It hurts ! I had a dealer order a Tracker in 41 Mag as soon as I saw them advertised . I had a 41 BH and liked the cartridge . I liked the Tracker OK but it was too heavy for carry and hard to shoot accurately with the short sight radius .

I reasoned that one in titantium would make a good CC piece so I bought one and gave the SS one to a friend . The recoil with 240 gr. handloads is murder , even with a two hand hold .

I got some 170 gr Sierras and they are not as bad , but snap shooting at javalinas with one hand makes for a one shot affair with my hand being too numb for a follow up .

I shoot my 44 mag Bisley gripped BH with no issues , even with stout handloads .

Are there better grips made for the Tracker ? The ribbed ones that came on it look and feel great ------------ until the trigger is pulled !

..gee...mine is fine...I have a 4", 6" and a 4" stainless...

Although I have run full factory loads through the guns, they are much better off with with loads in the 950-1150 fps range.

I also just bought some .41 Special brass just to start loading in the Trackers because of the shorter cylinder. Going to use a 230 grain Keith bullet from Leadhead Bullets with 7-9 grains of Unique or some SR4756 for a load that will clock right at 1000 fps and just leave it at that.

If you want some brass I have extra for sale....

Bob

I realize I was mistaken about the " 240 " gr. load - it was 210 gr Hornady and 21 gr. of Lilgun that REALLY got my attention . It was the same load I shot in my Rugers .

The 170 gr. Sierra is in front of 10.0 gr. of unique . I'm sure I shot both over my chrono at the time I worked them up , but didn't put the data on the cartridge boxes .

Might be I am just a wimp when it comes to handguns but I shoot some pretty heavy recoiling rifles OK .

If I can't find different grips , I will just trade it or continue to use it for concealed carry in weather cool enough to wear a jacket to cover it . I just had a holster made for it that works real good .

OTOH , I see from another thread on here that the titantium versions are no longer made and are bringing a good price , so I might just swap it for something else .

21 grains of Lilgun with a 210 runs in the 1300+ range from a 4" barrel... 10 grains of Unique with a 170 will be in the 1200s. Neither is exactly a whimp load.

Surprisingly the Speer Gold Dot HP factory load is only chronographing 1180 from a 4" gun. Most other factory 210s are in the 1300 area.

Do you have other .41s?

As to price...I sold a 4" last fall...was in very good condition but did have some surface ware. Put it out on GunBroker for $650 and it brought $705.00. That being said I just saw a LNIB 4" put out for $600 and it didn't sell...

Bob

Any experience with the Taurus 425 in .41 mag ( SS not Ti )? I am strongly considering purchasing one but have not found many reviews. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I had one of those trackers, HAD being the key word.

They're great to ya have to shoot them, and man they are LOUD!!!

I went back to carrying a blackhawk and now realize they don't weight that much.

Spot

Dirty Harry (I know, it's the movies ) said he shot a light 44 special load out of his magnum because it gave him more control. Maybe think about dropping your charge down to the 170 and get the velocity down to under 1K. Does Pachmayr make a decent grip that will fit the beast?

At the time I bought the first Tracker , I had two BH in 41 mag . I ran across one in a pawn shop that had a trigger job and bought it . Later I swapped the first one off for something .

After firing a 44 BH with the Bisley grip - and since they weren't offered in 41 - I bought one of 'em and then got rid of the second 41 .

I got out some load manuals this morning and noticed the same thing posted on here : My 170 gr. load is not a real lightweight . I'm going to download some and try 'em out .

I noticed that loading a 210 gr. down as low as Hogdon shows still makes the 41 more potent than my 40 S&W with factory loads , and I don't feel particularly under-gunned when carrying it !

I've never been much of a pistolero but I seem to have wound up with a few . Now if I could just learn to shoot 'em !

Thanks to all for the replies and the Tracker ain't on the market yet .

Very light pistols and rifles have a habit of that!

You load them down and you no longer are shooting a 41 or 44. It's like buying a 357 combat magnum and shooting wadcutters in it, in effect, that is what you are doing.

Perhaps you would be happier with a 357 Mag. shooting 110 or 125 gr. Fed or WW Silvertips HPs, and they will kill a Javalina very well indeed.

I remember some years ago I purchased a Bulldog 44 Spec. and loaded it up a tad over factory ammo, and it hurt my hand to shoot it..I offed it to the guy in the next desk and went back to my Browning HP...

Actually , Atkinson , I've got a 686 Smith in 357 and I shoot it better than any handgun I've got [ except my 22 Ruger pistol .] The Tracker rides high enough on my hip to not be a problem in the jeep while hunting or staying concealed under a light coat .

That's why I'm partial to it and backing off the load might still get me as good - or better - performance than I'd get from it's replacement , whatever that might turn out to be .

I wish I had just stayed with the SS Tracker , but I didn't .

Curdog,

I am looking at some notes in my load book. The Sierra 170 gr JHC over 10 gr of Unique clocks at 1360 fps from my 7.5 inch bisley blackhawk hunter. Definitely no light weight load.

I have developed a load in my blackhawk for the grandkids and daughter in law to enjoy. If I had a titanium or scandium revolver, this load is what it would get.

I shoot the 210 gr Nosler JHP over 6.0 gr of Hogdgon's Universal clays for 825 fps. Pleasant to shoot is an understatement. And it burns ten times cleaner than a light load with Unique.

I was using the Nosler bullet because they were reasonably priced from Shooter's Pro Shop a couple years ago. The next batch I load will probably be with the fairly inexpensive Berry's copper plated 210 gr bullet.

Thanks . I have twenty-four different kinds of powder [ trying to reduce that number ] but only Lilgun and unique are suitable for handguns . Actually , the Unique is left over from shotgun loading days .

Do you have any data for the 210 gr Nosler and Unique ? I hate to buy powder for such limited use . And , I agree , the Unique is messy stuff . I really like the Lilgun for full power loads in a BH but don't have any data for reduced loads for it .

I went as low as 7 gr with Unique and the Berry's 210 gr plated bullet for 900 fps in my 7.5 inch SBH.

But after fifty rounds I had to scrape the carbon off of the muzzle. The slower I load Unique, the dirtier it gets. And before anyone asks, Yes, this is the "new cleaner burning Unique".

Blue Dot burns cleaner than Unique when one gets below 1000 fps. 9 gr of Blue dot with the 210 gr Berry's bullet also makes a very pleasant shooting load. I have shot a couple hundred of these, but do not have Chrony numbers.

But Universal is far cleaner than either. If one wishes to build light loads, it is well worth keeping a can of it around.

A suggestion which I took from our good Dr. Ken Howell: When building "special equivalent" loads, it is good to build them with "special equivalent" internal volume.

If one is building a 38 special or a 44 special load, one uses a shorter case than for the magnum loads of the same caliber. Bob mentioned in an earlier post that he has factory 41 Special brass for sale. And that is a great option.

I have not yet acquired any of that brass. So I have been following Dr. Howells advice to seat the bullets deeper into the case so as to reduce the internal capacity of the magnum case. I actually crimp the mouth of the case over the ogive of the bullet. I get very consistent ignition and low velocity spreads even with these severely reduced loads using this technique.

Someone mentioned that the Tracker had a bit shorter cylinder than the Ruger? Shortened COAL loads would be just the ticket.

I think you have one of the best "packin guns" as Taffin refers to them. I'm not sure I'd sell that one because they are becoming scarce and prices are getting up there. I think the recommendation to practice with lighter loads is the best advice. With severe handgun recoil, often the rubber grips do cushion best, but they can be abrasive; consider a snug fitting shooting glove for the barn busters.

CD...8.0 grains of Unique will give you 950 from the Tracker and is very pleasant to shoot.

Try some of the Speer 210 grain Gold Dot HPs or the 200 grain Remington HPs. Either should expand at velocities under 1000 fps better than the Sierra HPs, 170 or 210. If you notice the cavity of the Sierra it is not exactly a HP..it is a lightbulb shaped cavity that takes a lot of hydraulic pressure to open. They are desined as high speed hunting bullet, not self-defense bullets.

Here is a picture of the GD HPs at 950, 1250 and 1400 fps into water..



..also the HP on these are so big the meplat will cut a nice round hole like a Keith bullet even if it doesn't expand...

Bob

OK , Y'all have convinced me to try further reducing loads . I like heavier bullets so I think I'll work only with the 210 grain .

I'm getting a Cabela's order together and just put the Speer Gold Dots on the list .I also reckon one more type powder won't hurt . I had a can of Blue Dot for years but gave it away in my last move . I'll get the Universal .

I have about 3 lbs of Lilgun [ local reloading supplier had a going out of business sale ] . Given the warning against reduced loads in Magnum rifle cartridges [ and that ain't BS - don't ask how I know ] I've been reluctant to go below published data but it seems that using more of this slower burning powder would fit Ken's theory .

Any ideas on that ?

I have to drive 100 miles to get powder .

I'm not a big fan of going under the books with slow powder. Revolver cartridges such as the .41 magnum are so forgiving and easy to load, there's just no need to deviate from the books. When you use a slower powder, you're using more of that powder, which equates to more recoil. When you slow things down, use an appropriately faster powder like Unique and you'll get safe loads, the velocity you want and you won't be giving up anything in accuracy.

Got it . I have some business South of here tonight whaere there is a Super Walmart that handles reloading stuff . They don't keep a large supply but might have the Universal stuff . If not , I'll wait until I get to Ft Worth Cabela's .

Thanks again .

H110/296/Lilgun..save it all for TOP END loads...

I have been trying to get Speer to make a 180-200 grain Gold Dot HP with a DEEP HP like their .44 Special bullet. Speer uses that bullet in their 200 grain.44 Magnum Short Barrel load that clocks 1080 from a 4"...and absolutely expands EVERY time...with very modest recoil. I was so impressed with the bullet and load I bought a 629 Mountain Gun just to shoot them out of.

Alan Jones who edited the Speer reloading manual for many years and was a old friend from Dallas. When I visited him in 2003 I asked if he could politic bringing out a Gold Dot for the .41...and the following year the 210 came out... Just before he retired I asked about bringing back the old 180 grain Gold Dot HP for the .41 Action Express as that had a DEEP HP also. Alan retired however so it never came to be...but, I just noticed that Speer has a new 200 grain .41 HP that takes the place of their 200 and 220 SWC-JHP/JSP that were dropped last year...but no pics available yet...

Bob

I have a question that's not worth a new thread and as much knowledge as has been exhibited on here , I figure someone can provide an answer :

In looking at load data for the 41 Mag in Hogedon's latest manual I notice that for the 215 gr cast LFP the max amount of two powders -Trailboss and Titegroup - provide 17 k pressures . With 5 and 6 grains of powder it's obviously not a case of running out of space that is limiting the amount of powder .Top velocities are in the 1000 fps range .

Some other cast bullets show loads reaching 35 k pressures so the bullet can't be the limiting factor [ or so it would seem ].

Hogedon " Clays " is listed as using about the same amount of powder and achieving about the same velocities but the pressures are well over 20 k .

Reckon it's pressure spikes that keep the charges so modest ?

I have never shot a cast bullet so I do not know.

I might wonder if they are holding the velocity to <1000 fps to avoid leading the barrel with nonjacketed bullets.

Do they recommend higher velocities with the same bullet and other powders?

I use the Uncle Mike's grips on my Tauruses. Mine didn't come with the Ribber, but Taurus told me the grips are interchangeable. I like the Uncle Mike's better than Pachmayr and Hogue. They are less abrasive than the Pachmayr and shaped better (for me) than the Hogue.

curdog: I carry the Federal 250 grain Castcore loads in my Ti Taurus. The factory ribber grips pounded my index finger. For my hand, I needed more filler behind the trigger guard like the old grip adapter. I replaced the ribber grips with the Hogue grip with finger grooves and the closed backstrap. I never understood the open backstrap grips because that is what pounds you the most in a double action because the recoil force is more straight back instead of rolling like a single action.
If you download a 41 mag you might as well carry a 40 Short&Weak semi-auto and eliminate the cylinder bulge and the extra practice required to be proficient with a double action. Do not let anyone tell you the 40 S&W is the equivilent of the 41 magnum. Just compare the case capacities - 10.6 vs. 20.8
You can use 303 British stripper clips as a poorman's strip loader or buy plastic speed strips from Tuff strip in New York. speedloaders.com sells a 5 shot speed loader for 41 mag.

The Hogues made a huge difference for me. I do not like the Ribbers.

I sent an E MAIL to Hogue yesterday to either order or get the name of a stocking dealer . Then this am I got to fooling with the Tracker and reasoned that I didn't need recoil protection on the front of the grip and the ribs were pushing my finger up tight against the trigger guard .

I took a boxcutter knife [ yes , Ahab , they have uses other than plane hi-jacking ] and cut the ribs off enough to make room for my finger . I took it to the pasture with me and it made a world of difference . The 210 gr loads are still not fun , but the 170 gr loads are OK . I even got the chance to crank off a cylinder full in DA mode at a running armadillo . My hand and the armadillo both came out of the affair in good shape !

One problem I discovered was that I had mixed some of the different bullet weight loads and havn't been shooting anything but the 210's !

I'm still gonna get different grips and some of the Universal Clays powder and work up a load with the Speers for carrying .The 170's - even loaded with 10 grains Unique are about like shooting 357 mag 's in my 686 which is to say that a little less sting would be more fun .

Thanks again to all .

I have the S&W light M-357PD in 41 mag. I have no experience with the Tarus, but I fine the S&W very shootable and controlable. If fact I can shoot it just as fast as I can my 1911 45 ACP accurately. That is when I a m useing full pwoer 210 grain in the 41 mag