Help plug me into the .41 Mag mafia!

H110 is great for full throttle jacketed bullets, but I much prefer 2400. It's a much more forgiving powder, shoots just as Acurrate, and for whatever reason the barrel stays much cooler. I know everyone always preaches Unique, but in my experience I've found Green Dot much better. For the same velocity the recoil doesn't feel as sharp and it is much much cleaner. I've loaded Green Dot anywhere from 4gr up to 8.4gr with very good results. In my 6" Model 57 with 8.2gr and a 210-220 gr bullet the recoil feels about like a stout .357 load. Of course, this is just my experience over the last 32 years YMMV.
 
"So the consensus seems to be that Unique is the go-to powder for the .41 Mag."

For me, Unique produced leading in both 41 and 44 Magnum, with both guns checked out as mechanically sound and throat and bore sizes matched to bullets. The recoil was sharp, as one might expect from a powder that burns fast for caliber. I got much better results with moderate loads using AA#7 and A2400, true in both 41 and 44.

My best full on load in 41 seems to be with Enforcer or IMR4227. I don't hunt, so I don't really load a lot in full power. I have tried H110 and it worked really well, but I like something less dramatic with which I can shoot at least 12 rounds without flinching badly or thinking it isn't fun.
 
For me, Unique produced leading in both 41 and 44 Magnum, with both guns checked out as mechanically sound and throat and bore sizes matched to bullets. The recoil was sharp, as one might expect from a powder that burns fast for caliber. I got much better results with moderate loads using AA#7 and A2400, true in both 41 and 44.
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I've had great results out of my Mod. 58 using AA#7 to make up mild-to-moderate loads with either a coated 210gn HC slug, or Cast Performance's 250gn WFNGC boolit.

Just to experiment with something a bit heavier, I bought two boxes of C.P.'s 265gn WLNGCs. Grizzley Cartridge Co. loads these behemoths to 1400fps! I don't want to send them that fast, so I was going to try Universal, but now I'm thinking of sticking with the AA#7, as I'm stocked on quite a bit of it, and the 250-grainers shoot pretty well with it.

Any .41 Mag folks experiment with these heavy-for-caliber HC slugs?
 
For maximum performance, W296/H110 would be the powder... but at a cost. I much prefer IMR4227 for my boomer loads.

The Bisley grip isn't really designed to roll up in your hand under recoil... you better get a grip on it... :D I personally like the Bisley grip better than the standard Blackhawk grip.

Besides the Buffalo Bore stuff, Federal also makes (or made, I don't know if it's still in production...) a factory load with a Cast Performance 250 (?) bullet in it. The velocities were not as high as my handloaded stuff, but it would probably make a good hunting round if you wanted cast in a factory load.

Some people poo-poo Unique, it's always worked well enough for me in 30 years of handloading. That is not to say there aren't other choices... but Unique would be a good one to start with. My buddy is a diehard AA#7 fan, too, for the .41...
 
Try Herco powder, especially with cast bullets. It's like Unique with longer legs.
For jacketed bullets and hot loads (but not quite as hot as you can get with W296, etc), use AA#7.

I don't shoot my .41 much, but I like 210-ish grain cast bullets with whatever shotgun powder I have handy, loaded to just under 1000 fps.
 
Very nice target Walnut17, good work, Sir! And a nice load too. Here's a couple of mine....

With most any good LSWC @ ~215 gr, I've found 5.7 gr of 231 to be a superb load. Valley's example chrono's at 852 fps from my 6" M57 Smith & will do an inch at 25 yds from rest. Comfortable, accurate, lots of smack from that SWC, it's my carry load here on the farm when I'm toting one of my .41's.

Up that 231 load to 6.5 gr with the same wt. SWC's and velocities vary from 960 to 1006 fps, depending on crimp and which bullet I've loaded. Accuracy is as good as the milder load.

As to components, if you don't cast your own, and wish to use lead alloy, Missouri Bullet Co. offers a fine example in the SWC style, that I've had good to excellent accuracy with. If leading is a problem with that hard lube most commercial casters employ, try Lee Liquid Alox, with their 'swirl' lube technique and see if that doesn't cure your problems!


As always, if interested in the above loads....consult a GOOD manual, consider the pressure implications and work up your own. The above is mild in my .41's. (A pair of Ruger BH's and the aforementioned Smith 57)

Best Regards, Rod
 
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Thanks Rod and even more importantly, thanks for your service! I use Win 231 for my .357 loads so I am interested in trying the ones you suggest. I will certainly follow your advice and work up from published book data.
 
That's great! I found that back issue for sale through Wolf Outdoors Publishing for $10. I'll definitely pick it up. Thanks a lot for the heads-up!
 
Handloader magazine Feb-Mar 2003 features loading for the .41 Magnum.
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I have that issue of Handloader. The author was Brian Pearce. The article is called, "Loads for the .41 Magnum - the other magnum."

He also wrote "The .41 Remington Magnum," which appeared in Handloader issue #285, Aug., 2013.

Both pieces are products of the Regurgitation Theory of Gun Writing.

There being little that's actually new in the world of guns & ammo, if you just wait long enough you can publish the same piece again with merely the rearrangement of a few paragraphs of copy and a slightly different title, and most readers, having forgotten the first one, will smile and think how wonderfully original the later piece is.

Ten years seems about right ... :rolleyes:
 
OP- I have that same model. Great gun & love mine.

Unique is tried & true in the .41, but doesn't meter very well. I use W231 for .45ACP, so may try some in the .41. I really like 2400 a lot for the .41. Meters very well & can be run hotter than I wanna hang on to.
 
A comprehensive little reloading guide is " The Complete Reloading Manual for the .41 Magnum ". I picked it up on Amazon when ordering some of Elmer Keiths books.
It puts a lot of data in one place.

NOE makes an awesome 41 wadcutter mould, I bought one and really like it.....
Makes a very accurate target load and when loaded up, the wadcutter's flat front hits hard.
It's the NOE 413-215-WC (413432) . If you have a 41 magnum and you cast....you need to try this design....it's a winner !
Gary
 
A comprehensive little reloading guide is "The Complete Reloading Manual for the .41 Magnum." I picked it up on Amazon when ordering some of Elmer Keiths books. It puts a lot of data in one place.
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Yes it does. But it's also dated.

On the other hand, there's not much new data under the sun for reloading the .41 Magnum - whether for handgun hunting, general 'plinking' use, or even for self-defense.
 
We have 41 magnums in this Ruger Redhawk and a Contender. I used to shoot Unique for light to mid range loads and then 2400 or H110 for faster stuff. I have since switched to Power Pistol with is cleaner and much more accurate than all of the Unique loads. For heavy loads, you can't beat AA9. Here is a 10-shot group from 25 yards and it will do this time and again. The bullet is a NOE 240 FPGC. Good luck with your 41 mag and hope this helps.

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On the other hand, there's not much new data under the sun for reloading the .41 Magnum - whether for handgun hunting, general 'plinking' use, or even for self-defense.
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I wouldn't expect it to be more than any other. Alliant did bother to develop and publish a load for the 41 with BE-86
 
Yes it does. But it's also dated.
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I agree. I bought a bunch of those books when I first got into reloading back in the early '90's and it was dated then. I've seen them for sale at Cabelas... I hope they have updated the data in them.
 
Nice revolver!

I have some of those CP 265 grainers loaded up over W296 and they leave the grip checkering impressed on my hand after shooting. Not sure about the accuracy yet...
 
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