Home Forums Reloading Handgun Reloading Reloading the 41 Magnum

RJM, nice link!

Thanks for the info.

41

mart, I have that exact same Lyman mold a 2 cavity model, probably have 2-300 cast up & ready to go. Mine drop @ about 212 grains. Great looking bullet profile, pushing them with that 2400 loading, you worried about leading as they are a non gas checked bullet? Velocity?


41

Most of my loads have been 20.5 H110 over a 210 RP JSP, XTP, or SWC 215 Hardcast. I also use about 9 grains of Universal Clays for a lighter load.

21.0 of H110 has been fine, but on up to 22 it always seemed to be a bit less pleasant, and a good bit more pressure.

I have been meaning to use IMR4227 as I have heard good things. Lastly, I have more/less substituted W296 with H110.

You can get sweet speeds using hardcast, leading is something to look for, hardness, gas check or not, also a throating/forcing cone can help.

yup, those are the 220gr 1/2 jackets.

i tried them after having some softer hollow-point bullets become too explosive when shooting at really fast speeds...i shoot rifles in .41mag, .414supermag, and .411jdj, and some loads will send 210/220's at about 2000 fps.
the speer 220's still provide plenty of expansion , but penetrated more than most JHP designs....because they have dried up i've tried to save them for hunting use.

i still have a couple of boxes of the speer 200gr 1/2 jacket hollow points, to me they seemed to expand about like the other various 210HP's available.
i have also shot several deer & pigs with the Remington 210 JSP (now also discontinued), and at higher speeds it worked pretty well, but they have mostly dried up as well.

One other custom bullet i use in fast .41loads, and my favorite .414bullet, is the 250gr double cannelure soft point made by a fellow named Joe Cullison (Outlaw bullets), his email was jcunclejoeaol.com ;
he also used to make it in a 240gr JHP.

some info on the 240's...scroll down a bit & you'll see pix of his bullets:

http://singleactions.proboards.com/thread/2705/414-supermag-grain-jacketed-input

and, some pix of his 250 gr .41 JSP i recovered from a whitetail buck that was coming straight towards me at about 50 yards:




i havent ordered from him in a couple of years, if he's still making them i have found them to be both accurate & very good performers on game.
in fact, i need to order more of the .250's, going to send him an email...

It never leaded in my previous Blackhawk but it had been fire lapped and I've honestly never checked the velocity. I will have to do that on my next R&R. My current 41 is a 7.5 inch Bisley. I haven't done enough shooting with it yet to know if that load is going to lead or not. I do need to send the cylinder out to be honed as the throats are all .409 and the groove diameter is .410. Not a good combination for the best accuracy with cast bullets. I'll have it opened to .411. Out of a Ransom Rest at 25 yards it's running 2-2.5 inches with the Keith loads. After honing the throats and fire lapping I fully expect the groups to come down to sub one inch. I did run some old, straight linotype 265 grain WLNGC bullets through it and it shot them into just under an inch. The gas checked, heavy LBT bullets seem to be more forgiving of an undersized throat.

a while back i bought one of those 2.75inch ruger redhawks. first time out it was clear sights were set wrong, and i didn't have time to
correct them. But did fire a box of 170cast in 41 special casings.
hopefully this weekend will deal with sights on a couple of rifle and that little gun.
think i am going to take 230 or 250 cast to play with.
that's a little gun for all that led. The 250's are in the 900fps area. Not sure in the short barrel, sooner or later gonna chrony them.

X...those are some nice looking bullets...

Bob

Yes they are, especially with that expansion @ that velocity they must be bonded?

Definitely interested I am.


41

Last Sunday shot these...210 hardcast SWCBB 17.0 grains of 2400 Federal 150 & RP brass.

Never seen so many bullets go through the same hole!

Nice mild 41 magnum load.

41

As I recall 17.0 with a 220 is the load Elmer used in his .41s...has to be magic....Bob

I've been loading for and shooting the .41 Magnum for over 30 years, settled long ago on 17/2400 for 215 gr hard cast bullets, 18/2400 for 210 gr jacketed bullets, standard primers, Remington or Starline brass. Accuracy from my three model 57 (no dash) Smith and Wesson revolvers is outstanding.

This is clearly the thread to hijack just a bit for a question. I am thinking of messing around with heavy bullets. For the .41 I am thinking about 270 grains. I am not interested in terribly high velocity, about 1100 would be fine. The gun in question is a 4-inch S&W M58, no-dash. Would a 270 hard cast lead bullet at 1100 beat this revolver up too much? If so, would you suggest dropping bullet weight, velocity, or both? (For context, I am considering 300/1100 in a .44 Mag. Ruger Bisley. But I am not terribly worried about such a load in that revolver.)

Thanks in advance. If this should be moved to a separate thread, I will be happy to do so.

-Gun Doc

...no not at all... Your problem with the Model 58 is the gun is factory sighted in for 210 grain bullets and can tell you from experience that the 270s will be 8 or so inches high at 25 yards... And the slower the bullet the higher it is going to be.

My favorite loads in the 4" 57/58s are all with 210-230 grain bullets with 8-9-10 grain of Unique.

8.0 will run 930-970 fps depending on the bullet duplicating the original 210 grain Police load.

9.0 runs 1100 fps and is what I use with lead HPs, Speer Gold Dot HPs and Barnes all copper HP for defensive work.

10.0 runs 1180 fps and use with the same JHPs but change the bullet to a solid for penetration or PentaPoint for hunting.


If you have not seen this there is a lot of good information in the links and posts here...

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?276144-41-magnum-special-data-center



Bob

ps... Dick who posts here has shot through and lengthwise all his animals with a 230 Keith at 1100 fps.

If you want to try a bullet heavier than 230 grains I would suggest the Cast Performance, Montana Bullet Works or Leadhead 250 grain LBTs with 8-9 grains of Unique. The bullet has a long shank that takes up a lot of airspace that one doesn't need if not using H110 and just going for a moderate velocity.

RJM,

Thank you for those detailed replies. The revolver in question came to me with a good bit of pitting on the outside and a dinged up front sight. Thankfully, the bore appears good. The backstory is the gun was carried in a shoulder holster by a Coast Guard crewman in Vietnam, thus the ugly outside. It seems tight enough, so it was likely carried a lot and shot a little. I have already bead blasted it in preparation for satin nickle or hard chrome. I was able to locate the front sight pin and get it moving well enough to know I can replace the front sight to any load I settle on.

Having said all that, maybe 270/1100 is a bit too much to ask of a no-dash S&W? Perhaps I should stick to 230 and below. There isn't much I might encounter here in Texas that would require more.

In my hunting rifles, the older I get, the more I gravitate toward heavy for caliber at reasonable velocity. Thus, the concept of heavy bullets in revolvers intrigues me, but perhaps I should scratch that itch with a tough Ruger Bisley?

Will a 58 handle a 270 at 1100 fps...absolutely...but when a 220+- will handle the same game why put up with the extra recoil....

I have several .41 molds in 240, 250, 265 and 300 grain weights. All of them get used in the single action guns usually at max velocity. The DA guns all get 165s to 220s...just easier on me and the guns...

..as to the finish...between the two have Accurate Plating put on their hard chrome... I've been carrying a Colt Commander they did in 2006 daily since 2007 and it still looks like new. It can be had in matte, satin and high polish...

RJM,

Thanks again for the feedback. Google locates more than one Accurate Plating. Could you please provide a link or other contact information?

http://www.apwcogan.com/

These guys do great work as well.

http://mahovskysmetalife.com/

My 5 shot 45 Colt Bisley.

Ed got it....

Bob