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I've owned about every caliber of pistol, but never a 41 Magnum. I'm thinking about getting a Ruger Blackhawk. Just something to keep in my farm truck as an all around sidearm. For those that have em, do you like em, are they to much gun for what my intended use is? Is the frame the same size as my Blackhawk in 45 LC ?

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If your Blackhawk 45 is an original Blackhawk, then yes the 41 would have the same size frame. If you Blackhawk is the newer mid-framed style flat top Blackhawk then the 41 frame will be bigger. I am a huge fan of the 41 partially just because it is the forgotten magnum in the middle and I like off the wall stuff.I just bought a 41 magnum Blackhawk back that I owned years ago. It is a custom conversion on an old model mid-framed 357 to 41 mag by John Gallagher. I will load it with 250-265 grain cast bullets in 41 Special brass.

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41 mag is an excellent cartridge that is easy shoot with good power



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Owned a 41 mag Blackhawk since 73 it’s a sweet round. Actually has better ballistics than the 44 and considering recoil it was a darlin of the silhouette shooters.



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I believe the old model Blackhawk .41 mag was on the smaller frame


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Originally Posted by pacecars
I believe the old model Blackhawk .41 mag was on the smaller frame


That's what I'd like to have, more on the 357 frame size.

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Originally Posted by mirage243
I've owned about every caliber of pistol, but never a 41 Magnum. I'm thinking about getting a Ruger Blackhawk. Just something to keep in my farm truck as an all around sidearm. For those that have em, do you like em, are they to much gun for what my intended use is? Is the frame the same size as my Blackhawk in 45 LC ?


I think it is a good choice but my input may be questionable, my all around handgun is a Super Blackhawk .44 with the 4-5/8" barrel. I got my first .44 just before my 21st birthday. Never been without one 'cept for a short period in the early 1990s when I had a pair of .41s, both Blackhawks, one 4-5/8" barrel, one 6-1/2" barrel. I'd spent some time with a friend's .41 before I bought mine.

I don't see a big difference. The .41s lighter bullet should recoil less but the .41s are lighter because the grip frame is aluminum rather than steel. It's a "wash" IMHO. Unless you have a need for the 300 grain class of .44 bullets, a .41 is as good as a .44 ... and a .44 is no better.

Size .. depends on the vintage of your .45. If it is not a flat-top, they'll be identical. The .45 should be lighter by the amount of metal represented by a .45 hole vs a .41 hole .. and 6 times that in the cylinder.

If I were starting from scratch with no .44s in the safe, without major $$ in components, etc on hand, I would go with the .41 over the .44 for day to day, and up through deer, and get a .454 for the big stuff like elk. Not that I couldn't kill an elk with a .41 and some careful component selection, but it is **easy** to find correct components for elk hunting for a .454.

So in a way I'm saying 'do it", but on the other hand, before delving into the .41, I'd have to ask whether I expect it to do things I can't do with a .357 which is really much easier to feed.

Tom


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The .41 is usually a really accurate gun. The dimensions of the case, throat, neck, and barrel were always set in stone, unlike the old .45s which might have a .454 bore, or some of the ".44s" which might have bullets that are .427" or maybe .429 or 430" or whathaveyou, depending on who made it.

Since everyone was making them to the same specs, it's easier to get an accurate .41 than the others. I do not dislike the others, but it seems to me that the .41s are easier to get shooting really well.


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Keep em coming guys, all this info is great.

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I have a Ruger Blackhawk in 41 since 1979.

Liked it so much i got a Marlin lever rifle in 41.

Killed the first deer at 125 yards with it.

He fell so fast my asked me where it ran off to,he was watching with binos.

I really like the 170 grain Seirra bullet.

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I came on here asking advice for a first handgun purchase 15 years ago, and got some great useful advice. I soon became the happy owner of a Ruger SBH bisley hunter in 41 mag with a 2x20 Nikon Monarch scope. It weighs 56 ounces and will tame the fiercest loads I can build. I was just shooting some 250s through it yesterday.

Those of us with large fat fingers can like the bisley grip as it will still allow the pinky finger to grip the revolver. That may or may not be a consideration for you.

With lots of help from these forum members, I was guided into the purchase of a 6 inch 657, and then a 4 inch Taurus titanium tracker in 41, and then a Marlin 1894 FG carbine in 41, and finally the Holy Grail, sold to me by a fine member here, the S&W 657 4 inch Mountain Gun.

I still like the SAs, but have learned to prefer the DA revolvers. I like to carry the Tracker, but prefer to shoot the Smith Mountain Gun.

Do you hand load. This is almost a necessity for the 41, and casting really expands your horizons. I cast a 175 gr, a 210 gr, and a 250 gr for the 41. I have not done the trial, but am positive the 250 gr flat point over 20 gr of H110 would shoot through an elk, end to end, from either the 7.5 inch hunter or the carbine.

By the way, Marlin no longer chambers the 41, and a nice example is hard to find. But Henry is making the Big Boy in 41 mag.

The Hornady 210 gr XTP opens reliably over a wide range of velocities, and stays together surprisingly well even when pushed toward 1400 fps.

The Sierra 170 JHC can be pushed a bit faster than the 210 gr bullets, and recoil a bit less. It is highly recommended for deer hunting.

I shoot a lot of Berry's 210 gr plated bullets over 12 gr of HS 6, or 12 gr of SR 4756, or 12 gr of Blue Dot before Blue Dot became not recommended for the 41 mag. These each make a pleasant shooting load capable of serious work if need arise. I can shoot them from the light weight Taurus if needed, and they are actually pleasant to shoot from the Mountain Gun.

But where I really stretch the loading envelope is with the 165 gr cast or 175 gr cast bullets. I load either one with 5.0 gr of Titegroup, or 5.7 gr of Universal to a COAL of 1.482 to approximate internal volume of the 41 special wildcat.

This yields a muzzle velocity less than 800 fps and produces recoil similar to 38 special loads in a Blackhawk revolver.

Starline makes great brass for the 41. My brass all reads W-W on the head because I found it and bought 700 pieces when I bought my first revolver.

It really hurts me to say this, because I love to proselytize to the "Cult of the 41 Magnum". But if you are not a handloader, my advice would be: stick with the 357 or 44, for either of which ammo is much more available.

Look for a response from Bob, AKA RJM. He is a bit of a 41 mag guru. Or search the history of Handguns forum for posts by RJM. One can learn much.


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Idaho Shooter, I am a handloader. I've been sitting here researching loads while watching the game. For my part of the country (southeast) the Sierra 170 jacketed looks like a great place to start.

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Looks like I can get 500 pieces of new Starline for about a 100 bucks, in stock at Midway.

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Originally Posted by ratsmacker
The .41 is usually a really accurate gun. The dimensions of the case, throat, neck, and barrel were always set in stone, unlike the old .45s which might have a .454 bore, or some of the ".44s" which might have bullets that are .427" or maybe .429 or 430" or whathaveyou, depending on who made it.

Since everyone was making them to the same specs, it's easier to get an accurate .41 than the others. I do not dislike the others, but it seems to me that the .41s are easier to get shooting really well.


This.

41 mags generally have throats from .411 to .412, almost universally.

32s, 38s, 44s and 45s dont have that.

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The .41 Magnum is a superb cartridge. I’ve been shooting and loading for this cartridge for 39 years, for Smith and Wesson Model 57 no dash revolvers. Nothing wrong at all with this round in the Rugers.

The .41 is about the perfect size for the N frame Smith, while I believe the frame is a bit light for the .44 (actually it’s a .429; only .019” difference in them). Easy to load for, quite well balanced.

My standard load is 17.5/2400, standard large pistol primers, 215 gr hard cast SWC. For bear protection, I load 20/296, magnum primer, 265 grain hard cast Cast Performance bullet. All have been wonderfully accurate...and my guns are still tight even with significant shooting of the former load.

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Originally Posted by pacecars
I believe the old model Blackhawk .41 mag was on the smaller frame

nope larger frame

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Originally Posted by mirage243
Idaho Shooter, I am a handloader. I've been sitting here researching loads while watching the game. For my part of the country (southeast) the Sierra 170 jacketed looks like a great place to start.


Yes that is a great place to start. If you expect targets at extremely short range, I would load the 170s just a bit short of maximum velocity. At fifty yds, push them hard.

Note of explanation: Many years ago, I shot the Berrys 210, Hornady 210 XTP, and Sierra 170 JHC into water. At max velocity from a 7.5 inch barrel and six feet vertical range, three samples of the 170 shed the jacket, and lost all but a small pellet of lead from the core. At a bit reduced velocity they fared much better.

The XTP core held together very well even though it shed the jacket with a maximum charge.

This was probably 12 or 13 years ago. If you desire more information, I have photos on the 'puter and notes in the logbook.


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Originally Posted by 700LH
Originally Posted by pacecars
I believe the old model Blackhawk .41 mag was on the smaller frame

nope larger frame

I am a bit confused with the early BH revolvers.
I know the three screw 357 was on the original "medium" frame. And the larger SBH was designed around the new 44 mag.

But the 41 was not a SBH? correct?

Is it a SBH frame without the dragoon trigger guard/grip frame?

And then the 44, 41, 30 carbine, and 357 where all on the same frame when the new model blackhawk was introduced in 1974.

The 41 mag came out in '64, so I assume there are some three screw blackhawks out there in 41.


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I won't be pushing them super hard, this will be more of a work pistol than a hunting gun. I have a 454 hot rodded up for a hunting gun. I'll want a good service load with the least amount of trajectory drop out to 50 ish yards, without a huge amount of recoil.

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Damn, I just stumbled across a listing on Guns America for a Ruger 3 screw BH in 41 mag at my favorite toy store about thirty miles from the house.

Listing is from August and the gun is sold of course.

Check gunbroker. I see a NM SS bisley 5.5 in listed at $800 and a very nice 1968 3 screw blue model with 4 5/8" barrel at $850.

Hell, if I was flush with cash right now, I would already have that three screw in transit.


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