Is the .41 magnum an "obsolete" cartridge?

[GSP Fan]

I think it fits in nicely between the 44 and 357, All three guns have presentation cases.

 

[gwpercle]

I would like to have a inexpensive single shot break action like the Rossi .
A set with three barrels : 22 LR , 20 ga. & 41 magnum would be a lot of fun . 22 LR for small game , 20 ga. for flying game and 41 magnum for deer / hogs etc. ... I would buy a set like that in a New York Second !
Gary

 

[ddixie884]

I would like to have a inexpensive single shot break action like the Rossi .
A set with three barrels : 22 LR , 20 ga. & 41 magnum would be a lot of fun . 22 LR for small game , 20 ga. for flying game and 41 magnum for deer / hogs etc. ... I would buy a set like that in a New York Second !
Gary

Good idea..........

 

[Skeet 028]

I am a long time fan of the 41. My first one kept me from being "eaten" or worse by a grizz. I only have 2 right now...the original bought (and sold) in Alaska in the 60's and a New Model 4 5/8 Ruger. I re-bought the original 57 at a little gun show here in Wyoming in 2013...from the fellow I sold it to in Fairbanks. Yep I have 44s 357s 45s but that ol 57 is my favorite. Less recoil...as accurate...flat shooting and much less pressure wave when you touch 'em off. And with the right load will shoot clear through a moose chest to rear. How much deader can you kill 'em?? My load isn't real fast out of the 4 inch bbl at about 1050-1100 with a 250 gr WFNGC bullet but it gets the job done easily

 

[Eddie Southgate]

I can find ammo but it's costly. My last box of 20 Win Platinum Tips ran $30.00. That pretty much makes it a handloader's cartridge and there are plenty doing just that myself included.
Like the .44 Special it has followers and won't go away but likely will never be real popular either. The 44 special got a shot in the arm with popular cowboy action loads but don't see anything similar with the .41 any time soon.

How about the .41 Special , been around for a while and Starline makes the brass , but , like the .41 Magnum it is not high demand. I hear it is a great cartridge and wish Ruger would make it an offering in their Flattop .

 

[Eddie Southgate]

No, it's not obsolete . Smith & Wesson still makes the model 57 and ammo manufacturers still load the cartridge.
When nobody chambers for it anymore and they quit loading the cartridges it will be obsolete . .41 RF , that's obsolete.

 

[Birdhunter6]

.41 FOREVER!

Load your own and shoot 'em.

Bullets, primers and powder:

Stacked 'em deep when they were cheap.

 

[S&W-Keeper]

.41 mag

Over the years,I have never seen a lot of .41 mag in the stores.OI still think that it is a good round.

 

[M29since14]

…There is no significant difference in recoil between the two unless you launch 300 grain bullets in the 44.

I agree with most everything tdan said in his post, but this statement in particular. I’ve never been able to tell much difference. Until the really big blasters came along, the world champion meanest, nastiest revolver I had ever fired was a Model 58 (with the small stocks) firing Remington 210 gr. JSPs. I ran the risk of flinching one into the chronograph. 1410 FPS average of five at fifteen feet. How folks shoot .41s and .44s with magna pattern stocks will always be beyond me! You got your money’s worth with those old Remington .41 loads, and they were accurate, too!

 

[Autonomous]

I think the issue is the .41's practicality. Sourcing ammo without having to hoard it (even in normal times) when you stumble across it is a big deal.
The 9.3x72 is a good round for large and dangerous North American game but it loses practicality points for being hard to find.

No question the .41 is a good round but it languishes in the .44's shadow. It's ballistics aren't obsolete but the lack of popularity driven by ammo availability and the .44 taking the limelight could drive it further to obscurity.

 

[Skeet 028]

I must admit I did not like the magnas on the 58 and sold it. It was an accurate shooter though. I also did not like the Remington loads. I still maintain the 41 has less felt recoil...and to be honest physics are still physics. Most loads have been toned down to Lawyer Levels these days so neither the 41 or 44 are quite as robust recoil and velocity wise. No matter though as both are good cartridges for hunting especially. I would not hesitate to shoot an elk or another moose with either. Heck I knew a fellow in Alaska that shot his yearly moose with a 357 M-28. I must admit he shot younger ones as they were much better eating.

 

[SuperMan]

"Until the really big blasters came along, the world champion meanest, nastiest revolver I had ever fired was a Model 58 (with the small stocks) firing Remington 210 gr. JSPs. I ran the risk of flinching one into the chronograph. 1410 FPS average of five at fifteen feet."

...have chronographed almost every factory made 210 grain load from a 4" barrel and not a one ever made 1300 fps... The Remington 210 JSP only runs 1250+- from a 4" barrel.

As to the number of current manufacturers of .41 Magnum ammo, take look over on the MidwayUSA ammo page for .41 and there are a ton of manufacturers of .41 ammo...and there are several more out there that are not listed.

Remington
Winchester
Federal
HSM
CorBon
Reed's
Georgia Arms
Underwood
Buffalo Bore
Grizzly
Hornady
Barnes
LAX
FREEDOM MUNITIONS
PMC
Double Tap

...and Reed's Ammo also makes .41 Special...

Weights run from 175 to 265 grain...if you get it done in that range, get a bigger gun...

Bob

 

[Autonomous]

How often do you see .41 Magnum on the shelves at the local store?
It matters.

 

[Narragansett]

Obsolete, not at all. The caliber never got the recognition it was intended for. When you want that step up from the 357 magnum more people should go to the 41 and less to the 44. Ever notice how many 44 safe queens there are? How many barely used 44's are traded in?. If more people went to the 41, the ammo would be more plentiful.

Don't get me wrong here!! Too many 44's exist for the wrong reasons. Clint Eastwood, testosterone, bragging rights, and on and on. If reason were to enter into the equation, there should be a lot more 41's and a lot less 44's

Just my .02

 

[GSP Fan]

If Clint would have had a 41 this discussion wouldn't exist. I see a lot more 4 inch 41's than 44's.

 

[bmcgilvray]

I love asking the nitwits at the Walmart ammo counter if they have any .41 Magnum ammo. Some have even informed me there was no such thing.

Their eyes would really glaze over if they received a request for the .41 Long Colt.

Could be worse. You could be asking them for .45-60 WCF or .455 Self-Loading. That's .455 Self Loading and not .455 revolver. Got a Webley Mark IV from the Boer War years and can easily feed it.

I can make .45-60 easily enough from .45-70 brass, but that .455 Self-Loading has proven a surprisingly difficult customer to round up. It's the obsolete cartridge that has come closest to stumping me.

 

[SuperMan]

How often do you see .41 Magnum on the shelves at the local store?
It matters.

...rarely see .44 Special in many shops or Walmart but.Ruger sells lots of .44 Specials...

Half the real gun stores I go to carry at least 1-2 types of .41. It was one of the last calibers left on the shelf in 2008 and 2020....

Bob

 

[SuperMan]

..I've heard of the 351 Self Loading and the .401...but never the .455...what gun does it go in?

 

[cowboy4evr]

When I think of an obsolete cartridge I think of the 44 rimfire .

 

[Echo40]

No, obsolescence by definition is something that has been replaced or fallen out of use, .41 Magnum hasn't been replaced, nor has it fallen out of use.
Nothing has ever been proposed as a replacement for .41 Magnum, the cartridge is still in production, and so is the Smith & Wesson Model.57.

So no, it's not obsolete, not by a long shot. Not 11 years ago, not today either.

An obsolete cartridge would be something like Volcanic Rocket Balls, neither Volcanic Pistols, nor Rocket Balls are in production, and they've both been replaced. Rocket Balls were replaced by Metalic Cartridges, the Volcanic Pistol was replaced by Revolvers.