnum revolver cartridge, .41Mag is NOT based on a lower-powered "legacy" cartridge that can be used for low-recoil practice (e.g. .38Spl to .357Mag or .44Spl to .44Mag). Reduced-power .41Mag loads have been offered in the past, but AFAIK no widely-distributed mainstream ammo company offers them today.

IMHO if you want to shoot .41Mag and have fun doing it, you must enjoy handloading. Note that I don't say "be able to handload"; I say "enjoy it" because it's essentially a requirement here.
 
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One of the best things about the .41 Mag. is that S&W (and some others) chamber it in a gun designed for a .44 Mag. So you have a barrel and cylinder with .410 holes instead of .430 holes. Now the gun is stronger (and a little heavier). But to really take advantage of evrything the .41 can provide you need to handload. Then you will see what Elmer Keith was talking about. My .41s are my favorite revolvers.
 
It's not too hard to find ammo here in Texas (stop by bass proshop or cabels, they have the federal 210gr and the remington load as well). It is a bit pricey but not too bad compared to most magnums.

I've had 357, 44, 460 magnums and honestly the 41 mag is my favorite by far. I will never sell that gun. It's a great shooting accurate gun.
 
I concure with all the above .41 aficionados. I carried a .41 as a uniform pistol in my police days and it was a very effective calibre. It is a great cast bullet calibre and it's as easy to reload for as any other straight walled cartridge.

I still have that Model 58, but like most of the posters above, I only reload for it and probably haven't shot a factory load through it since finishing up my LE career.

Good luck on finding factory ammo for it. Due to the "economy of scale" business model, ammo for it is probably going to cost more per box than most of the other revolver calibres.
 
Reloading is a problem?

Heck--I handload every caliber I shoot. Factory ammo just doesn't turn my crank. Part of the fun is working up loads, and when you get back from a day shooting, dump the empty brass in the tumbler, clean guns, put stuff away, and after supper stow that nice clean brass for a rainy weekend or winter evening to prep and load up. Revolver brass lasts forever, so 500 pieces of Rem 41 mag brass costs $140,which will buy you 3 boxes of inexpensive ammo. You can load that brass till you are in the nursing home.
 
At one CHL class I taught a student, on the north side of 60, used a S&W 657 3 inch .41 (bet it was a Lew Horton job) to qualify, using Silvertip 210s.

I told him he could use my Glock so he could carry simi-autos as well as revolvers but he said no thinks.

Well despite the blast and flash he had almost a perfect score.

He even let me shoot it. Good gun that 657 was!

I want one!!! No, I pack Glocks but I have 3 N frames, including a Lew Horton 3 inch 24 and they are mighty good guns! So a neat 3 inch .41 would be nice.

Deaf
 
I have a 4" M57 and had a 6" M57 that I sold (regret it).

When I bought the first M57 I went to our local gun shows. Picked up a bunch of brass plus some older loaded rounds fairly cheap.

Then I bought 500 rounds of new Starline brass and started handloading for .41 Mag. It is a very versatile caliber--you can load mild target loads up to Big Bang loads.

.41 Mag is a handloader's caliber, and is one of my favorite revolver cartridges....along with .45LC.

FWIW, I also shoot and am set up to load for 10mm, .45 Super and .50GI. :)
 
I bought my 4" M-57 in 1980, it was 10 years before I put a round of factory ammo through it. VERY easy to reload.
 
I have three.....two 657-4 Mountain Guns and a 3" Lew Horton job from 1998. A friend rolls me some batches of practice loads every so often, but for carry work I keep 'em stoked with either Silvertips or some older 170gr JHP PMC ammo.
 
No wonder why I can't find 41 ammo in the store... everybody hand loads!! Anyway, I did further research and to my disbeliefed, I found 41 rounds cost more than the 44 magnum and it's on par with Casull rounds. Wow!! With majority of the 41 owners hand loading I guess major manufacturers will slowly go away from making the ammo. Thanks guys for all the responds!
 
I have 3 .41 mags; a Blackhawk, TC Contender, and a Taurus 415. It is a great caliber. It is definitely a reloader's caliber though. I have been reloading for it since I got my Blackhawk in 1980. Ammo is available at the larger LGS's in my area, but don't expect to find it at Walmart.
 
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