My Dad had a saying about "opinions" which I cannot repeat here or Lee will give me 10 demerits and restrict me from the forum for a few days and I'll never get win that kitchen toaster (the toaster is an ongoing joke) but you guys get the drift.
EVERYONE has an opinion, (my Dad compared opinions to a certain part of the human anatomy) where he continued to say "and none of them smell good". In summation he would say to use your own common sense and methods that you know and have proven tried and true and do not believe ANYONE's opinion.
This is not my "opinion" the following is my experience and things I have learned over the past 40 years.
All original model 41s up to the A series and prior, as well as all the Model 46s are finicky to ammo, magazines, dirt, too much oil, as just a few. But when they perform, they perform very well. Anyone who has owned one or does own one will say nearly the exact same.
I cannot comment on anything newer than a " A " series Model 41 and a few of the newer Performance Center models which I did not like at all. However, on those older 41s and 46s any vintage made, S&W factory magazine (when the mags were manufactured in-house) should function fine ... ALL the time unless you have a different problem presenting at the same time.
It was the older shooters, even older than myself, that prefer the metal followers to the plastic. I've never had an issue with a Model 41 or 46, original S&W magazine whether steel follower or early (series A) plastic follower. I just prefer the metal followers.
I have read and heard many gripes about the newly manufactured S&W magazines where it is thought these newer magazines are made by subcontractors, then packaged with the S&W logo ... and ... they have the plastic follower. Then they work fine for others. Who knows. Smart move for S&W to start producing the M41 mags again but are they REALLY, S&W Mags ? What good are they if the don't work half the times on older 41/46 models ?
I've never fired nor owned any other S&W .22 semi-auto other than Model 41s and model 46s. To me, these (I will include the A series) were the crowning glory of the .22 auto fleet, the rest of the newer models are in the "economy" class.
Personally, I feel the older 41s and 46s are much superior to even the newer Performance Center models. I did fire these newer PC 41s a few times. Perhaps I did not give it a fair trial but I just did not like it compared to the workmanship of the real S&W Model 41/46s.
I had sold off all my model 41s about 15 years back to concentrate on the scarcer model 46 line. I switched my Target shooting / bullseye gun to a Giles (John Giles .45 Shop, Odessa, Florida) High Standard and never switched back to my S&W since although I bring a model 46 out once in awhile for nostalgia purposes. I also have a few older pre-war Colt bullseye models, and several High Standards that I just do not know how they got there. I swore off buying High Standards 10 years ago yet they seem to keep multiplying. Can't knock a good HS Military Model no matter what vintage and High Standards are NOT as finicky as the S&Ws. A HS will usually eat any .22LR ammo you shove down its throat, without complaining.
The Model 41s and 46s have held a very good value and I feel, will always continue to do so if kept in excellent condition and cared for.
If you're purchasing for collectible value and / or shooting, buy the best older M41 or M46 you can afford. Use the original equipment, vintage magazines and only use quality, Standard Velocity, or "Match" ammo.
Keep it clean but dry inside with just a drop of oil synthetic lube or teflon based lube (as not to attract burnt powder grit) on the slide and internal moving parts mechanisms but nowhere else. Don't get oil in the firing pin hole or in the firing pin mechanism.
After you use it, clean it and dry it well. Don't be afraid to rotate that trigger guard down to remove the barrel. It's a piece of cake to remove the barrel of a 41/46 S&W compared to the High Standards with the 100+PSI push button release (or so it seems 100+PSI).
I read, more than once, and had heated discussions with older and younger shooters alike ... over and again, that some "real" shooters recommend to NEVER clean the barrel / rifling on a .22 pistol or rifle. I think that's pure baloney. But as this is not my "opinion" you try it for yourself and do what works best for you.
I once tried a test to put these old rumors about not cleaning a .22 barrel to rest. I tried shooting a Model 41 A series until it would not shoot any more using Standard Velocity CCI .22LR.
I lined up 10 magazines with 10 rounds in each. After about 30-40 rounds I noticed the holes in the paper were starting to elongate and splinter the paper. By 50 round it seemed the bullets were tumbling. By 60 rounds I was getting only splatters on the target.
When I looked into the rifling, I did not understand how ANY fragments of the projectile were getting out the muzzle.
Yes, I fired one magazine after another, not in rapid succession, rather timed shots, but continually without rest, 10 per magazine. Normal range rule, no matter what firearm, a series of 5 only, at all other times.
It took a hard wooden dowel and a light hammer, with the barrel in a leather lined jaws of a bench vise, to tap out what came out as a drinking straw-like lead mold of the internal rifling of the Model 41 A series barrel.
Keep it clean and dry. I keep a .22 cal brass brush on one cleaning rod and a .22 cal mop on another, both rods in my range box. After about 25 rounds on ANY .22 Pistol, I give it a quick brass brush with WD40 or other, then wrap a small thin material 22 patch around the brass brush for a few more swipes to finish removing the fouling crud, then followed by a dry cotton mop.
This is my experience and my method for .22 pistols and revolvers.
This is NOT my opinion.
Try it for yourself, so it won't be your opinion either. Sal Raimondi
Model 41 magazine help needed...
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