It has been a few years since I had my 57 and 58, so I had been away from .41 Mags. Then yesterday I took possession of a Ruger Blackhawk thus chambered.

The only ammunition for sale locally was Winchester Platinum 240 gr JHP. It appears to be a hunting load meant for deer and bear per the box.

Has anyone used it? How is it as a general purpose .41 Magnum load?

it's more of a hunting load than a defense load unless you are worried about bears. I shot them in a 4 inch M-57 and recoil was stout although not as bad as a M-29. from a TC contender 14 inch 5 shots were in basically one hole at 50 yards. I wished I would have saved a box or two of them because couldn't get reloads to shoot that well.

I haven't seen any for several years nor for that matter I haven't seen any of the 175 grain Silvertips in a long either

they are the best 41 mag factory loads out there

Agreed, the Platinum load is more a hunting load and the Silvertips more an SD load. If you are carrying that .41 Magnum in the woods it's a great load. Not so much in the city although it's hard to say any full power .41 Magnum ammo is bad lol.

In sure you can find something online and if not it might be time to start reloading.
41 Magnum Ammo - Pistol Rounds at AmmoToGo.com

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chronograph results from a few years ago

41 mag Winchester 240 grain Platinum tip

S & W M-57 4 inch - 1,132 fps avg
S & W M-57 6 inch - 1,206 fps avg
Ruger Blackhawk 6.5 inch - 1,251 fps avg
TC Contender 14 inch - 1,460 fps avg

I hate to say it , but the ammo companies don't give the 41 magnum any respect. The only way to support a 41 magnum habit is with hand loading.

A Lee Hand Press , a Lee bullet mould and a set of dies will allow you to produce all the plinking , target and even hunting ammo you can stand.

When Lyman stopped making all 41 magnum moulds , I saw the writing on the wall, bought a few used ones off ebay and a new one from Lee.
Ammo makers only produce magnum hunting loads and those are not cheap. Cast bullet and 750 to 900 fps velocities are very pleasant to shoot.
Gary

LAX 41 ammo shoots fine in my 657.

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