Hello everyone, I am confused as to what ammo to use. I have been using CCI Mini Mag round nose, copper plated, 40 grain, 1265 ft per second ammo in all my handguns. A brand new Smith and Wesson Model 41, in addition to a Browning Medalist and a Browning Challenger. The 41 is becoming my favorite gun. It seems to make me a better shooter than I am. However, in your opinion is my choice of ammo OK, to shoot in my 41? some say yes, some say no. I need an expert opinion.

Thanks, Bob

This question has been posed numerous times and yours won't be the last one. CCI stnd velocity or other stnd velocity rounds work best & won't beat the gun up. The high velocity will work BUT if you want to use it all the time install a recoil buffer for longevity. IMO

Your best bet if you're looking for peace of mind over your ammo choices is to contact Smith & Wesson directly and ask them.

Regardless of the experience of the members here on the Forum, all you will be getting from them is their opinions.

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Dave Brown
SWCA #3279

I run CCI or Eley SV in all of my rimfires, including my 41’s. I don’t really think Mini-mags will destroy your 41 but it will batter it more than SV would. If you want to use HV ammo exclusively, go to Wolff Gunsprings and get an extra power recoil spring. Money well spent!

That's the ammo I use in my 41. I would rather use CCI standard velocity but my particular gun has a about a 3% failure rate with it. The MiniMags work great.

I did put a buffer in mine for peace of mind but unless you are a competitive bullseye shooter going through many thousands of rounds a year it probably isn't necessary. The one I bought is no longer made. It is just a piece of plastic that sits in the frame and stops the slide a tiny bit before it would hit the trigger guard which normally stops it. The very rare instances of a M41 breaking often involve the trigger guard. I have never seen that, just heard about it on this forum. And it was someone that shot a 5 digit number of rounds through their gun every year.

The most common failure I had with CCI std was it would eject the empty but not go quite far back enough to pick up the next round. So I ended up dry firing the pistol. While there is disagreement about whether a sustained diet of high velocity ammo will hurt a 41 pretty much everyone agrees accidentally dry firing it on a regular basis will cause damage.

Even if I couldn't find the buffer I would still shoot MiniMags. S&W would probably fix the gun under warranty in the unlikely event it broke and that risk is much better than the frustration of dealing with an unreliable gun/ammo combination.

As soon as you can find them try buying at least 500 rounds of CCI standard velocity and try it. Its great ammo in general. Tends to be very accurate in most guns and is reasonably priced. Even if you have same problems I do with it in your 41 you have other 22s that will probably love it.

Since I can’t get my hands on any CCI SV these days, I’ve been shooting these Federal “Auto Match” 22’s in my new to me 1971 vintage M41. So far I’ve put over 1,000 rounds thru it with great accuracy and ZERO failures. Pleasantly surprised.

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Pass it on.
Mark

The Model 41 is a Target Gun .....Use Target Grade Ammo .

If you want to "go cheap" use standard velocity ammo and don't whine about failures to feed and poor accuracy .

The Federal Auto Match works very well in the model 41 and wont break the bank ...comes bulk packed and was on sale before the Panic , I stocked up on 4 bulk packs because it worked so well in model 41 and 10/22 rifle ...it's now my favorite ammo for them .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Here you are. Midway has or had them.

Buffer Technologies Smith & Wesson 41 Recoil Buffer

Thank you, just ordered a couple of them. Looks like they just drop in.

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Pass it on.
Mark

The problem with "some" Mod 41's is the recoil spring is too strong, and the standard velocity doesn't generate enough pressure to fully work the slide, causing (usually) miss-feeds. Standard velocity is usually rated at just around 1080 to 1120 fps. Having a gunsmith to "adjust" the tension of the recoil spring can make it more reliable. To adjust, use a slightly lighter spring, or cut about 1 coil at a time and test fire at least a box of ammo to test reliability. 2 coils should be the maximum "adjustment".

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Thanks. I bought mine from Midway and wish I had bought more than one. They seem pretty durable but it would be easy to lose one while cleaning the gun.

Wolff makes a set of lighter springs for the 41. Anyone that is taking the DIY approach should read this thread. No reason not to try the springs but you do need to be careful which way you install them.

I was experiencing occasional failures to eject on my 41 and also on my Nelson conversion, especially in cooler weather. When I switched to Eley SV, 1090 FPS ( the CMP bulk packed] , all my problems went away. The accuracy is on par with the CCI also.

Dave,
Thank you for posting the above link!!!

I have a new-to-me M-41 (shipped Dec, ‘92). Lo & behold!... the guide rod spring had the “corkscrew” open coil inside the dust cover, pointing toward the muzzle.

I hope to get to the range soon and it seems you may have spared me a severe malfunction.

I swapped the spring around so that the open end is toward the rear. I appreciate the heads-up!
-Bill

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Veteran Paratrooper, '86-'90

Depending how one cleans their 41 may effect the std velocity ammo's ability to cycle a round.

Before switching to a higher velocity ammo try removing the bolt.
Then remove the extractor spring and plunger and clean out the hole.
Make sure the spring is still intact and movement is smooth.
Do the same with the firing pin.
You will find those holes aren't very clean and can limit movement.

You really have to be careful not to get cleaners mixed with carbon and have it soak in the front of your bolt.

I went through pretty much the same thing until I serviced the bolt.
Now it's back to the cci sv ammo and it runs great.

The 40gr Mini Mags and Remington 40 gr seem to group better than any other ammo that I've tried.

I run CCI SV in my 41s and they like the ammo.