Model 57/657

[Chop]

Took a couple of my .41 Magnum’s out to the range yesterday. First time in perhaps 10 years. They both preformed perfectly. 57-1 and 657-4.

Look at the prices on the old ammo I shot.

 

[glenwolde]

I like that Georgia Arms ammo. I got four boxes of it when I traded for my 657 years ago and it shot really well and was easy on my various arthritic afflicted joints. The only reason I didn't buy more was the gun also came with reloading dies.

 

[Narragansett]

Nice 41's OP.

I just gave # 2 son a Gen 1 Colt SAA from his great great uncle. With the gun I gave him 3 or 4 boxes of 45 Colt ammo. One green box Remington box of 50 said $5.75 on it

 

[The Mighty S&W]

I’ve got to say that the .41 Magnum is a cartridge that deserves so much more appreciation than it gets. My model 57-2 is easily my favorite handgun, and I knew almost nothing about the cartridge before I got the gun. I realize that the N frame is a big handgun, and that the .41 didn’t exactly fill the roles that it was originally advertised to fill, but that was then and this is now.

Today, the .41 Magnum can be had in loads that are absolutely perfect for just about any use one could ask of a handgun cartridge. They can be loaded light enough to shoot targets all day long if you’d like, or they can be loaded hot enough to use for bear defense. Somewhere in the middle, is that perfect balance needed for defense against two legged adversaries.

A lot of guys have asked me why I even bought the .41 Magnum since I already had owned a few .44 Magnums, and I can only say that you have to fire one to understand. It is a cartridge that really flies under the radar. If mine were a four inch rather than the six inch version that I own, it would likely be my carry gun.

Nice revolvers you’ve got there. You have good taste.

 

[Birdhunter6]

Nice .41s, thanks for showing us.

Mine are a 4" 58 and a 6" 57, both no dashes. I love them. Just a very versatile cartridge if you reload. They do everything I need to do from plinking to whitetail. The .44 specials and .45 Colts call out to me, but the complications of reloading a new caliber keep my wallet in my pocket because the .41s fulfill my NEEDS.

K, L & N frame .38s & .357s, on the other hand, just seem to multiply in the safe. Why not, I've got rounds loaded.

 

[The Mighty S&W]

Nice .41s, thanks for showing us.

Mine are a 4" 58 and a 6" 57, both no dashes. I love them. Just a very versatile cartridge if you reload. They do everything I need to do from plinking to whitetail. The .44 specials and .45 Colts call out to me, but the complications of reloading a new caliber keep my wallet in my pocket because the .41s fulfill my NEEDS.

K, L & N frame .38s & .357s, on the other hand, just seem to multiply in the safe. Why not, I've got rounds loaded.

It’s funny about reloading for the .41 Magnum. Everyone seems to reload for them, and mine even came to me with a set of dies. I found a spicy load from Underwood that I liked well enough, and it was priced pretty fair compared to the cost of components these days, so I bought a bunch of it. I do often think about loading up some lighter loads for plinking, but I’ve got my .357 Magnum (as well as some lesser cartridges) to fire when I want to reduce the power a bit.

 

[colt_saa]

Chop,
Very nice revolvers

We have more 41 Magnum enthusiasts here on the Forum than most folks realize.

Similar to The Mighty S&W, I actually knew zero about the cartridge when I acquired my first one.

Back in 1980 a buddy of mine approached me with his only weeks old 6" nickel model 57 and several boxes of ammunition. He asked if I could give him $250 for what he had. It turned out that his wife had hit him with divorce papers that morning. He needed cash fast for an attorney retainer, you see the wife also cleaned out the bank accounts the day before.

I gave him what he needed and I fully intended to simply flip the revolver to get my money back.

Since there was ammunition, a jeweler friend of mine suggested that I take the revolver to the range with us the next time we went.

In my youth, I was not a bad shot. The first round I fired hit the X on the target. OK, got lucky. When I fired the second shot there was not another hole in the target.

I thought what an inaccurate piece of cow manure. With a decent gun, I could not miss the target at the 50 foot distance of the indoor range we were shooting at. My buddy retrieved my target and low and behold, the bullet hole was just slightly egg shaped.

Sent the target back downrange and broke the third cap. Still only one hole, this time there was the barely visible start of a cloverleaf. In those days I had done that with my Model 52, but not a production revolver.

I do not recall if it was at shot 4 or 5, but my buddy offered me $5,000 if the next shot went through the same hole and of course, I pulled it. At the end of the first 6 rounds, 5 of them could be covered by a nickel with room to spare and the last one was only about an inch out

I still own that revolver today, more than 4 decades later.

That afternoon started a love affair with the 41 Magnum cartridge and the guns that fire it. Today I have many more than that one. Revolvers, auto loaders, single shots and lever actions.

That first 41 Magnum will not be sold as long as I draw breath

 

[The Mighty S&W]

Chop,
Very nice revolvers

We have more 41 Magnum enthusiasts here on the Forum than most folks realize.

Similar to The Mighty S&W, I actually knew zero about the cartridge when I acquired my first one.

Back in 1980 a buddy of mine approached me with his only weeks old 6" nickel model 57 and several boxes of ammunition. He asked if I could give him $250 for what he had. It turned out that his wife had hit him with divorce papers that morning. He needed cash fast for an attorney retainer, you see the wife also cleaned out the bank accounts the day before.

I gave him what he needed and I fully intended to simply flip the revolver to get my money back.

Since there was ammunition, a jeweler friend of mine suggested that I take the revolver to the range with us the next time we went.

In my youth, I was not a bad shot. The first round I fired hit the X on the target. OK, got lucky. When I fired the second shot there was not another hole in the target.

I thought what an inaccurate piece of cow manure. With a decent gun, I could not miss the target at the 50 foot distance of the indoor range we were shooting at. My buddy retrieved my target and low and behold, the bullet hole was just slightly egg shaped.

Sent the target back downrange and broke the third cap. Still only one hole, this time there was the barely visible start of a cloverleaf. In those days I had done that with my Model 52, but not a production revolver.

I do not recall if it was at shot 4 or 5, but my buddy offered me $5,000 if the next shot went through the same hole and of course, I pulled it. At the end of the first 6 rounds, 5 of them could be covered by a nickel with room to spare and the last one was only about an inch out

I still own that revolver today, more than 4 decades later.

That afternoon started a love affair with the 41 Magnum cartridge and the guns that fire it. Today I have many more than that one. Revolvers, auto loaders, single shots and lever actions.

That first 41 Magnum will not be sold as long as I draw breath

I don’t know how I failed to even touch on accuracy when it comes to the .41 Magnum. Perhaps because it is just a given? At any rate, I can say without hesitation that my model 57-2 is easily the most accurate handgun I have ever fired and that is using factory (Underwood) ammunition through it. It is absolutely a shooter, and my previous accuracy King was a Dan Wesson 1911 in 10mm for which handloads were carefully crafted to get the most out of it.

I don’t know what Smith & Wesson did differently with their .41 Magnum offerings, but nearly everyone I have talked to that owns one has repeated my assessment of theirs regarding accuracy. They are unbelievable.

 

[GypsmJim]

It’s funny about reloading for the .41 Magnum. Everyone seems to reload for them, and mine even came to me with a set of dies. I found a spicy load from Underwood that I liked well enough, and it was priced pretty fair compared to the cost of components these days, so I bought a bunch of it. I do often think about loading up some lighter loads for plinking, but I’ve got my .357 Magnum (as well as some lesser cartridges) to fire when I want to reduce the power a bit.

You simply HAVE to reload. Not just because they are hard to find, but I'd never pay 20 bucks for a box!

With my stash of parts at 2020 prices, and my endless supply of lead, using old brass my 41's cost me $2.50 a box.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I bought my 4" M-57 in 1980, it was 10 years before I fired factory loads, I found it very easy to reload for.

 

[The Mighty S&W]

You simply HAVE to reload. Not just because they are hard to find, but I'd never pay 20 bucks for a box!

With my stash of parts at 2020 prices, and my endless supply of lead, using old brass my 41's cost me $2.50 a box.

I hear ya. But, I’ve spent decades shooting mostly .45 ACP and other autoloader cartridges that for a long time were reasonable enough to just buy off the shelf. By the time my .41 Magnum found its way to me, primers were unobtainable, brass and powder was high, bullet selection was spotty, and the costs of it all were through the roof.

I sat and added it all up, and although the brass is reusable, the savings just wasn’t there for me to buy in when I got the gun. Part of this is because I will have to re-examine the situation if/when availability and prices get back to something resembling “normal”. For now, the potential savings just isn’t significant enough to motivate me.