I own and shoot two .41s both S&W and Ruger and shoot them as often as I have the ammo.


I've been reloading for this caliber for over 30 years and recently bought yet another mold for it(265 gr).
Steve

If you think the .41 is making a resurgence in popularity (and I believe it is), the 10mm seems like it is making an even bigger recovery. Maybe it is something about the mid-bores that people are rediscovering? To me the difference boils down to the following.

The .41 has to go up against the .44 in the same frame size so it is always at a disadvantage from a "power to weight" perspective.

The 10mm has to go up against the .45 in the same frame size, so it is always at an advantage from a "power to weight" and capacity standpoint.

This moribund number just refuses to die. Impressive ballistics and extremely devoted fans keep it from life support. It got off on the wrong foot right from the start and never really caught on with the poplace in general. No I don't see any resurgence of the calibre. It's loyal fans still scream it's virtues but I don't see a lot (or any) of NEW shooters out there, switching to it.

Great post is there anything that anyone wants to add about the awesome caliber of the 41 Magnum?

Love it or hate it, it's here to stay.

I know this is a Smith and Wesson forum, but I have posted this in other threads, so here goes:

If you really want to appreciate the "middle magnum", get yourself an FA. My 654 Silhouette will get 1800 fps out of the NEI 290-grain cast bullet, and the one in 14" twist stabilizes it perfectly.

There is nothing you can do with a 44 magnum that I cannot do with a 41, and I will do it with less recoil, less muzzle blast, and a flatter trajectory.

Yes, it is a handloader's cartridge, and probably a caster's as well. But it is absolutely a superb handgun round, in my estimation.

I have 2 57s and 2 58
blue and nickel each

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Have ten 41's plus one in the oven. Yes I reload.

I have only one -- a 657 classic hunter. Very accurate and a nice trigger.

I keep looking each time I go into a LGS but haven't seen one in over a year.

BTW, it's interesting how there old threads are dead for years, and then pop back up.

What timing....today I took delivery of a Marlin 1894 CCL in .41 Mag. I already cast and load for my S&W .41s, but I've been after a rifle for several years now.

Without a doubt the .41 Magnum is my favorite handgun caliber. I carry it regularly, and I shoot it about every time I hit the range.

l like it so much I had Bowen customize a Model 58 for me into the configuration I've always believed S&W should have made.





That's a new old stock Model 57 barrel shortened to 4" and with the rib recontoured to look like the original 58 rib.
Keith

Nice job, you've got one of the rare ones. That is the one the Marlin collectors really try to find. You'll have to post a picture.

I asked this question a ways back and was SUPER SURPRISED at the number of people saying it was their cartridge of choice. Not that they HAD one, but they used it the most. Hunters seem to especially like them.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

My second revolver to own was a 657 no dash 4" I purchased IIRC in 1989. I got it because at the time it was the caliber to have if you didn't want to experience the recoil of the 44. I carried it for years as a backup when deer hunting. Like others have said the ammo got expensive so it sat in the gun safe for years before I was able to start reloading for it. I much prefer it to the 44 mag. Very accurate and a lot of fun to shoot. Now it is part of the expanded "Smith" family. If the .41 was produced again in a 3" I would probably get one in spite of the lock.

The model 57 .41 Magnum will forever be an "also ran" to the model 29. The original idea was to introduce a .41 caliber POLICE cartridge that had the bullet size, weight, and energy to be more effective than the .38 Colt/S&W/S&W Spl.
Much like the 10mm today, the .41 Magnum in "magnum" loads was viewed as neither "feast nor fowl." Who that wants the power of a .44 Magnum is going to "settle" for the .41 Magnum? At the same time, the larger size and bulk of .41 caliber revolvers such as the model 58 failed to attract consumer interest in the "police" power level loadings.

Is the .41 Magnum a great round? Absolutely. Is it almost as good as the .44 Magnum...again, absolutely! But MOST people seem to hover around the .38 Spl +P as their recoil, size, "comfort zone."

The 10mm was introduced as essentially the .41 magnum of autopistols" and died a swift death despite a brief recognition as the FBI's chosen cartridge...because the guns were too large, and kicked a bit too much.

Just as the .41 Magnum "revived" as a field/hunting round chambered in full-framed guns, so too the 10mm has returned from the dead as the heir apparent in the autoloading world.

There are shooters who don't like the recoil on the 357 mag so the 38 spec and 38 spec +p fills there need. On the other had there are 357 mag owners who want more power than the 357 mag but don't like the recoil of the 44 mag this is where the 41 mag nitch comes into play.

I believe there are more 41 mag owners than most estimated. My LGS told me the shipment of the 41 mag ammO was the first shipment they have seen in two years. I think if the 41 ammO was not available there just
Maybe more 41 mag owners than we think out there.