Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Old vs. new S&W 41

Geez, some of you guys should work for Madison Avenue�

All this talk about a S&W Model 41 has me missing the one that I sold so long ago (an all too familiar story). Bought it used in the early 80�s down in Florida from the guy who used it to win a Florida state pistol championship.

Anyway, looking at the brand new ones and the older ones, how do they compare? Would anybody say the new ones are just as good as far as accuracy, trigger pull, quality of sights and just overall panache? There is, AFAIK, no wart lock to blemish them, although they now have a laminated stock as opposed to the older walnut.

Used ones depending on condition are going for $700 or over on gunbroker but the new ones are even more expensive, pushing 1000 bucks the last time I looked.


Or should I just be sensible and stick with my Ruger Mk II bull barrel and Mk III 6 7/8� Competition target model?


(naah, one can never have enough .22�s�)

I found my older S&W 41 locally for well under $700. I would hold out for an older model just to get (1) a lower price on a clean used gun and (2) the much deeper, richer bluing that S&W used up until the mid-1980s.

Here's mine:

Sweet.

Jim,

The older model trigger were adjustable for weight and travel, the new ones just for travel. However, all the M41's I've handled had nice triggers regardless.

The current Performance Center offering is too funky for my tastes, but young or old 'regular' M41's suit me just fine.

Thanks - I didn't know about that difference in trigger adjustments. Mine, being bought from a successful competitor, had a beautiful trigger from the get-go so I never messed with it.

I have both the older one and the newer one and i can't tell a dimes worth of difference in them . The Smith Model 41 is the Cadillac of 22 Pistols regardless of age. They just don't get any better.

Even if the price was the same, I'd buy the older one mostly because they're just prettier. But I wouldn't buy the old one unless I had a chance to shoot it. I would be too worried someone ruined the crown by improper cleaning. That is the peace of mind you get with buying the newer gun.

But it's really a matter of personal taste, if you like the newer ones, they still shoot fantastically. Either way you go, you're going to be very happy with a 41, that I can guarantee you. You just never seem to regret buying the best.

I'm headed to a gun show this weekend (I really dislike gun shows, typically a waste of time) to see if I can get rid of my Para Ordnance, and a S&W 41 would be a very nice replacement.

I regrett the day I passed a 41 up years ago!

I have had both. As a shooter I prefer the news ones. For collecting, the older the better.

I have a 41 that was made in 1960. I bought it new in the box a few years ago. The fit and finnish on the gun is much better than the new ones.

I prefer the old frames with newer drill and tapped barrels. Be warned though you can really tell the difference when you see how cheap the blue looks on the newer barrels when mounted with a older frame.

It would take a lot better pistol shot than I am to tell if there is any accuracy difference between the new ones and the old ones.

Dink

My son keeps my older 41 with 5.5 heavy barrel and i keep the newer one. I have three barrel for my 41 , 7 inch , 5.5 inch heavy and 5 inch sporter with red ramp sight

Which barrel do you prefer?

for target shooting the 5.5 inch heavy barrel or 7 inch, but for carrying in the woods and all around use the 5 inch light weight barrel is my favorite and in my opinion the best barrel Smith made for this pistol, to bad this barrel was discontinued years back . Here is a photo of the 5 inch with Red Ramp front sight. The flash shows a finger print on the barrel not scratched or tarnished

Had a S&W model 41 with the 5" sporter barrel, years ago.

That's another I let get away in a weak moment. (kicks self in arse!)

I bought it to replace a Colt Match Target that I ALSO let get away! ...Talk about the STUPIDITY of youth!

Virgil B.

The 5 inch barrels are getting harder to find . I have had this one for years. I haven't been without a Model 41 since the early 70's