Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 41 Magnum- revisited

Lots of good links and posts here:

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?276144-41-Magnum-41-Special-Load-Data-Center


It is too bad that there are so few manufacturers who still make .41s today...Ruger, Freedom Arms and Henry are the only ones I know of...yet there are more ammo manufacturers and loads than ever before...go figure.

FA make some great .41s...

S&W still offers the model 57, too.

Tried to buy a 57 in Tulsa. I ended up with a 97% in the box 29. I also picked up a 15 that had been bead blasted and re-blued. Tried to pick up a 57 at an auction. Bid on three different ones - I’m just a cheap skate, I guess. I think there was a time when 58’s and 57’s were inexpensive, not so much anymore.

Bugger, I think you'd be very lucky to get one for around $1000-1100 these days.

The 41 has long been a favorite of mine. I have a Mountain Gun so chambered and a Ruger Bisley fluted cylinder in 41. Both are wonderfully accurate. I’m selling a few guns to fund some gun projects and the Bisley is one of those projects. Hope to get the barrel clipped to 5.5”, Fermin Garza front sight, action job and I have a set of unfinished Rob Rowan Dall sheep horn grips to be fitted.

Remarkably easy, you can order one from places like Buds, Grab a Gun,..... it we be close to $1100 to get one in your hands. You do not have to use child safety lock if you do not want to, simple yes?
Big upside is you will not loose lot in resale if you choose to carry and shoot it, but it might take little longer to find willing buyer due to caliber, most want .44 Magnum.
Old pinned and recessed stuff is best left to internet "show and tell" collector guys, unless you do not mind big depreciation in value from use. You see "show and tell" pics all the time, a revolver with shot target, ammo, empties no signs of use like famed cylinder ring.

Ah, such "expert" advice. Whoever told you that the classic pre-locks would depreciate in value by shooting them (unless they're unfired in the original box, perhaps) doesn't know much about guns.
Unless I abuse/neglect them or blow them up, my pre-lock 57's will always be worth more than the Hillary guns, even though I choose to shoot them. And yes; mine have that "famed cylinder ring".

Jcon, thank you. I wasn't even going to answer this guy. Lol.

.41 Blackhawk is my favorite revolver, this morning I ordered 100 rounds from the classifieds. Thought I might give them a try. I have had mine for thirty years. I have only killed one deer and one black bear with this weapon. Worked great. It’s the revolver I cary while hiking and playing in the mountains. I carry it with the confidence it will work if needed.

Used to love the 41 mag and loaded tons of them but despite the best plans years ago it was just too much gun for law enforcement. Then here comes the 10mm Colt Delta Elite another possible solution except nope too much. I bought one of the first Delta Elites when the only ammo I could get was Norma. Hell I thought the slide was going to shear off the frame lug it was so hot. I loved the Blackhawks in this round as frankly more accurate and much more manageable and like all good SA’s the grip let’s the thrust roll instead of traveling in the web of your hand. Never liked the Smith 57’s anymore than I did the 29’s. With big hands and upgraded grips plenty of guys like Elmer and Bill Jordan could shoot daisy’s with them but they are the exception. Smith’s grip angles have always been problematic for lots of shooters. I can shoot my 454 Casull for hours with little orthopedic affect. Myself I’d compare a 41 in the 57 to a hot 357 in the K frame with factory grips. But only handloaders can get full performance out of this fine round today

Rick

I handled a Smith & Wesson Model 657-4 in 41 magnum today.

Especially being how I already own a 44mag. But I still want one.

I had a 4-5/8" Ruger shooting 293 hardcast at 1275 fps, it was a handfull.

I have (sort of?) a new Ruger Blackhawk .41, 6-1/2" barrel. I bought it a month or so ago on a whim. I shot it enough to make sure the front sight was more or less on top of the barrel (hey, it's a "thing" .. most of my recent Rugers have required a trip back to finish manufacture) which turned out well .. sighted in, the rear sight is pretty well centered an the groups are very respectable approaching an inch at 25 yards with heavy doses of Win 296 and the 210 grain XTP. The bad, which leads to "sort of", is the grip frame is truly "fornicated". It is "proud" on both sides by the hammer extending at least a thumbnail thickness on one side and twice that on the other beyond the frame. It isn't too visible with Ruger's plastic black grips but when I stuck a set of Altamont wood grips on it .. WTF?? Looking closer the upper corners are not only protruding to both sides, they seem bent such that the gap between frame and grip frame is wedge-shaped, they don't meet in parallel. Also the upper screws' slots are buggered up .. with the "buggering" seemingly reblued. Oh, and mechanically, it spits the base pin out every shot .. might be merely a spring issue I could correct but fuggit, they should fix it.

That sounds like a lot of condemnation but I am looking forward to its return. Sending one back is a pain in the ass and we shouldn't have to do that with a new gun, but with the last 2-3 I sent back, the truly fixed them WELL, not just the issues I noted for correction, but seemingly swapped other parts and maybe did some trigger work. One came back maybe good enough to use without doing a trigger job and that's .. unusual .. regardless of gun maker.

The only thing I really plan to do with it other than just load and shoot the loads I've already worked up is pick up some heavier cast bullets to see how heavy I can go without running out of sight adjustment, then probably pick up a bullet mold for that weight. Guessing 245 to 250 but that's all it is, a guess.