Don't forget the .41 Mag shoots a flatter trajectory than a .44, has less recoil and only .019 difference in diam.(.41-.429 ) The .44 should be called the .43 Mag not .44 mag!
And don't forget that while true, the difference is small and largely irrelevant.
.41 "shoots flatter!" yep, it does, take a look at some drop tables. I just looked at the ones in my Hornady book.
Sighted for 25 yards,
Their .41 caliber 210gr jacketed bullet at 1500fps drops 6.6" at 100yds.
Their .44 caliber 200gr jacketed bullet at 1500fps drops 6.8" at 100 yds.
That's a whopping 0.2" difference. The book clearly shows the .41 shoots flatter, in this case by a whole 1/5" inch.
Using the more common .44Mag load of a 240gr @ 1400fps, drop at 100 is 7.7". SO the .41 shoots flatter yet, in direct comparision of drop, by abouit an inch. (1.1" in the book).
How is this important? The only way I can see it making any difference at all is if you are shooting both side by side, and for some reason using a .44 that isn't sighted in properly and a .41 that is, holding on the same aiming point.
Less recoil? Maybe YOU can tell the difference, I cannot. On paper the energy levels are less than 15% different. In guns of the same size and weight, I simply cannot tell the difference, or find it enough to matter. And I don't think there's any animal out there that can tell the difference when it gets hit, either.
The .41 Mag is a good cartridge. I've had one. My experience is that it is in not way superior to the .44 Mag, and the slightly lower power doesn't make any practical difference in the field. I don't hate the .41, but I'm not in love with it, and I choose .44s over the .41 due to the greater range of bullets available.
You've found a nice .41 at a "good price". Cool. Now, think about WHY that is? Check the pre-panic prices, and the MSRPs between similar .41 Mags and .44 Mags and there isn't much (if any) difference.
.41s on dealers shelves, (new or used) tend to stay there longer than .44s at the same price point. Its a popularity thing. Often, after a while, the .41's price gets lowered, hoping someone will buy it because it (now) costs less.
And then there is ammo availability. Back in the old days, when everything was "normal" the .41 was less likely to be found on the shelves. An inconvenience, (espeicially in the pre-internet online order days) but not a deal breaker. Today? I can't say, but I think there is a bit of a "bubble" going on.
My theory is that when one finds .41 mag guns and ammo, now, its most likely they are "leftover' from earlier production and have been sitting around waiting for someone to buy them. They're here now, simply because no one bought them before. And, I think that when the supply of those guns and ammo dries up, it will be some time before they show up again, because manufacturers are concentrating on making other, more popular guns and ammo.
If you can get a good supply of .41 ammo/cases/bullets NOW, for what you feel is a good price, go for it. Just don't expect ongoing continuous manufacturing support. Other calibers are going to have much higher priority manufacture for some time to come, at the very least.
As to why its the .44Mag and not the .43 Mag, well that's marketing and history. DO some research and you'll find out why our ".38s" shoot .36cal bullets and our .44s shoot .43 cal bullets.
The .41 Mag was a fine concept, originally envisioned and promoted by several influential gun writers as the "ideal police round". They were looking for a .41 cal 200gr(ish) bullet at about 900fps (+/-) in a police service class revolver.
Remington, in what hindsight shows to have been yet another of their many blunders, saw it as a magnum round, and that's what they focused on, and the magnum load ammo was what they first produced, and produced the most of. By the time they got around to putting out enough of the lower level "police load" (a 210 LSWC in the 900fps range) the major police groups had already tested the ".41 Mag" with mag loads and found them not suitable. SO, hope of it becoming a replacement for the .38 Special in police use went away, for good.
The .41 is niche round, it has a small, but loyal following so it has hung on, but its unlikely to ever go beyond that. The .44 Mag offers more capability and choices, and to many (if not most) that matters.
In practical terms, if you can do it with a .41 Mag, you can do it with a .44Mag and the .44 can also do some things a .41 can't.
If your ultimate dream is a .454 or one of the other monster mags, SPEND THE MONEY, and get one. I doubt anything is going to get cheaper any time soon, if ever...
