Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Does anyone shoot a 41 anymore?

My father has a SW 41 Mag that I love. I always remember it being up in the gun closet and him telling me that when I was old enough that I could shoot it. Well when that time came I fell in love. I like the way that it points and handles. It doesn't rip your arm off with a pull of the trigger. I was just wondering if there were any other 41 shooters out there that could share their expertise. I am thinking of buying a new revolver and am having a hard time choosing what caliber. I am stuck between 3(357, 41, 44). I will use it to hunt deer and plink around the yard. I just can't wait until I get home next time to go blow a box through that old gun of my dads. Thanks, Ryan<p>[This message has been edited by rlb_deerhunter (edited March 26, 2001).]

The .41 Mag is a great round. The beefier cylinder walls make for a high pressure tolerant gun. The Blackhawks are famous for their accuracy and strength. Smiths & Taurus are not far behind. <P>If you want to read more about the versital .41 look at the back issues in the articles written by Paco on <A HREF="http://www.sixgunner.com" TARGET=_blank>www.sixgunner.com</A><P><P>------------------<BR>Rick

I have a Blackhawk and a Taurus Tracker.It's the best caliber available I'm thinking.Oddly,you can find used Blackhawks worth the money.

Ryan .... Welcome to The Cult! The .41 mag. is routinely scorned and/or passed over, since everyone knows that it's:<BR>A.) too big<BR>B.) too small<BR>I happen to be totally ignorant when it comes to firearms, so I just naturally fell in love with the .41 mag. also. I do own bigger and smaller caliber revolvers, but the .41 is so user-friendly, and it doesn't do a whitetail a d**n bit of good. The .357 mag. makes sense for some people, but it is not nearly as effective on deer at the longer ranges. The .44 mag. is a dandy hunting gun, but not nearly as pleasant to plink with, unless you download it considerably or shoot .44 Spl. ammo, which means jacking the sights around on a regular basis. In short, the .41 mag. tends to impress very few people, other than those who hunt with them, and who are still able to make logical decisions on their own.<BR>

I have a model 657 S&W (pre sellout) and a Ruger Blackhawk in 41 Mag. They are both great guns. Fun to shoot, accurate, and more than adequate for deer up to 100 yards (if you can make the shot!). I would, if I was forced to choose, pick the Blackhawk over the S&W. I just like the "feel" of it better than the Smith. I get the best results out of both of my 41s with the 210gr Hornady XTP and H110. <P>------------------<BR>Stush

You'll love the .41 Magnum only if you reload. The factory loads are real good but very limited. The 210 grain Remington lead load is accurate for about the first two cylinder fulls and then there is no visible rifling left. It runs 950 fps and is the only "target" velocity load left. That said getting into reloading is the only way for a serious shooter to go. For the investment of a small Lee outfit it will pay for itself in a few boxes of ammo. The .41 is what I use when hunting and in the field. I have.....too many of them. The latest one was custom ordered from Gary Reeder Custom Guns and is a beauty and a real shooter. <A HREF="http://www.reedercustomguns.com" TARGET=_blank>www.reedercustomguns.com</A> It looks just like his Long Colt Hunter that is in the picture on his website, just the engraving is different. It also came with a second cylinder for .41 GNR which is a .44 Magnum case necked down to .41. I just got some .44 cases yesterday and the GNR is next on the "try" list. To get into .41 the least expensive way to go is a Ruger Blackhawk. The 4 5/8" barrel model sure does balance nice. The 6.5" is a great shooter also.....but get a reloading kit...you'll love it....Bob

Thanks for the info guys. Looks like I am not the only one that likes this gun. I was wondering now what you all thought about the optimum barrel legnth for the caliber. I am thinking six but a four sure packs easier. I don't see it as a packing problem really but I am mainly concerned with accuracy. Well let me have it, I need to know what you fellas think. Thanks again, Ryan

rlb ... fwiw, I feel that 7.5" to 8.5" is about ideal for me on a hunting revolver, 10" to 12" on a Contender. A couple extra inches in barrel length pays dividends in velocity and also in accuracy, due to the longer sight radius, if not using a scope. They are not cumbersome if carried in a shoulder holster. I am very fond of the 4 5/8" Blackhawk for other general purpose carry, but wouldn't buy it for serious hunting use. Of course, the 6-inchers are a pretty good compromise. My 2 cents. Happy shopping!

I have a Model 57 with the 4" barrel and I love that gun. It shoots great, balances well, and has a great factory trigger that's smooth and breaks clean. It's the first gun I ever bought. It's also the reason I started reloading and bullet casting. I had a hard time paying $20 to $24 per box of factory ammo. After all the equipment had paid for itself, I got the price down to less than a buck a box. The .41 mag had a sort of a comeback during the late eighties and early nineties, but that's over now. If you want to get the most utility out of the piece, you'll have to reload. I've been tinkering with the idea of loading up some 250-265 grain LBT hardcast to see what they'll do. I'm doubtful a 4" barrel will do them justice. All the same, I'd like to take it pig hunting, one of these days. 99% of its use is target shooting. Once in a while I pack it deer hunting. Out of all the rifles and handguns I own, it's still my favorite.

I have a ruger blackhawk "3 screw" .41 mag. and like it quite well. It is more accurate than the .44 mag. and has less recoil. Who knows why it never caught on like the "44". <BR> Probably because of those darn dirty harry movies. If only dirty harry had used a ".41 mag." in the movies, maybe the .41 mag would have been a household word.

That may be true. On the other hand, Dirty Harry wouldn't have been able to say "This is a S&W 44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and can blow your head clean off... Do you feel lucky?". If S&W and Remington would have come out with a medium frame (steel)gun and a wider selection of loads, things would probably be different. Now, with the trend for super hand cannons, I think the .41 mag will always be a gun only for those who can really appreciate its fine points. There are more manufacturers loading for the cartridge now, but it's hard to find a store that stocks them. I probably wouldn't be as happy with mine if I hadn't taken up reloading.

I own an "old style" Ruger Blackhawk in .41 mag. It's been sort of customized with a 5.5" bbl. and Pachmyer grips. Great shooter with cast or jacketed bullets. Especially likes the Speer 220 gr. half jackets with 19 gr. of 2400 powder. Had thousands of rounds put thru it and it's still as tight and accurate as it was when new. Ruger makes a real workhorse of a revolver.

Shotone.....Try the heavy cast bullets, you'll like them even in the 4" S&W. I tried several different cast bullets from a 220 Keth to a 265 LBT. I ended up settling on the 255 grain WFPGC from Cast Performance Bullet Company. With 22 grains of H110 the velocity is right at 1400 fps from a 5.5" Redhawk. The load has been shot in a 4" M57, 7.5" Bisley and 5.5" Gary Reeder Custom. In the 4" M57 the empties just dropped out without hardly pushing on the ejector rod. Haven't had a chance to chrono the load from the 4" gun but it should be in the 1275-1290 fps range. As to what barrel length is best, I have to go along with the other poster who has a 5.5". More sight radius and velocity than the 4 5/8" and not as bulky as the 6.5-8 3/8" guns. ....Bob

RJM,<P>Thanks for the encouraging words. I wasn't sure the loads would work, so I have been leary to buy the bullets. Now, I think I'll go for it. You're using 22 grains of H110. Where did you start working up from? If I start 10% lower, that puts me at around 19.5-20.0 grains. That sound about right to you? Don't worry, I have no intention of suing anybody. I'd just like a reasonable starting point. Thanks for the help.

Shotone.....Kelly Brost who is the owner of CPBC puts in a starting load sheet with each of his bullets. I think starting was 18.5/H110-WW296. You will find that the 255 has the biggest meplat of all the .41 bullets at .33. If you also look closely at the bullet and compare it to others of Verl Smith's LBT designs you'll see it is completely different. I kept asking Kelly about it until he finally fessed up that although Verl Smith cut the mold, the bullet is of Kelly's design. The only gun so far that I have found that will not shoot the bullet is my 10" TC barrel. The chamber lead is very short and this bullet has a full diameter portion ahead of the crimp groove. It runs into the rifling of the TC barrel. I also traded barrels with Kelly and ended up with a Virgin Valley rechambered .41 Magnum barrel who's parent case is the .445 SuperMag. .41x.445SM. It is much like the .41 GNR#2 from Gary Reeder Custom Guns but is a little longer in the body and has a very long throat. The 255 can be crimped into the top lube groove and with 40 grains of AA1680 the velocity is 1966 fps. No presure signs so I will be going up from there. When you get the bullets if you look at the brochure that comes with the order you will see Gary Reeder with a SCI #1 Red Heartbeast. That animal was shot with a GNR#2 and the .41 255 grain CPBC bullet. The CPBC 250 grain .41 bullet is the one Federal uses in it's CastCore .41 Magnum. Probably more than you ever wanted to know about cast .41 bullets....if you want to see a picture of the bullets after passing through something pretty hard you can emil me at VitalSupply@ webtv.net and I'll send you some pictures. Haven't figured how to post pictures here yet.....Bob

Bob,<P>Thanks for the bullet info. I finally found CPBC's website (the first time I searched I came up with a Bible College)and I'm going to order some of the 255 grainers. I'll have to see how they shoot and chronograph them first, but I'm thinking they would be great for pigs and maybe Blacktail deer.<P>Shotone

Hey fellas thanks for the input. Well since yall have been such a big resource, I have another question. If you had to pick a caliber for hunting out to around 125 yards what would you pick. I am trying to choose between a .41, .44, .45LC. I am leaning toward the .41 as you can tell, but if there is something that I am not considering I would like to see what you all are thinking of. The barrel will be between 6" and 8.75". Well tell me what you think because I really need to know. Thanks for all the help guys. Ryan

RIB....Too many unanswered questions to give you a solid answer. What are you hunting, how big are they, what are the conditions (woods, open fields)? If you are going to reload then it doesn't make any difference what caliber. If you are not reloading then don't go with the .41. The selection of ammo just isn't that great. True you only need one good load and there are several like the Federal 210 JHP and 250 CastCore rounds but you'll go broke practicing. Next question is what type of action do you want and how moch do you want to spend? Scope or no scope? DA, SA, or single shot? If you want a .41 the selection is somewhat limited. Ruger has a 6.5" Blackhawk that can be had for around $300. Smith and Wesson has a 6" stainless for aound $500. Then you get into the Freedom Arms series for $1500-2000 depending on the model. Gary Reeder will buld a one of a kind custom .41 that will be less than the Freedom Arms guns. If you look around the Ruger Bisley with 7.5" barrel and the Redhawk 7.5" come up for sale regularly. Depending on your budget the Ruger Blackhawk 6.5" gun is a bargin and shoots great. Just buy the Federal CastCore round and there isn't anything that walks that isn't going down. You can get into reloaing with a nice Lee handpress and all the accessories for less than $100, that's dies, brass, bullets, scale, the works that will pay for itself in short order. If you want a single action and don't want to mess with the .41, get a Ruger Bisley in .45 Colt. Have it tuned, make sure the cylinder throats aren't too tight and the gun will do anything you ask it. Lots of good standard loads, commercial hand loads and Buffalo Bore heavies for the big ones. You can also do the same in double action with the Ruger Redhawk. If you're not going to scope it the 5.5" gun sure makes a great all arond shooter. I have one in .41 Magnum and it is a great gun.....but whatever you do get into reloading. I have been since I was 14, that's 34 years now, and a more enjoyable hobby one can't have if one is a "shooter", not just one who "shoots"....Bob

Bob, thanks for the input. I started reloading for my 270 about a year ago. I have the stuff so all I would need are the dies. As far as what I would hunt, it would mainly be whitetails. Maybe a black bear eventually. I have been looking mainly at the Ruger Blackhawk. Sure looks good for the money. I would probably put a scope on it but not right away. I was wondering how far out you feel the round has enough stoppng power to cleanly kill a deer. Well thanks again. Ryan

Ryan...For deer size game and under "how far" is simply a matter of the shooter not the bulet. If you can put a bullet into a 9" paper plate or a plain 8.5"x11" piece of of paper everytime at 300 yards then a deer with a heavy cast bullet will die with a good lung hit. Once you get past the point where a bullet isn't going to reliably expand anymore, it just becomes as John Linbaugh says "a hole punch" and the bigger the hole the better. That's why I use that CPBC 255 grain cast bullet. It has a meplat of .33. The next largest I've found on a .41 is .32 on some Beartooth Bullets. Most LBT .44 bullets only run .34-.35 so that 255 .41 bulet is righ there as being the biggest possible for the caliber. Go to sixgunner.com and go to the Linbaugh Custm Gun site and read his articles. They are excellent. Also over there see the Paco Kelly articles on the .41. "Heavy Bullets in the .41 Magnum" and "The .41 Magnum 'Sunday's Child' ". Jim Taylor also has some good articles on the .41 over there. The Blackhawk .41 is a great shooter. I found one last year used in excellent condition with a pair of oversized Herrett grips for $189.95. Wholesale on the gun right now id $260. The trigger broke clean with very little pre-travel but at about 6-7#. A friend told me to just remove the grips and take one of the trigger return spring legs off the post and it was an instant trigger job. Now it breaks at a nice 4#. Putting a scope on is very easy. Just get the Weaver no-gunsmith mount. I have one that was on my Ruger Blackhawk .30 Carbine and is about to be tried on the 6.5" .41. Bushnell makes a nice 2 power and a 2-6 power scope with 32mm objectives that can be had for under $200. For your long shots you would probably want the 2-6x32mm. For dies try a set of Lee. I just started using one of their Carbide Factory Crimp dies last night and it works great. Buy their regular carbide set and then the extra Factory Crimp Die so you don't have to change your setting on the seating die when you crimp. You should always crimp as a separate step from bullet seating. Hope to see you as a .41 shooter soon.....Bob