Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Thinking about a 41 magnum

Like the title says I am thinking about letting my wife buy me one, a Ruger Blackhawk, I know quite a few people with a 44 magnum but nobody has a 41, what are the pro's and con's, other than the price of factory ammo (can reload) my other thought is a 45 colt.

My wife is paying and liked the looks of the Ruger Super Blackhawk with wood grips (she thought it looked cool and old, her words).

I guess I can leave it up to you gentlemen (used loosely ) which caliber is the most fun to shoot for recreation with occasional whitetail hunting?

I really liked my S&W model 57 41 Mag. before it was stolen.

I have been looking for another one to replace it but they are hard to find.

I like the feel of the 41 Mag and if your wife can not handle the recoil they do have specials for it as well.

Good luck on your choice

I'd opt for the .45 LC.

Go into your average gun shop and ask for a box of .41 magnum and a box of .45 Long Colt and see what you get. Generally speaking, especially in out of the way places, .41 magnum ammo can be pretty thin on the ground. There is nothing more annoying than discovering that you left your ammo at home, and the local gun shop can't help you out.

If you've already got a 45 Colt, the 41 Magnum gives you nothing in addition. I've got a 41 Magnum in a Smith & Wesson Model 58, fixed sights. Were it not for that gun's "cool factor" I'd have been content with just my 45 Colt.

My take is this: if you want a 41 Magnum in a really cool gun, get it. In a Ruger Blackhawk (aside from a Three-Screw Old Model 41 Magnum), you're best off sticking with your 45 Colt and having your wife buy you a nice Colt Delta Elite 10mm You'd get your .40 caliber fix and get it in style

My opinion is biased due to my crave for recoil so I say 44mag. I guess if I had to choose between 45colt and 41 mag I would go with the 45. Both of them have the same ammo issue but 45 is easier to find and cheaper to buy and reload. In the right gun the 45 can be loaded to impressive velocities. Besides the fact that the 45 is such a tried and true round. I have never owned a 41 but have fired and loaded a few for a friend and it proved very accurate with moderate to light recoil. I guess in reality any revolver round that starts with a 4 is not a real bad choice either way.

My wife is not a shooter, she just wants to buy me a gun, and she liked the looks of a super blackhawk, I have a 40 cal XD, I also have a kimber in 45 ACp and my first pistol a Beretta 92fs I bought when I was 16, with dads help. I did some quick checking and I can get the 41 blackhawk for about 435, and the 44 mag superblackhawk was 535, I am assuming the 45 colt would be similar to the 41, but did not check availability and price. All would have to be a special order for the shop that I really like to buy from.

damn now i am starting to confuse myself, thanks for the replies and keep them coming.

Because you handload, there is no practical difference between the 41 Magnum, 44 Magnum, and 45 Colt. Do you have a Blackhawk in 357 Magnum? Or a Flattop Blackhawk in 44spl? Both are neat guns, the 357 is different enough from your 45 Colt to be useful and the Flattop 44Spl is a new-classic gun that feels different enough from a standard Blackhawk that it will fill a niche for you. Both list for $575, so real world price would likely be the same as the Blackhawk in 41 Magnum.

All that said, one of the best reasons to own a 41 Magnum is because someone bought it for you. If she's set on getting you a 41, then that's all that matters.

I noticed someone posted in the handgun forums on page 2 or 3 there were some 45colts for sale for $399. I think they were blackhawk stainless. I find that the 41 mag is like the 10mm and the 38 super in the shooters world. Some swear by them and some have no use for them. I like the ease and availability of ammo and components.

I just looked, its the new Vaquero on page 2 for $399.

If you decide on the 41 maggie you will be very happy. Comparing factory loads the 41 developes about 12 ft lbs of recoil, the 44 maggie produces about 16 ft lbs, a different of 25%. You mention that you will probably reload, thats great, it will allow you to develope your loads up or down to suit you.
If you were to restrict yourself to factory only then the 44 would be your best bet. I've never understood the argument about finding factory ammo if you happen to leave you ammo at home. Has anyone ever heard of a person forgetting their ammo.
You never hear of someone forgetting their gun or their wallet, its always ammo!
Let your wife buy you that 41 maggie, have a gunsmith do a trigger job...not the poor mans trigger job which is lifting one leg of the spring off the post, yes it will lighten your trigger, it will not make a good trigger out of a bad trigger, both legs of that spring are there for a reason.
The 45 Colt is also a great caliber, many times the cylinder throats will need attention, something that seldom ever happens with a 41 or 44. If you insist on really heavy loads the 45 will outperform both the 41 or 44 if you are up to the task of dealing with the recoil.
Shooting should be fun & hopefully economical through handloading, that way you can practice almost daily & become proficient with your caliber of choice.
Last thing, you will never shoot anything in North America with a 41 magnum that begs for a bigger caliber except for the big bears, anything else is fair game, I've done it many times over.

Dick

I think most of the folks here are missing the point.....if you want a .41 mag there's not a thing in the world wrong with it. Very good cartridge actually.

The MAIN thing here is the statement..."my wife wants to buy me one!"

In that case.....you should have her buy you a Freedom Arms model 97 in .41 Mag!!!!!

bubbajay said


If you guys were looking at a Super Blackhawk, (44 mag) as opposed to a Blackhawk (in 41 mag or 45 Colt), there can be some differences in the way the guns look and feel.

Ruger has updated their website recently making it more user friendly where when you scroll the curser over the particular model, the picture pops up. It used to be you only got to see one example of a barrel length for a model.

At any rate, the Super can have a squared trigger guard and unfluted cylinder in certain barrel lengths, but not in others- the Blackhawk doesn't.

bubbajay said


In the real world, for a reloader, not much of anything. If you use jacketed bullets, you probably have the most choice of bullet selection with the .44, and the least with the .41- but I'm sure you would still find something that would be suitable. The .45 would be somewhere in between, but closer to the .44 in available bullets.

I love my 41s they are some of my favorites to shoot. That being said I watch for 41 ammo. I keep wanting to start loading have all the stuff but....

I just keep a sharp eye and always have ammo to shoot

No question my 44s are easier to get ammo for and more choices

I have a 57 in 41 a blackhawk in 41 and a tracker in 41 I love them all

Hank

I've got both, but tend to favor the .41.. I've got a Blackhawk with a 4.75" barrel and it's a sweetie to carry in the field.. Fun to shoot - not recoil heavy, and the .41 has very good performance ratings..

Dick, In my 40+ years of shooting I've not only seen ammo left at home, I've seen empty gun cases, rifles without bolts, and ammo lost in transit when flying to a hunt. I've also found handguns, rifles and shotguns left at the range, along with tons of ammo. My point is that if circumstances necessitate purchasing ammo while out and about the .41 magnum is about as rare as rocking horse poop compared to the availability of .45LC.

Old Writer, you are correct, it would be hard to find, can't imagine how hard to would be to find a new bolt somewhere.
One time we unloaded the horses & mules just before daylight & headed to the top of the mountain, about 2 hours into the climb I noticed that my rifle scabbard was empty! Rode all the way back down to the trucks, got my 270 & went back but it was a hard lesson & my pals never let me forget it!
It just seems strange to me that everytime the subject comes up of comparing the 41 to the 44 that buying ammo somewhere out in the toolies seems to be more important than which gun to buy. If a person thinks he might have a problem finding a gas station he carrys extra fuel, if he thinks he might run low on 41 maggie ammo he takes that into account & takes enough to last. If he's dumb like me & forgets his rifle he takes 2 next time, never forgot my horse or mule!

Dick

I'll tell you what I think of it..........

Bought a new one, S&W Mod.57, 6", circa, 1979 & had it until 2 years ago, when in a moment of ultimate stupidity, I sold it.

Every day I kick myself in the azz for letting it go.

For sure though, I'd get a S&W over the Ruger any day of the week.

MM

Read what MontanaMan said again. I have six .41 magnum revolvers, all S&W, that I shot in ISHMA competition for years. The 8 3/8 inch barreled version was a wonderful competition revolver, but the 6 inch was a better deer/hog/bear revolver. The 4 inch are for carry and cruising the woods on a beautiful day. My favorite is a factory Armalloy Model 58. With my cast bullets the .41 is an accurate, cheap to shoot wonder-revolver.

Let her buy it, you will love the 41, I know I do. I own 3 S&W's in 41 mag, 2 M-57's 1 with a 4" barrel and the other a 6" barrel and a M-357PD with a 4" barrel

A great caliber that is over looked by all but the discriminating handguners