Why not - 41 Magnum Revolver

I'd been wanting to try a 41 Magnum for awhile. But I had other interests and never saw a good used one at a price that attracted me or at the moment I could afford it. I also had the 44 both Special and Magnum. But I vaguely wanted to give it a whirl.

Then a Model 57 with a 4" barrel showed up about 6 months ago in like new condition at a very good price for an N frame. I took my time building up a few boxes of commercial ammo as it is expensive stuff for the 41.
I went to shoot it and was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did with both defensive loads and hunting power loads.

Then I saw a 3 Screw Ruger Blackhawk with a 4 3/4" barrel. I sold a M29-4 with a 6" barrel to get it. Had cash left over. It shoots beautifully.

I'm convinced that with a 200 gr. bullet at between 1000-1100 fps you can take most any game in the lower 48 at reasonable handgun distances with a good bullet. More power will get one more distance but I'm not that good with a handgun that it helps me.

So for the present I'm slowly playing with the 41. It feels right.

tipoc
 
And one loaded in that power range is pretty pleasant to shoot. You still know you have a magnum, but not enough to hurt. I tried the GA Arms cowboy 41 mag ammo and it was just too powder puff for me.

The main reason I went with something bigger than my beloved 41 mag was because I didn't want to drill my M57 for scope mounts and I figured I'd give the larger caliber SRH a try. Liked it, but it does hurt at times. The BFR is much more pleasant to shoot.

What I noticed almost immediately was that I could "hit' consistantly with the 41 mag and better than any of the 357's I own or have owned including the fabled Python. That also applies to a 44 mag I had at the time, which I later sold.

I purchased a Redhawk in 41 mag and never shot it. I eventually sold it. It was unfired when I sold it and I think the buyer was very pleased to have it.

But my favorite 357 is a Colt Trooper Mark III now which I shoot on occasion. I got that after I started carrying 38spls for a carry gun and pretty much prior to that I had little reason to shoot 38's.
 
Yeah, let's think on this some more

So, S&W makes the following on an L-Frame:

- a 5 shot 44 mag
- a 7 shot 357

So....could they engineer a 6 shot .41 on the same frame?

The outside case diameter of the 44 mag is .456
The outside case diameter of the 357 mag is .379
The outside case diameter of the 41 mag is .434

OK, all you mechanical engineers, time to chime in.

I think ligonierbill might be on to something! :)
 
Nothing in my area requires the 500 mag, just something I really wanted to do. It's actually easier to carry than my Thompson Center G2. I was looking for a 480 Ruger in the older gray finish but couldn't find one, found the X frame on sale and couldn't say no. If your interested in the 41 Mag then look for a bear hunting article by a Foggy Mountain outfitters in Maine. His primary bear handgun is a blackhawk in 41 mag and he's taken many large Maine black bear with it.
 
If I can be the lone dissenter here. I bought a really nice .41 mag Blackhawk a while back . I took it out once and that was enough for me . I can shoot .45's all day long with no problem but I found the recoil on the .41 to be such that it just wasn't fun to shoot. Realizing that unlike the .44 and .357 magnums, there was no softer shooting alternatives and not being a hand loader, I sold it a week after I bought it
 
If I can be the lone dissenter here. I bought a really nice .41 mag Blackhawk a while back . I took it out once and that was enough for me . I can shoot .45's all day long with no problem but I found the recoil on the .41 to be such that it just wasn't fun to shoot. Realizing that unlike the .44 and .357 magnums, there was no softer shooting alternatives and not being a hand loader, I sold it a week after I bought it
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At one time there was a "softer shooting" alternative. There were two different loads, one with a jacketed bullet for hunting and then a "police load" with a swagged gas-checked soft lead bullet. However for me, they were still too hot. Nevertheless, being a caster and hand loader, I learned to produce my own mild cast loads of 220 grain cast over 7 grains of Unique...which would have been about the recoil of a mild .44 Special load would have been.
 
You have to WANT to reload. I find myself being rather lazy at times and use factory ammo even when I could reload for that caliber. Loading up 200 or 500 rounds and not shooting much is not what most reloaders do. I would however never reload something like 9mm or 40 S&W.
 
I've had a Taurus® TRACKER™ 4" SS 41 Magnum revolver since July 2012. I have really fallen in love with the gun, and the cartridge...
 
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Was I dreaming that I saw some off-the-shelf 41 Special? I can make my own, but selling the 41 Magnum that presents too much recoil might have been too radical or at least not necessary for others not yet at that point.
 
Yeah, let's think on this some more

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So, S&W makes the following on an L-Frame:

- a 5 shot 44 mag
- a 7 shot 357

So....could they engineer a 6 shot .41 on the same frame?

The outside case diameter of the 44 mag is .456
The outside case diameter of the 357 mag is .379
The outside case diameter of the 41 mag is .434

OK, all you mechanical engineers, time to chime in.

I think ligonierbill might be on to something!
Click to expand...

A .357 Magnum cylinder would be limited to 41 Special, like the conversion I am waiting on from Clement Customs on my 3" GP100. Using a 44 Magnum platform (with its longer cylinder frame window to achieve the 41 Magnum cartridge length) should enable having an extra round, at least 6. One might stay at 5 rounds, falling back to the L frame like on the 69, to place the cylinder notches between chambers, but we'll let the engineers decide on that. My sense is that 6 would be fine.
 
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41 mag is a fabulous cartridge! it can be loaded up or down to fill the gap between 357 and 44 mag. I've shot and hand loaded for years for both 41 and 44 mag--love em both--but if I'm spending the day with revolvers I prefer the 41 over the 44; the 41 also flies flatter. If it were me, I would keep an eye on the Ruger website--they periodically send out batches of custom 41 mag 7.5" hunters to Davidson or Talo. Ruger frames are famous for being able to handle hot loads. my less than 2 cents.
 
Knew it would come to this. I ordered a .41 magnum Blackhawk, brass, dies, and bullets this afternoon.
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Yea, I hate it when ideals get planted in my head and then after days of thinking about them I feel I must act on them.:)

But I always figure, oh well it just another gun to add to the rest, which is better then putting money in the bank.;)

Let us know how the new gun works out.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
 
you won't regret it! My only advice; start out with mild/moderate loads and work your way up to 44mag level pounders--I found it set me back a bit on the learning curve learning how to shoot it by starting off with full-power loads. The other piece of advice--if you find any of the good powders--stock up on as much as you can--good pistol powder can be very difficult to find.

The only thing you might grow to dislike about the 41 is that nobody currently makes a lever carbine for it--that drives me CRAZY! :rolleyes:
 
I have a .45 Colt BH that sometimes sends 325 hard casts down range at over 1,300. Not concerned about a little recoil. I expect the .41 to be reasonable.
 
It's not that the recoil is bad--the gun just "hits and rolls" a bit different from heavier magnum wheel guns (at least that was my experience, maybe it's due to the lighter grip frame, dunno). I'm not the best shooter, or even a very good one, but I found using the lighter loads first helped a lot in figuring out the "sweet spot" for holding and pulling the trigger. I also reduced the trigger pull on mine a bit.

I love reloading the 41 too--so much you can do with it. If only I could send those reloads down the barrel of rifle as well!:(
 
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