Hello all:

I am fairly new to the board, shooting, concealed carry, and have come to the game late at 60+. So I am quite smitten with some of the hotly held views about semis, revolvers, calibers, brands, and an endless parade of other opinions; many of which have very little basis in fact?! But go figure!

What I would like to know is; is the .41 Caliber revolver past its time and prime? Will it make it long term? Will the cost of the ammo go out of sight?

As I buy new/used guns I do not want to but something I will have to spend a fortune on shooting. I have one of those now in a Colt Police Positive 32. So I want to keep my caliber counts down to a few.

What think ye on any or all counts?

rd

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"That is all!"

First off, welcome to the forum, am fairly new my self. I guess the first question is, what is the focus of your shooting. Mine leans toward the hunting side of which I find the 41 mag meets my needs above others. I reload though and send cast bullets down range most of the time. If you don't reload and punching paper is your focus, I would lean toward more common calibers. If you like large calibers and an amazingly accurate gun , you will find the 41 may meet your needs, I do. Am lucky enough to have other calibers as well but usually pick up a 57 or 657 as I head to the range or the woods.

The .41 mag is as popular now as it has ever been, overshadowed by its big and little brothers it will never be as popular or as cheap to shoot as .357/44mag. Nowadays there is a bigger selection of ammo available for it than ever, and its a great cartridge, my favorite! Very accurate, and versatile, Its been here since the 60's and not going away anytime soon.

The .41 mag is a wonderful cartridge. To really enjoy a 41, reloading is almost mandatory. Back in the day, there was a full power factory load and then a reduced power "police load". The reduced load drove a lead bullet at around 900 FPS. The hand loaded version of this round, with a properly sized and lubed cast bullet is a real joy to shoot. Seems like I used to use 7-8 grains of Unique under a 210 gr. cast slug. Made a great round for shooting bowling pins. Most of the .41's I have owned never saw a factory load, or a jacketed bullet for that matter. A 4" 57/657 with that load would be a pretty good nite stand gun in my not too humble opinion.

Check the prices of any ammo over .357 Magnum and you will find that most are in the $1.00+ a round area now. So no matter what big bore you shoot it is going to be expensive...

Reloading is the only way to go if you want to shoot a lot and save some money... Once you have the brass you can shoot for about 20 cents a round and considering that .22 LR when you can find it is in the 10 cent area that isn't bad...

As to the .41, it's my favorite revolver round...

Bob

I've had a Redhawk 41mag for many years. It's a good sized gun, but well balanced and easy to handle. Ammo's available, but can be a bit pricey. FWIW. the owner of my LGS says there are no plans to phase out the 41mag any time soon. If you're looking for something with a little more push-um-up than a 357, but more house broken than a 44mag, (I have both of them too), the 41's a good choice.

The 41 Magnum will probably die out 10-25 years after the 45 Colt fades away.

But that is because we will have transitioned to energy weapons and rail guns

The 41 Magnum will remain a novelty for a only few centuries after that

Comment directed mainly at the other .41 fans above: I've shot pretty much everything, yet I am amazed at how smoky the 210gr lead police loads are. The W-W version of this load produces a heavy odor of wax when firing, smells like the world's largest candle is burning. Have shot many lead bullets in all other revolver calibers without observing this.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Is the caliber "accurate" or the gun...maybe the load?

I have been shooting the 41 mag along side the 44 mag since the late 70's.....I carried a M-58 for several years when I was a motor cop.....I shot metallic sil with a T/C contender for several years and I have harvested over a dozen large bodied deer with the 41 mag & dozens of hogs down in texas......the 41 mag's demise was predicted back in the 70's and 80's.....but obviously reports of it's demise were exaggerated.....I think there is more interest in the 41 mag now than ever.....thanks to forums and the 41's devotees....I still carry my M-58 or a 3" 657 RB when the mood strikes me.....it's a great round and has a lot of potential & versalitilty when it is reloaded for.

And this year marks the 50th birthday of the .41 Magnum! And not a single photo...


657-2


657

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No good deed goes unpunished.

The .41 is a long ways from dead. It's an amazingly accurate caliber -- I am always surprised at just how easy it is to shoot this gun well. I agree with the folks that recommend reloading, you can load the type of ammo you want, you won't be at the mercy of "market" prices for ammo, and it's just plain fun. The powder market can be kind of spotty sometimes though, like anything else you have to watch for the deals.

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My fist revolver was a s&w 41 mag with an 8 3/8 barrel. I loved it. My buddy had the same gun in 44. I liked mine as much as his bit I was always envious of the 44 mag ammo choices in the shelves. Not much has changed. If I were going to buy my first revolver it would be a 586/686 or 27 in a 357 mag. There are lots of ammo choices out there and you can pick up 38 reloads from georgia arms for less than $14 for 50. Hard to beat that even if you reload.

There was a Rock n Roll band in the 70s called Mott the Hoople. They sang a great song called "All the Young Dudes".

When I heard the song a few times, I wanted to learn more about it, and about the band. The review started by saying that Mott the Hoople were the greatest Also-Rans in the history of rock. Essentially the greatest band that never made it.

I always think of that when I think of the 41 magnum.

The 41 has been seriously called the single greatest all-around handgun caliber of all time.

You can do almost anything you can do in a 41 magnum, that you can from the 357 to the 44 magnums.

The main issue with the 41 is that it came after those two cartridges, and it was never able to fill a niche either up or down as the 357 and 44 had them covered.

However, as long as there are folks that like to hand load, there will always be a place at the table for the 41.

I want one, perferably a 4" model 57, but I do not hand load. That still may not stop me though.

Factory ammunition is hard to find, but I still may get one just to say I have it.

Mark me a big fan of the .41 for decades. I believe, as some others here have said, that the .41 is becoming more popular. When I began shooting it in the early '80s, it was an odd ball to mainstream handgunners; not so anymore, especially among the real cognoscenti.

It gives up very little to its big brother, the .44, only .019" difference in the two calibers (the .41 is an honest .410", while the .44 is really .429"). For Smith fans, the real meaning here is that the .41 is the perfect size for the N frame. A worn out Model 29-2 got me to see the light of the .41.

Here are a couple Model 57 no-dash guns in my meager stable (grips are Kuracs, Osage Orange and French walnut, respectively):

See, I told you not to go buying reloaded ammo at the NLV Swap meet. :-) ................ Big Cholla

I think it filled the niche between them quit well. And if there had been a 41 Special forerunner, to widen it's latitude, like the 38 Special & 44 Special do for theirs', it would have helped.

I wish I would have "discovered" the 41 Mag earlier & I hadn't been so stuck-up with my 44 Mags.

Yes, it'll be around for a while longer.

.

357NG - 2-1/2" bbl.


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. and nothing in between
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657-5 Classic Hunter - 7-1/2" bbl.

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Waiting for the break of day

Welcome to the forum. I think the .41 Mag is the greatest cartridge I'll never own. I reload, and would consider buying one since I believe it's such a nice round, but since I have .38s, .357s and .44s, I don't feel like there's a void in my life. Like others have said, most people feel like it's an odd duck, but its owners wouldn't be without one.

By the way, ammo cost may need to be a serious consideration for many people looking to buy a gun, don't gloss over that.

First if we had the internet back then when the 41 magnum was first offered the popularity would of sky rocketed back then. I think the 41 magnum is gaining in popularity now more than ever.

The 41 magnum is for the ccw carry person who wants more power than the 357 magnum but who doesn't like the recoil of the 44 magnum, but wants something bigger than the 357.

The 41 magnum from a collector's view you have to have one or a few.

For the serious shooter you have to own and shoot the three magnums, like the 357 mag, the 41 mag and the 44 mag.

I think there is a solid nitch for the 41 magnum still. I find the s&w m58 an awesome, well balanced large N Frame to shoot. I find the power ratio to the weight to be very well balanced and a pleasure to shoot. But I like my 44 magnum loads to be more stout. So the 41 magnum is comfortable to shoot for me. It's a breath of fresh air. But I like having something different than the norm stuff to shoot too.

If you like the 357 magnum and the 44 magnum why not the 41 magnum?
If not your missing out. Don't miss out on this awesome middle sized magnum. I find the 357 mag, the 41 mag and the 44 mag is like my three children, I love them all, each one has a different personality. The more we have in the different calibers to shoot it doesnt get so boring. I been shooting the 357 mag since '75 along with the 44 mag. I been interested in the 41 mag since back then. A few years ago I finally got one. I found out what I was missing.

Now tell me you don't want to own a 41 magnum?

The pistols make good ccw guns if that's what you prefer to carry. But the magnum revolvers are still very collectable and fun to shoot. I hope someday the revolvers don't get phased out because of the pistols gaining in popularity. Now is the time to purchase revolvers. It's like owning a piece of s&w history in its over 100 year old design, that we can hold, touch, and shoot. Think about it? Take the blinders off, don't limit yourself to one gun or one caliber. There's a whole world out there full of different guns/calibers for us to enjoy. My only advise I can say is why did I wait so long to get a 41 magnum?

I wish Elmer Keith and Bill Jordan could post here I wonder what they would say?

I love the 41 mag! I don't think it's going to be cheaper on ammo anytime soon but IMO it's worth it! A happy medium between the 357 and 44 mag.

My first handgun (bought in the mid-60's for $67.50!) was a .41mag Ruger Blackhawk. Great gun. I gave it to my son when he moved to Alaska ... I thought he needed it more than I did.

The .41mag shouldn't be considered to be mid-way between a .357mag and a .44mag ... it's VERY close in power to a .44mag ... sometimes loaded even slightly hotter. I think the only real disadvantage to the .41mag is that there isn't a nice, light ".41 special" to shoot for target practice. There IS a ".41 Russian", but they are rarely available, and are usually lead roundnoses, which I didn't want to shoot. Having .44 special available for range practice (although it's gotten hard to find that too, lately) is the biggest advantage of the .44mag over the .41mag, I think.