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[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. 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>------------------ 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: A.) too big B.) too small 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.

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. ------------------ 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". 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,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,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.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

Maybe someone here can help me:In either my Taurus or Ruger,I cant get as much vel. with my handloads as with fed. fact.I get avg of 1230 fps in taurus with fact. loads,for instance.Rem 210 gr ahead of 17.5 gr of2400 is very consistent,but 1035 fps is the avg.Rem 210 and 20 gr h110 gets me 1130 fpsNos 210 with 20.5 gr of h110 shows 1152 across my chrono.The ruger is fasterwith same loads due to barrel length but still wont equal fact or what the manual shows or what you guys report.I've loaded for rifle and shotgun for 35 yrs but this is my first stab at handgun.Primer in both loads is cci mag.I've tried crimping deeper and have basically what the nosler manual describes in that regard.Any ideas?

Gene....I have never used 2400 but have used a lot of H110/WW296. With 210 grain HP's my guns top out at between 23-24 grains. A 210 Hornady FMJ shoots 1450 from a 5.5" Redhawk with 24 grains. This load is too warm in my 10" Contender barrel but shoots just fine in my 14". I have not tried it in my S&W guns however. Work up slowly in .5 grain steps as each gun and chamber is different. This with WW brass & WW LP primers. Brass, primers and powder lot will make a difference. With the slow burning powders you need a good crimp. I just started using the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp die and it works real nice. My second favorite in Lyman. Seems to put a better crimp on than the RCBS. Which Taurus do you have? The titanium??? I would like to buy one some day but will probably shoot the 170 Sierra or the 170 cast bullets from Penn Bullets......Bob

RJM,thanks for responding.I have the "heavy" tracker.I didn't have the chance to handle either one as my dealer had to order one for me.The other day I saw a Titantium in a .45 long colt.I guess I'm glad I got the steel one,but maybe the light ones will hold up ok.I just got back from town where I got some ww primers- they didnt have federal.I'm going to go out and load a few to see if the primers cure my misfires in DA mode.That will give me a good chance to start over with h110 at about 19.5 gr. and work up as you suggest.I was hoping to be able to shoot the same load in the ruger and the tracker, but maybe I cant.Will the crimper you mentioned work in my rcbs press?

Morning Gene.....You really haven't said what these loads are going to be used for. Also is your Ruger a 6.5" or the shorty? The Ruger will probably the higher pressure with less wear on the gun than the Taurus will.If these are for big game hunting and you want expansion the 210's need as high an impact velocity as possible to attain good expansion. I don't even bother with 210's any more except for target shooting. The 170 Sierra can be pushed easily to 1500 fps even in short barrels and expands much better. My guns will take 26-26.5 grains of H110. If you read the Paco kelly articles on sixgunner.com, he uses 800X and gets 1700 fps from his 4 5/8" Ruger. I may try that powder one day but for now I'm happy with 1500+. For a light deep penetrating bullet that can be driven the same speed try the 200 Speer 3/4 jacket HP. 23-24 grains of H110 has been safe in all my guns that includes two M57's. 24 grains is a compressed load and you have to be careful not to distort the nose of the bullet. Most of my shooting now is with the 255 cast bullet from CPBC. 22 grains of H110 gives 1300-1450 fps depending on the gun. There are lots of great cast bullets in .41 from Cast Performance Bullet Comapny, Penn Bullets, Beartooth Bullets and Leadhead Bullets from 170 to 295 grain. Have been shooting that 255 in a TC barrel chambered for .41x.455 SuperMag with 42 grains of AA1680 for a velocity of 2070 with no leading at all.Primers.....the WW are especially formulated for the Ball Powders. The CCI magnums work fine also but use Standard Primers for 2400. The aritcles I have read have all asid the same thing, that there is too much flash with a magnum prmer for 2400. Elmer Keith found the same and always used standard primers for this heavy .357, 41 and .44 loads.As far as I know the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die will work in any press. I use mine in a Dillon 450. If you just have a RCBS single station it will work. I don't know about their progressives.Good shooting....Bob

Mornin'BOB,The ruger is the long barrel version,i guess.It is for hogs.The taurus is for carry.The ww primers fixed the misfire in DA problem.I may get into the cast bullet deal someday,but I've got my spare time taken up with rifles right now.There is a wealth of info in your last post and I will get my wife or daughter to print it out for me when they get up.Too windy[ 40mph plus] to shoot today so I'll try some of the loads you mentioned.Much obliged again.GENE.

I've about decided a fella could go crazy with this revolver reloading! you got most of the variables you have with a rifle and then you add crimping, then multiply by six.I loaded a few with different weights of H110 this am and chrono'ed them.I'm going to just concentrate on the ruger for now.I'm getting there,thanks to you.

Gene....So where are you in NC Texas? I lived in Dallas for 11 years. Was a great city to live in. Cast bullets...not me, I prefer to buy them. I stopped casting in 1980 when did several years in commercial reloading. If you are in the Dallas area Mike Rucker of Rucker Bullet Company in Terrell made great bullets.So how did your loads come out? Pistol loading isn't really very hard especially for revolvers. The cases do however need to be all trimmed to the same length at least once. I never had any problem with lengthening .41's but .357 stretched like crazy. I just bought my 6.5" Blackhawk a few months ago and the only load I chrono'd out of it was the 170 grain Sierra. 25 grains of H110 was 1600 fps and 26 grains was 1650. Didn't have any of the 26.5 grain loads but the Redhawk went up 35 fps. I standardized at 26 grains as the 14" and 10" TC barrels only went up 10 fps with the last .5 grains. That tells me the H110 is about maxed out and the extra .5 grains isn't worth it.....Bob

So Ryan.....You started this post....did you get your own .41 yet??? I got to shoot the Gary Reeder Custom last week but havn't had any time this week to get out. How about any other .41 shooters....share some loads maybe??? Bob

Well Bob, I would own one but at this moment in time I a little strapped for cash. I am going to college, my room mate just moved home, and I am getting married in a year. But, I just got a new job and it looks like it may come this summer. I will probably get a blackhawk because that is what i can afford now. I guess we will see this summer but it looks promising. Thanks, Ryan

Well Bob, haven't been shooting as much as I should. We have been beating back the politicians with their registration bill lately. Let us know haw that Gary Reeder .41 shoots when you get the chance. Talk to you later------------------ Rick

Hi Rick.....The Reeder custon Bisley has been shooting well but I stopped using it because the Wolf mainspring hasn't been busting some of the WW caps. Have a full power replacement coming from Brownells this week. Other than that Gary Reeder's work is excellent....Bob

Well, I finally got out to the range today to test the 255 grain CBPC bullets. I started at 18 grains of H110, and worked my way up to 22.5 grains . Velocity started off at 1060 fps average (5 shots) with 18.0 gr and topped off at 1250 fps with 22.5 gr. Primers were starting to flatten at 21.5 grains, and cratered at 22.5 grains. 22.0 grains seems to be the max load. Average velocity of 1230 fps from a 4" barrel isn't too bad. I have alot more work to do developing the loads for these bullets, but it looks really promising. RJM, thanks for the help earlier. I probably would still be thinking, "I should try those bullets", if you hadn't mentioned your experience with them.

Again, my apologies for being so late coming to this forum. Lots of good .41 info! Wish I'd been looking here earlier. Just finished my 255gr. CBPC load development for my SW m57 in 8 3/8. I ended up with 16 gr. 2400 with cci magnum pistol primers. I didn't know about using regular primers with 2400, now I've got a box of 50 loaded. No pressure signs and they shoot less than 1" at 25yds from a rest, no idea about velocity...any guesses? I'm sure I could push it higher, but didn't see the need. This is strictly a close range bear defense load.I stumbled on my .41 by accident, like most of the good things in my early years. Bought it used 22 years ago, and it was old then. I was just 16, and my Dad had to sign for it. It came with Pachmeyer grips and a trigger job, somebody really liked this one. Still shoots like a dream. The only magnum pistol I've ever ben able to hit anything with.John

Shotone....Been a while since I've been over here. I forget, what gun are you using for that load? I haven't had any noticeable primer flattening and went up to 22.5 grains of H110 with the 255 but only got a 10 fps gain and that tells me the H110 is about topped out. Also what cases are you using? I switched over to WW from Remington as I found the Rem.'s would show pressure signs way before the WW would. Also make sure you put a real heavy crip on the bullet. I just bought one of the Lee Carbide Crimp Dies and it works great. John.....at a guess I would say you are in the 1000-1100 fps range. How is the recoil? In the S&W M57 loads over 1200-1250 will stand the gun up in my hand. Found a mint M657 4" that I put on law-a-way. Was $395 which is a little higher than I have been paying but this one looks little shot and has slick double action.....and of course I haven't even seen one for sale in a long time......Bob

RJM,I'm shooting a M57 with a 4" barrel. I used new/sized Federal brass and CCI350 primers. I've had a chance to examine the primers in more detail since I posted my findings. I don't think the primers cratered. Upon closer inspection, it looks like some firing debris lodged near the firing pin hole and indented the cases. I've heard CCI has thinner primer cups, but I can't confirm it. Also, extraction of the cases was easy compared to some Bluedot loads I just shot. Finally, the chronograph data showed steady 25 fps increases in velocity per 1/2 grain all the way to 22.5 gr of H110. I may push it a little harder the next time out.A poster on another board swore by the Redding Profile crimp dies, so I bought one. It's supposed to form a great heavy roll crimp and smooth out the case after bullet seating. I've heard good things about the Lee, as well. I'm sure I'll end up trying it.One question for you, what would be the best shot placement for the 255gr bullet on deer? I've heard conflicting advice on this matter. Some say the bullets don't expand in soft tissue, so go for the shoulders or spine for a quick drop. The other thing I've heard is that the bullet meplat is large and it penetrates deeply, mostly through, so a heart lung shot is fine. I, myself, don't know. I've only hunted with rifles, but would like to take the .41 along next season.Thanks for your help.

The ruger 41 mag centenial model was the only gun I ever sold, and I still regret it to this day. Don't ask me why. My redhawk out performs it every way possible but there's just something about owning a selective caliber that apeals to me.

It is so plesent to see so much about my all time like best caliber. I have been a handgun only hunter since an accident in 1989 prevents me from using longguns. My very first hunting pistol was a scoped S/W 657. I killed my first handgun deer with it in 1991. That deer is also my best deer. I traded that 675 in 1993 for my first T/C Contender. I have used only Contenders since. That will change in a few weeks. Like RJM I too had Gary Reed make me up a custom .41. He is making his Kodiak Magnum as a duel cylinder 5 shooter in .41RemMag and .41GNR. I talked to him on Saturday and he told me that my gun will be tested this week and should be in my hand by 30JUL. YAHOOOOO [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] . I sent him a never fired SBH on 10 FEB so I have been waiting for a while. Even though I have had a .41 hunting wheel gun for 7-8 years I'm not .41 shie. I currently have 3 scoped 14 inch Contender barrel sets in .41. I have a Fox Ridge .41RemMag, a BullBerry in .41RemMag, and one from Gary in his .41 wildcat the .41GNR#2. Ihave had the .41GNR#2 since AUG00 but haven't had a chance to shoot it. I have been under Dr's orders to not shoot anything larger than 22lr until I get check in NOV of this year, 18 months of no shooting is making me nuts. I have two grown son who have been shooting all the stuff I load for the .41GNR#2. They each killed 300lb+ pigs this year with it. I have been working up loads with 250-280gr GC bullets from CPB and BT using 100/296, 4759, 4227, and 1680. I really enjoy shooting the .41s'. Even though I have 10 other barrel sets for my Contender frames I usually geab something in .41 to play with and to hunt. Just look at my signature, says it all. [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img]

Crawfish...I should have read this post first apparently and also should have know it was you as we did email earlier in the year. So the gun is finally coming...great, and now I hope you are well enough to use it after that little "acciident" you wrote me about. As to where to shoot deer with a cast bullet I have taken two lung shots at close range with Lyman/Thompson style cast SWCs and haven't been happy with the results. Both were close shots and the deer ran a long way. My next try with a cast bullet will be the 255 CPBC bullet at 1400 fps and it will be aimed for the shoulder. 22.5 grains of H110 in my 5.5" gun was doing right at 1350-1400..... .41's forever.....Bob