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Old 09-10-2023, 01:33 PM
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Default .41 rimfire cartridge or..?

Cleaning up the ammo shelves and came across these. No top to the box...look very old. They measure .407" in case diameter and bullet diameter. Overall length is .992" so about 1".
Looking at the 41 rimfire cartridges online all I see is reference to the .41 short..so usually if there is a "short" model there is a longer one but I can't seem to come across any info.

Just wondering..like maybe I bought them for a gun I own..or someone gave them to me. Probably all duds now so moot point..but still like to know. (One photo shows it next to a 45acp werewolf round
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Old 09-10-2023, 01:39 PM
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41 Short looks close:

Case type
Rimmed, straight
Bullet diameter
.405 in (10.3 mm)
Neck diameter
.406 in (10.3 mm)
Base diameter
.406 in (10.3 mm)
Rim diameter
.468 in (11.9 mm)
Case length
.467 in (11.9 mm)
Overall length
.913 in (23.2 mm)
Primer type
Rimfire
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Old 09-10-2023, 02:38 PM
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There was indeed a .41 Long RF cartridge. It was made for the Colt New Line revolvers, not the Derringers. Its case length is given as 0.63" The .41 Short case length is about 0.47". The .41 Short bullet diameter was reduced slightly when smokeless loadings appeared. There is not much reliable information regarding the ballistics of the .41 Short from the Remington Double Derringers, but it is generally agreed that the MV was around 500 ft/sec and that the muzzle energy was below 100 ft-lb. The bullet weight is given as 130 grains. Not too long ago, .41 Short ammunition was still being made in Brazil for US sales, probably not any longer. Full boxes of original US-made ammo are in the several hundred dollar range. Maybe more today.

Last edited by DWalt; 09-10-2023 at 02:53 PM.
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Old 09-10-2023, 04:28 PM
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Smile .41 Short Rimfire

I have a two piece box of Winchester .41 Short Rimfire that is stamped for Rifle only in 3 places. After a lot of research, I found that there was an extra tax on pistol ammo in the old days. Don't know of any rifles ever chambered for .41 Short Rimfire. which would have been a waste of time.
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Old 09-10-2023, 05:17 PM
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Yup, .41 Long Rim-Fire. The "H" headstamp (Henry) was used by Winchester.

This is the regular .41 Rim-Fire (short) used in the Remington Derringer (photo swiped off the net).



I've got a full box of Winchester .41 Long RF, but I wrapped it in plastic to protect the box and don't want to open it.

.41 rimfire cartridge or..?-img_5228-jpg
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Old 09-10-2023, 08:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TLflag View Post
I have a two piece box of Winchester .41 Short Rimfire that is stamped for Rifle only in 3 places. After a lot of research, I found that there was an extra tax on pistol ammo in the old days. Don't know of any rifles ever chambered for .41 Short Rimfire. which would have been a waste of time.
Terry
Some states once had taxes on handgun ammunition but not rifle ammunition. I have several old ammunition boxes where handgun ammunition is labeled as rifle ammunition. I read the story on that somewhere but do not remember the details.
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Old 09-10-2023, 11:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Breakaway500 View Post
Cleaning up the ammo shelves and came across these. No top to the box...look very old. They measure .407" in case diameter and bullet diameter. Overall length is .992" so about 1".
Looking at the 41 rimfire cartridges online all I see is reference to the .41 short..so usually if there is a "short" model there is a longer one but I can't seem to come across any info.

Just wondering..like maybe I bought them for a gun I own..or someone gave them to me. Probably all duds now so moot point..but still like to know. (One photo shows it next to a 45acp werewolf round

There is a 41 Long Rimfire cartridge. It's pretty expensive stuff starting at around $250 for a 50 round box.
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Old 09-11-2023, 10:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by s&wchad View Post
Yup, .41 Long Rim-Fire. The "H" headstamp (Henry) was used by Winchester.

This is the regular .41 Rim-Fire (short) used in the Remington Derringer (photo swiped off the net).



I've got a full box of Winchester .41 Long RF, but I wrapped it in plastic to protect the box and don't want to open it.

.41 rimfire cartridge or..?-img_5228-jpg
Don't shoot one of those at heavy cardboard - it may come back to you...
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Old 09-11-2023, 12:26 PM
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It may be wimpy, but the .41 Short fired from a DD had about the same energy as a .22 so it was not harmless. The DD was in fairly wide use at the time and was made and sold for close to 70 years, so it must have had something going for it. Many of the DDs I have seen had broken barrel hinges. I sort of remember hearing or reading that Gen. MacArthur carried a DD on him, I'll have to look that up.

Apparently that story is true. MacArthur mentioned it in his memoirs, also that his staff would scrounge ammo for him, so he must have at least occasionally practiced with it. That was probably before he fled the Philippines. I wonder what happened to it?

And of course Paladin kept a DD hidden in his gunbelt.

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Old 09-11-2023, 01:31 PM
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Looking at that 41 rimfire short next to the 1/16th scale,I'm pretty sure the ones I have are 41 long rimfire as the case is substantially...longer. I don't have anything that shoots these but maybe I'll put them up for sale, if they actually have value.
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Old 09-11-2023, 01:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Breakaway500 View Post
Looking at that 41 rimfire short next to the 1/16th scale,I'm pretty sure the ones I have are 41 long rimfire as the case is substantially...longer. I don't have anything that shoots these but maybe I'll put them up for sale, if they actually have value.
I am sure someone would want them. The value is highest for a complete box but lots of guys collect loose rounds or partial boxes as well. Even a box without the lid is still going to have some collector interest to a rimfire collector.
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Old 09-11-2023, 04:24 PM
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Quote:
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I am sure someone would want them. The value is highest for a complete box but lots of guys collect loose rounds or partial boxes as well. Even a box without the lid is still going to have some collector interest to a rimfire collector.
I guess those are the ones on Gunsmoke that Doc Adams easily retrieved with his pliers.Bullets broke the skin and were barely under the surface; little more than a scratch.
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Old 09-11-2023, 06:30 PM
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I guess those are the ones on Gunsmoke that Doc Adams easily retrieved with his pliers.Bullets broke the skin and were barely under the surface; little more than a scratch.
Of course that was fiction. However in the 19th Century before antibiotics, gunshot victims, even from a minor wound, were as likely, or more likely, to die from infection than from tissue damage.
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Old 09-11-2023, 06:44 PM
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I recall the late Skeeter Skelton writing that while he and his horse were waiting at the end of the patrol route for the Border Patrol pickup & trailer to pick them up, he decided to test his .41 Remington backup on a telephone pole. The first round didn't even bury itself in the pole. Thinking it was a bad round, he fired the other barrel. Same thing. He cleaned and retired it that night.

I do wonder though, if the BP version had more oomph?
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Old 09-11-2023, 08:43 PM
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Still better than a sharp stick.
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Old 09-11-2023, 09:26 PM
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I recall the late Skeeter Skelton writing that while he and his horse were waiting at the end of the patrol route for the Border Patrol pickup & trailer to pick them up, he decided to test his .41 Remington backup on a telephone pole. The first round didn't even bury itself in the pole. Thinking it was a bad round, he fired the other barrel. Same thing. He cleaned and retired it that night.

I do wonder though, if the BP version had more oomph?
I have read that the later smokeless load bullets went a little faster. I remember reading an article written by someone who had chronographed both BP and smokeless loads.

Last edited by DWalt; 09-11-2023 at 09:31 PM.
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Old 09-11-2023, 10:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Breakaway500 View Post
Looking at that 41 rimfire short next to the 1/16th scale,I'm pretty sure the ones I have are 41 long rimfire as the case is substantially...longer. I don't have anything that shoots these but maybe I'll put them up for sale, if they actually have value.

The problem is shipping can be very troublesome and expensive. A Face To Face sale is more likely.
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Old 09-12-2023, 01:24 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WR Moore View Post
I recall the late Skeeter Skelton writing that while he and his horse were waiting at the end of the patrol route for the Border Patrol pickup & trailer to pick them up, he decided to test his .41 Remington backup on a telephone pole. The first round didn't even bury itself in the pole. Thinking it was a bad round, he fired the other barrel. Same thing. He cleaned and retired it that night.

I do wonder though, if the BP version had more oomph?
Yeah, I remember reading this too. Don't recall if he stated what ammo he was using but would suspect it was newer smokeless stuff as the round was still regularly available until the 1960's.

My own experiences with various calibers and black powder loads versus smokeless indicated that black powder had noticeably more recoil compared to modern ammo. This was with original ammo that I shot mainly to see if it still worked. I have loaded black powder in various center fire old west calibers just for fun but with modern brass you can't get as much powder in as the old cases held and always suspected that the rimfire stuff was down loaded when they went to smokeless.

Another thought I had at the time was telephone poles are a lot harder than the skin of a person. I wouldn't expect much penetration with any low velocity handgun round in a pole but it should go a lot deeper into a human. I wondered at the time if Skeeter was expecting the kind of performance a hot 38 or 357 would give? A logical thought for general law enforcement who might have to shoot through obstacles, heavy clothing, etc. Not considering that the little derringers were basically meant for close up use. An old friend used to say "It's a get off me gun".

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Old 12-07-2024, 12:36 AM
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Pretty sure that I have a 41 Long. Got and F & W revolver that has a noticeably longer cylinder than my other one.
Have a Swamp Angel in 41 rf and a model 41.
Shòt them both, used the French reloadable fodder.
But that Model 41 has a considerably longer cylinder.
Been using Swiss BP, but thinking about a pinch of Unique...such an undertaking isn't taken lightly though.
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Old 12-07-2024, 11:43 AM
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I tried some of the more recent Navy Arms .41 rimfire in my old Remington (with backyard hinge repair). It blew through a 2x6 and kicked up dirt on the backstop.
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Old 12-07-2024, 12:09 PM
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Like .32 and .38 S&W, the .41 RF possessed entirely sufficient ballistics to bury itself in your torso and initiate a week long death spiral of misery and suffering. It didn't need to be able kill an Indian war pony at 100 yards, it just needed perforate your bowels at 3 yards.
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Old 12-07-2024, 01:33 PM
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They kind of look like CF rounds to me.
The H headstamp looks like it is on a CF primer (?).
What would be the RimFire 'rim' looks kind of thin to be a RimFire rim perhaps..maybe,,?

Not a Bennet inside primed I wouldn't think.

Here's link to some cart collectors speak back and forth about some 41 CF short, extra short and other assorted minutia about the cartridge, who made what, when, catloged info, a few pics, etc.
They lost me in their collectors conversation but maybe there's something there that can be helpful in at least I'ding the name for the case length involved be it RF or CF.

Neat old stuff what ever it is.

.41 Extra Short Colt Centerfire - #18 by historian - General Ammunition Collector Discussion - International Ammunition Association Web Forum
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Old 12-08-2024, 01:38 PM
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The OP's rounds look like 41 Rimfire Longs to me. Intended for the Colt "House Pistol" revolvers originally. Made in a 4 shot "Cloverleaf" pattern cylinder and a 5 shot round cylinder version. I have both Long and Short versions of the 41 rimfire in my collection. That indented circle with the H code appears on a number of different Rimfire rounds made by Winchester.
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