Getting the hots for a .41magnum

iirr someone from the Keith era envisioned a .41 as a perfect police round.
Actually, I think it was Elmer Keith. Problem is, it came out as a magnum and not the Special that would have filled the original bill.

Used to be able to get a conversion of an L frame to a 6 shot .41 Special.

Looks like years later the 10mm and then the .40 tried to fill that concept again.
 
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Don't listen to the nanny-naysayers... the .41 is alive and well. No, it's not as popular as the .357 or .44, but components and ammunition is out there... in the 30 years I've been loading for it, I've never had a problem finding components or ammunition.

I do question the 'Mountain Gun' thing, lightweight Magnum revolvers are a very niche item, and not something I would consider for a range pistol and such, unless you shoot reduced loads, or you regularly pack a big-bore pistol for some reason.

I have 4 .41's... a 4" 57, a 4" 58, a 6" Dan Wesson, and a Marlin 1894. I have had others, including a Ruger Bisley and a fantastic S&W 6.5" Classic (that I stupidly sold some years ago.) I do not own either a .357 or .44... I don't really see a need for them.
 
I have owned several .41 Magnums over my shooting life. A three-screw Ruger Blackhawk, a S&W 58 that I milled the top strap and added a S&W j-frame rear sight, a 8 and 3/8ths barrel M57, and a 6-inch 657. I had a Saeco 240 grain round flat point mould that cast four at a time. I shot the 657 in double-action only, took a large doe about ten years ago (double-action, with a lyman 215 grain, gas-checked bullet). The Ruger Blackhawk had a five-inch barrel, was my "walking around gun" when I haunted the Pere Marquette River swamp/woods near my former home near Scottville, MI. Although I do not have one now, the .41's were always my favorites.
 
I'm a caliber junkie, I love reloading for all my firearms especially the odd balls.
Never had a .41 mag. so it is starting to call out to me.
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I'm pretty much in the same boat. Except my itch will be easier to scratch. When a 4 5/8" Blackhawk in decent shape shows up at a reasonable price I might have to buy it.
 
"...can't see the benefits of a .41..." It's not about benefits. It's an "I want one." thing.
Jacketed or cast won't make any difference for "bidness". Either will get the attention of any ne'er do wells you may encounter.
"...the .41 is alive and well..." Yep, but that doesn't mean you'll find it everywhere. The 'Walmart Test' may be in order.
Lots of choices on Midway, et al, but buying ammo on-line gets expensive in a hurry. Not that it matters much since your local gun shop can order anything you want.
The 'Mountain Gun' 3 or 4 inch barrel kind of defeats the purpose of a magnum anything. About 200 FPS difference between a 4" and a 6". Plus the increased muzzle flash and blast. http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/41mag.html
 
I see the .41Mag as a 'reloader' cartridge if you plan on sticking with it. Just like the .45 Colt and .44 Special.
 
Glad I posted this as you folks have made me re-think this project.
Since the only handgun I've settled on for woods carry is the 45 Colt mountain gun and this purchase would fall in the realm of target shooting I'm thinking a 6" barrel would be the better option. Thanks for all the input.:)
 
Wouldn't have it any other way !!!

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Since the only handgun I've settled on for woods carry is the 45 Colt mountain gun and this purchase would fall in the realm of target shooting I'm thinking a 6" barrel would be the better option.
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I'm not saying a 4" barrel isn't a good idea, but the idea of a lightweight pistol... well, lighter weight pistol, we are talking N-frame... like the Mountain Gun, wouldn't be the best idea for range pistol shooting full-house Magnum loads. I LOVE both of my 4" .41's... but they only get mid-range loads. I save the full-house stuff for the 6" Dan Wesson... which handles them with ease. It just depends on what you want.
 
The .41 is a great round if your a hand loader. You can load 210-220 grain bullets from .357 mag level up to low 44 mag level and be very versatile. At .357 levels it's still a very affective round and so easy to shoot, but at the high levels it will definitely take care of business. I've been shooting my M57 no dash since the early 80's and my 4" version since I picked it up a couple years ago. I've also been shooting my Henry BBS for about three years now and I chronographed a 210 gr XTP at right over 1600 fps with no over pressure signs and with iron sights at 100 yds on a good day under 4".
 
I really, really like the .41 Magnum and think very highly of it. I don't like to be terribly redundant in my calibers and as such, I can't see that the .41 gives me anything I can't get better from a .44. It's a great caliber though, very versatile.
 
The .41 is a great round if your a hand loader. You can load 210-220 grain bullets from .357 mag level up to low 44 mag level and be very versatile. At .357 levels it's still a very affective round and so easy to shoot, but at the high levels it will definitely take care of business. I've been shooting my M57 no dash since the early 80's and my 4" version since I picked it up a couple years ago. I've also been shooting my Henry BBS for about three years now and I chronographed a 210 gr XTP at right over 1600 fps with no over pressure signs and with iron sights at 100 yds on a good day under 4".
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We are in luck! Cast Performance, Montana Bullet Works, and others, make heavy (250, 265grn) cast bullets that are fantastic in the .41, particularly in carbine-length barrels like my Marlin and your Henry. That isn't to say a 210grn .41 moving along at 1600fps isn't a good thing, either! ;)
 
I had two generations of 657 and found they were too valuable to keep when I preferred to shoot 41 in my Blackhawk Flat Top (single action). For me the 44 Magnum is a different beast. I am happy shooting that in a Super Blackhawk Bisley. My 41 reloads range from cowboy target level to full loads of IMR4227. There is also a fine load with W296 and a Rimrock gas check or XTP.
 
I bought my first Smith M57 in '77 from Lyman's old Blue Trail Range, in Connecticut...back when it was a gun-friendly state with no income tax. While I've never kept a round count on the gun, I'd conservatively estimate that it's seen 10,000 rounds down the tube. It's a 6" bbl'd gun with all the weight that comes with that length in an "N" frame Smith.

I carried it for years in a custom shoulder holster, getting the idea from Clint Eastwood (and if truth be told, one of the movie set guns in the Dirty Harry series, was a Smith M57). It was comfortable to carry that way, and out of the way while doing winter chores. For summer work, I hefted it in a belt holster from El Paso Saddlery and could really feel the sag after a day's tramping though the spruce blow downs while grouse hunting.

Since then I picked up one of the Ruger Flat Top's with a 6-1/2" tube and found again, that the longer barrel was a PITA for everyday carry. Accuracy it had, in spades, but was and is too long to carry on the belt unless on horseback. That lovely piece by Ruger once put 5 through the same hole...less that 5/8" ctr to ctr and with iron sights too, at 25 yds. My eyes have gone south since then and it'll never be repeated. The load was built up from Lyman's 410459 at 220 gr's, cast from wheel weights & launched a smidge over 1000 fps with an appropriate dose of Win 231.

Later, I found an "as new" 3-screw Ruger with a long sought after 4-5/8" bbl; it's a 4 digit gun with superb accuracy. The same aforementioned load does nearly as well through it as it does in the longer bbl'd Smith and Ruger, and I confess that I much prefer the SA's response to heavier full house prescriptions. I pack it often here on the farm when doing chores and it's been called on to put down some of our stock that needed that final act of mercy.

All in all, the .41 is a superb caliber...a handloader's proposition to be sure, but ranks with the .44 Special for ease of finding an accurate load. If you don't load your own, and do own a .41, you're missing out on some of it's versatility.

Best Regards, Rod
 
Brutus said:
Well Stargater53 I want one because I don't have one.
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Well, I can't fault you for that!

Years ago, I read an article about a cop who had a hot .41. He shot it at a fleeing felon, and it had a superb effect. It punched through the van he was shooting at, through some odds and ends in the trunk, then through the seats and cushions of the passenger's side and, fortunately for them, no one was there. But the penetration was awesome -- and I don't use the idiom lightly!

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That lovely piece by Ruger once put 5 through the same hole...less that 5/8" ctr to ctr and with iron sights too, at 25 yds.
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I had that S&W Classic 657 for a while... I had to send it back to S&W because the barrel and forcing cone looked like it was cut with a hacksaw. Smith turned it down and when I got it back the first 6 rounds down the tube went into one hole at 25yds. It was incredible.
 
I like the 41 magnum.
When I was a younger man I owned 2 S&W M58s at 2 different times, and also I was issued a M58 on 2 occasions when I was doing consultant work in Central and South America.
I never owned a 41 with adjustable sights and never used one either, but when I used those four 41 magnums above I never had any need or desire for them either. All guns shot to the point of aim or very close to it anyway. All were super smooth and VERY accurate.

My own 2 were shot nearly 100% of the time with hand loaded ammo using Remington brass and 20 grains of 2400 with a Lyman 410459 bullet of 220 grains.

The ammo I was given for the other two M58s was a combination of Remington (with 2 different bullets) and some Mexican made stuff, as well as a few rounds of some that was Argentine or Brazilian, but today I don't remember which. The "issue" was more like an after thought on my last time out. "Here, you'd better carry this" was what the captain said and handed me the S&W in a holster, and then he gave me a paper bag of mixed ammo with 16 rounds. Enough to load the gun 2 times and an extra 4 rounds. Most of it was mismatched. In all that ammo I was only abbe to get 5 rounds together that were the same. So I was not able to load the entire cylinder with 6 rounds of the same stuff.
But considering new things went, I was VERY glad to have both the gun and the ammo.
 
Brutus said:
Went to the range this morning and lo and behold a 6" Smith 41 was on display in the used gun rack. Asked to look it over and as soon as I got it in my hands and flipped it over, there it was the damn Hillary hole. Cross that one off the list.:mad:
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I have a 4" Nickel M57 (as-new) without the Hillary hole that I would sell for a fair price if you're interested. I have a 4" Mountain Gun that I shoot the most and my old 8 3/8" that I love. Never shot the nickel one.
 
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