I was going through some old A. Rifleman magazines and in the Jan. 1958 issue there was an article on the 41 auto written by Maj. Gen. J. S. Hatcher. I have never owned a 41 but have shot them and was impressed with them. They were designed in 1941 but with WW 2 starting they put them on the back burner until the war ended, they planned to get them into production about 1950 but had to be shelved again because of the Korean war, then in March of 1957 they had prototypes to display and said production would start in the summer of 57, in Dec. of 57 they were producing in quanity but the volume of back orders were high. The early pistols were tested out of a machine rest before acceptance and all of them will group into a space no larger than the 10 ring of the Standard American target at 50 yards, some getting 1/2" groups at that distance. The gun sold for 110.00 at this time. So there was a lot of time put into this auto and I guess thats why its such a highly sought after weapon.. Jeff
It's always been my favorite other than the Hämmerli 208s, which goes for 2-1/2 times the price of a 41 when you can find one. For Bullseye shooting, a little trigger work helps to get a 2-lb. crisp pull, but with premium .22 target ammo, these guns will usually hold the X-ring at 50 yards. The only thing I've never liked about them are the factory grips, but that is an easy fix.
Model 41 S&W
Linear Mode
