I am on my second barrel and slide because the bolt is cutting into the breech face. A friend with several 41s and a handful of barrels with far more use than mine has never experienced this type of wear. On the original slide the bolt dug in so much the material around the bolt wore away. I got a new bolt and barrel several thousand rounds ago and I am just starting to notice the pattern on the face starting again. Any ideas? I shoot Mini Mags and Aguila high velocity, similar to Mini Mags in velocity. I do use a buffer, is it sending the bolt back at too high a rate of speed?

@amwell,

I don't own a 41, so I can't speak from personal experience. However, since the 41 is a premier target pistol, I would feed it standard velocity target ammo, not high velocity ammo. Standard velocity pushes bullets about 1040 fps, but high velocity pushes bullets in excess of 1200 fps. I would suspect that the barrel and slide are getting battered due to the excessive velocity.

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Judge control not gun control!

The short version:

22 High velocity ammo shot in a rifle is 1200 fps + muzzle velocity. The same ammo shot in a 5" to 6-1/2" handgun has a muzzle velocity near 1050 fps.

Not all "high velocity" 22 LR ammo is alike. CCI Mini Mags and CCI Blazer are called high velocity. Mini Mag brass ejects from my Ruger 10-22 about 10' to 12', Blazer brass ejects 6' to 8'.

The rest of the story:

In my M41, Blazer brass ejects 3' to 4'. I have fired 3 rounds of Mini Mags (new ammo in 1985) from my M41. Brass flew 7' to 8' in a high arc, and slide recoil was much more "energetic".

I bought a case of CMP 22 LR Aguila Super Extra Standard Velocity ammo about 2013 -2014. This ammo and CCI Blazer have the same feel when shooting and same brass ejection arc.

I have tried other brands; Winchester, Federal, Remington; of 22 LR ammo. If the ammo has a lubed plain lead bullet and labelled as high velocity, the ejection arc is same 3' to 4' from my M41.

There are multiple 22 LR ammo threads about what to shoot in a M41. My conclusion is Mini Mags are too fast and cause excessive battering on the gun like you have seen. If the ammo is labelled 'high velocity' and has a copper washed bullet, it is likely too fast for a M41.

For Bullseye target shooting, I have shot CCI Blazers since about 1989 without any problems (on my 4th case) or the Aguila Std Vel (5 bricks remaining). I have two M41 and two Ruger Mk 2 semi-autos without any significant bolt face wear or 'hammering' .

I believe based on my experience, that the CCI Mini Mags should not be shot in a M41.

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S&WHF 366

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Is there anyway you can share a picture or
two of what's happening?

I have a Circa 1979 S&W Model 41 22lr 5-1/2" Bbl.
I have not noticed any abnormal wear.

I do have a 3 piece spring package I purchase years
ago. I think I put in a strong spring. Oh, yea, I do
have a buffer installed also.

Thank you.

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SD social distanc'n since 1889

The bolt in the 41 should be retained by the bolt pin in a snug fit in the slide with no back and forth movement. The bolt should also be in position so that the face is absolutely square and even with the slide face.
If the bolt sits proud of the slide face even a .000 or two,,it'll batter the face of the bbl every time it closes

It's not out of the ordinary for the bolt to be less than a perfect fit in the slide. This causes it to be able to be slammed forward with the hammer fall,,the battering results. The bolt itself may be a poor fit in the slide and/or the bolt pin is not a good fit and holding it in position.
The rear of the bolt when in place in the slide should be flat and even with the slide surfaces surrounding it. Plus it has to be sitting down into it's recess all the way w/lug engaged.

That way the hammer fall onto the firing pin is just that and not taken by any protruding surface of the rear of the bolt or sloppy back and forth movement of the bolt allows it to strike the bbl face.
If the hammer does fall on an empty chamber , the hammer bottoms out on a combination of the bolt and the slide support around it. If the bolt is sticking out at the back even a couple .ooo,,the hammer will knock it forward.

These are precision tolerance target pieces and not swap out parts exchange guns like can be done with so many others.
Even replacing the bbl can involve some careful fitting. Not just to make it 'lock' up onto the frame OK but to vary the height the bbl sits and make it square to the slide.
A matter of a couple .000" of course, but it's a target gun and wringing the last little bit of accuracy out of it take that sort of precision.

I would also stick to std/vel ammunition and check the recoil spring too while you're at it. Might as well change it out for a spec spring at this point and start new.

My M41 has been shot mostly with CCI Standard velocity ammo (exclusively for the last 30 years) however the first few years I did use Remington and Winchester Hi Vel ammo. While I have no problems at all with my M41, the use of high velocity ammo does accelerate wear on the internal parts as the recoil is more "violent" - even though it's still a .22 LR round.

I would suggest using CCI standard velocity ammo and just be aware that Brownell's sells a Recoil Spring Kit (Wolff manufactures it) with reduced weight springs in 1/2 pound increments to tune the pistol's recoil characteristics if you are experiencing failures to eject. In general you should use the heaviest spring that allows 100% proper function with the ammo you are using.

Thanks for all the opinions, I will try and post a picture in a day or two when I can get my IT person (my wife) to help me.