I have a Model 41, 5 inch barrel, made in 1969. Are there any issues with different barrels fitting? Mainly switching to a 5 1/2 heavy barrel from a much newer gun. thanks

I personally haven't had any issues swapping barrels between my 2 41's. I have however read here on this forum of some issues trying to close the trigger guard with some barrels. I believe forum member Tom Beckwith covered this issue some time ago with a pic of where to massage the locking lug on the bottom of the barrel to make snapping the trigger guard closed much easier. Maybe he will see this thread and chime in.

I have a recent vintage 41 (about 12 years old) that I bought with a 7" barrel, I decided that I wanted to set it up with a 5" barrel and a UltraDot and purchased one from Gil Hebard, it snapped right on, perfect function ever since.

That said, Tom Beckwith is the man!

__________________
Tony

I had to hand fit one barrel I bought for one of my 41's. It's an easy job, requiring just a file and a sharpie marker. Took maybe 15 minutes, IIRC.

__________________
So many S&W's, so few funds!!

I, like Tom S, bought a 5.50" for my 1967 41, and had to LIGHTLY file the lug to have the trigger guard snap home. I think the barrels all have a few
thous extra "meat" on them for this purpose. My fix took about 10-15
minutes also. By the way, the 5.5" barrel is balanced (FOR ME!) much
better than the 7", and is super accurate.

I have two model 41's and six assorted barrels. All the barrels fit on both frames without any adjustment or problems. The older frame is from 1965 and the "new" one dates to 1986 or 87.

I have a 1958 year model m41 and have placed a friends new 5.5" barrel on it without any problem at all. His is a 2016 year model m41.

My 1979 vintage M41 accepts any barrel I'ver tried with no fitting what so ever. I routinely swap out the original 5 1/2" Bull Barrel with my 5" lightweight Field Sporter with no issues at all. The 7" also just pops on.

I just acquired a 7 in barrel for my 41. I can get the trigger to snap closed but lm afraid I’m going to break something. Is this an easy fix.

Thanks for all the repies. I got a 5.5 barrel today, and it fits, but closing the trigger guard is a little hard. Is this normal, and does it need to be fitted? The original 5 inch barrel goes in fairly easy. I tried a 7 inch barrel, and it is about the same as the 5.5. The gun is a 1969 model, so the original 5 inch barrel has probably been removed a number of times. The 5.5 and 7 don't appear to have been used much.

Could you give a quick run down on this process. Where do you start, where do you remove material, etc? I have one barrel that is really tight. The trigger guard will snap closed, but it is tight. Thanks

Contact Thom Beckwith as he will help you in the right direction to get this job done. Not a hard job at all to do.

Not hard , but you have to know what you are doing.


**************************

BIG DISCLAIMER

If you are in any way not comfortable with your skills to do this,
please engage the services of a skilled gunsmith !!!

**************************

You can remove a tiny amount of metal from the front edge of the lug, OR from the top edge of the "V" cut-out that the locking pawl engages with.


It is the dimension of the barrel lug, front face to the bottom of the V that determines the tension of the retaining pawl, and therefore the firmness of the trigger guard closure.


1. The position of the barrel in the frame ultimately determines the (closed) position of the slide in the frame.

2. The slide HAS to be in the correct position relative to the frame for the correct operation of the hammer, trigger, disconnects, safeties etc.

3. Where you remove excess metal off the barrel locating lug ( front face or the rear facing V cut out) will determine its position within the frame, which will determine to position of the slide, and consequently affect the actual operation of the pistol.

4. The correct "closed" position of the slide is when the rear edge of the slide lines up perfectly with the rear edge of the frame.

5. removing metal from the FRONT of the locating lug will mean that the barrel will sit a little bit further FORWARD in the frame.
This will allow the slide to close a little bit further forward and no longer line up with the rear edge of the frame.

So, with the barrel fitted and the trigger guard closed up as best as possible, close the slide and check for alignment with the rear edge of the frame.

If the rear edge of the slide lines up perfectly with the rear edge of the frame, the position / dimension of the FRONT FACE of the lug is perfect.

Just take a little metal off the top edge right down to the bottom of the lug "V"

If the rear edge of the slide is slightly rearward of the rear edge of the frame, just take a tiny amount of metal off the FRONT EDGE of the barrel lug.

The two tools needed are a Sharpie pen and a knife edge fine cut file. In my case. I had to remove material from the bottom of the "V" notch on the barrel. Coating the notch with the Sharpie ink (let it dry for a minute or so), will show where the binding is taking place by the marks left. Lightly file where the marks appear, then re-coat with the Sharpie and repeat until the barrel snaps into place without extreme effort. If wanted, you can lightly stone the file marks to smooth them out, but use will also do this.

__________________
So many S&W's, so few funds!!

Nice tip about marking with the sharpie Tom !

I agree as thats a Good move so you don't take off excess material. The sharpies work great for doing this job.

Should also see my previous post.

Really need to see if the barrel is in the correct position relative to the frame !!