M41 different barrels

I've got an early Model 41 with a 7 3/8" barrel. I wonder if newer model barrels fit on the older models. Also, I sadly live in California with their asinine firearms regulations which means that the Performance Center Model 41 is not sold here. I'll bet you can see where I'm going with this, does the Performance Center barrel fit on the older frame? I don't know that this is even a good idea but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Yes, barrels interchange.

They all fit, although some minor fitting may be needed. It typically involves filing down the rear face of the lug on the barrel so the trigger guard will snap into place.

For the people living in CA the model 41 is on the Olympic pistol list, If you google the list you should be able to find it. I don't know if the performance model is available that way but the regular 41 is. And Yes the CA laws are stupid.

Troystat said:

For the people living in CA the model 41 is on the Olympic pistol list, If you google the list you should be able to find it. I don't know if the performance model is available that way but the regular 41 is. And Yes the CA laws are ignorant, asinine, revolting and stupid.

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Fixed it for you.

Sorry for the question, but what has California done to their gun laws ???
Surely they couldn't be any worse than here in Aus ???

leinster lad said:

Sorry for the question, but what has California done to their gun laws ???
Surely they couldn't be any worse than here in Aus ???

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Hey leinster lad!! What state are you in? Okay, here's the basics of California gun regs and they are the most restrictive in the states and there is a possibility they are going to get a LOT worse.

First, for a rifle or pistol to be sold it must be registered as "California Compliant". This applies only to the exact gun in question. If you so much as change the finish you must go through the complete compliance process all over again. Many manufacturers will only sell one or two variants of a particular model in California because of this. Take the S&W M&P Shield. Only the version with the thumb safety is sold and it must also be altered with a safety flag to show that there is a round in the chamber. The versions without the thumb safety and the Performance Center versions are not California Compliant.

Second, and this is a big one. For an entirely new product to be sold in California it must be manufactured with a microstamped ID on the firing pin so that if a casing is found at a crime scene the weapon that fired it can be identified. The problem is that this technology is untried and expensive to the point that manufacturers such as Smith and Wesson have stated that they will no longer introduce new model firearms to California at all.

Third, there are limits on magazine size and in the case of rifles there must be an ejection port that requires a tool to remove the empty magazine.

There are probably other restrictions that I don't know about, I only have one firearm, my Model 41.

There is also a binding voter initiative on the November ballot that its authors have the hubris to call the "Safety for All" initiative that will add further restrictions. Any "assault type" weapon will become illegal to own. You will have to register to buy ammo and will only be allowed to buy 500 rounds per month and you will not be allowed to purchase ammo by mail order.

The ammo restrictions are what will really impact me. I go to the range two to three times a week to practice with my Model 41, a .22 mind you, and I go through about 1,200 rounds a month. The sport of target shooting in California will vanish because we won't be able to get ammo to practice!

From my point of view this country is becoming increasingly polarized between those who view all guns as inherently evil and those who think they have a right to own whatever they choose. Too often the middle ground seems to get drowned out. Fact is the firearms debate is a complex one and if there was a simple, rational solution we already would have found it. It's nearly impossible to separate out the normal person from the deeply disturbed. I for one don't understand the generation of young shooters who own a bunch of BFGs yet have never owned or even fired a .22lr. Anyway, I'm sure there are as many opinions as there are people. I intend to raise my voice against this so called "Safety for All" initiative. It's bad law that will eliminate the sport I enjoy.

So it seems that the Cal. gun laws are stupidly strict. But tghey seem to focus mainly on the gun itself.

The focus in Australia ( at least in WA ) is on the person, not so much the gun.
There are exceptions to this of course, and there are plenty of rules around the guns.....

Special license needed ( high power ) for any pistol calibre over .38
No semi-auto rifles. ( except special cases, like professional shooters, cops )
Mag capacity = 10 or less. ( except special cases )
Have to show "genuine need" and "genuine reason" for each gun.
(that is one of those really silly grey areas )

I "need" that .38 because I do ISPC at the club, which I am a financial member of, and also a financial member of a shooting association, and they (both ) have provided letters supporting my activity to shoot that discipline at that club.

The "reason" for that 686 in .38 is because the discipline I shoot needs a certain "power factor" to qualify, and it also has to be a revolver.

Now if I were to want a .38 semi in 1911...... I would need some good justification, as I already have a .38


and on it goes.......

You can be smart with your applications, and say get 2 x 9mm semi's.
Say a glock 34 and justify by saying that it is cheap gun that I use for practising for the competition that is use my Sig P226 in.

so glock for practise
Sig for comp.

Pistol license can only be for club use, with minimum number of shoots per year or they take away your license ( and guns )
Rifles / shotties can be had on an open license, but you need a letter from a land owner ( farm ) that says that you can shoot on their property.
And that has to be for vermin control.
Depending on the size of the property, depends on what calibre/power rifle you can get.
No shooting in national parks ( at least not in WA )
All ammo purchases are recorded against your license number. "excessive" purchases will trigger a police inspection.
Only allowed to purchase ammo for the calibre of gun(s) on your license.
Guns must be stored in approved safes. ( and they do random searches to verify )
Only the license holder is allowed access to the safe.
Ammo must be stored separately ( locked box / safe )
Magazines must not be stored loaded.
Magazines not allowed to be stored with ammo.
Illegal to have any ammo / spent cases that do not belong to your licensed guns.
Even spent cases are considered "ammo" and must be locked up.


and it goes on.........

It is hard but not impossible. and they will take them off you at any sign of anti-social behaviour.

Please note, this does not apply to criminals !!

Well im not moving to Western Australia. or California for that matter.

leinster lad said:

So it seems that the Cal. gun laws are stupidly strict. But tghey seem to focus mainly on the gun itself.

The focus in Australia ( at least in WA ) is on the person, not so much the gun.
There are exceptions to this of course, and there are plenty of rules around the guns.....

and it goes on.........

It is hard but not impossible. and they will take them off you at any sign of anti-social behaviour.

Please note, this does not apply to criminals !!

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G'day leinster lad! I remember the Port Arthur shootings from the news, *** walking up and shooting kids in the head using an assault rifle with a 30 round mag. Collapsible stock, carried it in a gym bag. Too much firepower, too easily hidden. Only two police in the area. 35 innocent souls gone. Then the gun laws that followed. I don't agree with many of the gun laws that you described because they unfairly restrict responsible gun owners, especially how they completely prevent home defence(a villain is breaking down my door, I have to open my gun safe then go open my ammo safe and and then load a magazine, of course by then it's far too late). The real challenge is to find the deranged person when he's aware that he has to hide his intent. You do have a real problem with outlaw biker gangs in Oz and as far as I'm concerned keeping those idiots as far away as possible from firearms is a good idea.

You may be interested to know that the Australian firearm legislation is used as an example of effective gun control by many gun control advocates here in the US but I think that the comparison doesn't work especially as the US has a binding constitution that guarantees the right to bear arms. Gun control advocates are constantly trying to get around that and some gun legislation does make it through the courts but never without a fight by organizations such as the National Rifle Association.

I really appreciate you describing what firearm legislation is like in Oz. This is a topic that is of great interest to myself and many others. Cheers mate!

The Canadiian Gun Laws are a bit similar to the laws in Australia. They mainly concentrate on the shooter and not so much the cal of the guns he owns. You have to have a PAL personal Aquision License in order to buy or even sell a firearm or ammo here. Thats a 3 day course and if you wish a Handgun its a extra 4th day at the school and instructors classroom. Then you must shoot with the instructor at least 3 times in order to qualify for the license. My club supplies loaner handguns until they get their license as they cannot buy one until they pass in front of the Instructor. The RCMP also do a background check on you as well with reliable friends and family members to make sure you are Not a Nutjob. Thats takes about 3 months. The last part is you must have a clean criminal record within the last 5 years as well. I do believe its one of the reasons we have been some what lucky in not having all that many crazy shootings up here. These laws have helped yet not restricted us from having our fun and toys.

One of our biggest problems up here in Canada is the number of firearms smuggled in. About 80% of crimes in Canada involving firearms are with weapons smuggled in from the USA.

Barrie said:

The Canadiian Gun Laws are a bit similar to the laws in Australia. They mainly concentrate on the shooter and not so much the cal of the guns he owns. You have to have a PAL personal Aquision License in order to buy or even sell a firearm or ammo here. Thats a 3 day course and if you wish a Handgun its a extra 4th day at the school and instructors classroom. Then you must shoot with the instructor at least 3 times in order to qualify for the license. My club supplies loaner handguns until they get their license as they cannot buy one until they pass in front of the Instructor. The RCMP also do a background check on you as well with reliable friends and family members to make sure you are Not a Nutjob. Thats takes about 3 months. The last part is you must have a clean criminal record within the last 5 years as well. I do believe its one of the reasons we have been some what lucky in not having all that many crazy shootings up here. These laws have helped yet not restricted us from having our fun and toys.

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Hi Barrie, how much does that cost? Does that criminal record thing include misdemeanors? In a couple of US states you only have to be accused of domestic violence to have your right to own a firearm revoked and any that you own confiscated, makes celibacy almost tempting. It's felonies here that will get you a life ban. The problem I have with that is what I call jaywalking felonies ie. possession of more than an ounce of marijuana. There are a LOT of those here in the states. Steal a cell phone, misdemeanor. Steal a laptop, felony(dollar value of the theft) and a it's a life ban.

One more stupid thing about the CA "gun list" is that the guns on the list have an expiration date like milk, so after a while the gun that was on the list is no longer on the list. Drake hit the nail on the head though, gun ownership is a polarizing issue and there seems to be very little middle ground in CA.

Of course we kind of got off course on this thread, I am sorry about that. To the original poster I would say just get a regular model 41 they are prettier anyway

Troystat said:

One more stupid thing about the CA "gun list" is that the guns on the list have an expiration date like milk, so after a while the gun that was on the list is no longer on the list. Drake hit the nail on the head though, gun ownership is a polarizing issue and there seems to be very little middle ground in CA.

Of course we kind of got off course on this thread, I am sorry about that. To the original poster I would say just get a regular model 41 they are prettier anyway

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Hi Troystat. I guess it's kind of my fault about how this thread went. Thing is, in a perfect world I could just order a Model 41 Performance Center and that would be that. But I live in California and they aren't for sale at all here. So I was kind of looking at whether it was possible to just buy a Performance Center barrel and slap it on my standard Model 41. It is if I could get my hands on one. For what it's worth I've learned a lot from the people all over the world who shared their views on this post. I've recently found another option which is to have my Model 41 customized by a company called Clark Custom Guns. I don't know if I'll do anything with this information, it costs a lot no matter what. Anyway here's the link to Clark.

Page not found - Clark Custom Guns

I can understand you getting a custom barrel from Clark while on Holiday in the next state you arrange a purchase with cash. Keep the original Barrel stock and the full grip area except for new springs and a extractor. This is a 1st year issue gun like mine and is worth a lot more then you may realize Having a extra custom barrel with it will help you out quite a bit on the value package end of it.

I'm a bit confused. The 41 IS legal in California. Unless the PC or Clark barrel is threaded, it is legal, no issue. I just purchased a Ray-Vin Bully Barrel and had it shipped to California, no problem.(Note: If you want a threaded barrel with a compensator, the comp needs to be permanently attached.)

Bully Barrel Home Page

I really like the 5 inch shorter or field barrel which ever name you prefer. Sure wish Smith & Wesson would make another run of them with red ramp and white outline revolver sights. Good thing I'm not holding my breath for that though.

One of the issues here in CA is that most LGS owners really do not fully know or understand the CA firearms laws... and many are quite content to remain that way.

The M-41 is not only excluded from needing to be on the DOJ Handgun roster, it is excluded from all of the provisions contained in the statue:

"Pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title 11, section 5455, the Roster of Exempted Olympic Competition Pistols established by DOJ identifies all Olympic pistols exempt from the unsafe handgun and assault weapon statutory provisions".

Those so-called "statutory provisions", includes the new micro stamping law that new semiauto pistols must have in order to qualify for going through the process of being drop tested and added to the regular DOJ handgun roster.

It matters not one iota, whether or not a Model 41 was made on the factory floor or the Performance Center.

Under the existing Olympic exemption, it only needs to be a Smith & Wesson model 41... period. When the gun is DROS'ed, the LGS only has to click on the "Curio/Relic/Olympic Pistol/Exempt" button in the DROS Entry System window, and fill in the pistol information.



There is no SKU reference like there is on the regular "unsafe handgun roster", so that does not come into play to differentiate the difference.

However having said that, good luck in finding an LGS that's willing to take the time learn or listen. Luckily for me, I found one such local LGS that would, and they looked that what I printed off from the DOJ website and they also talked to the DOJ to confirm things.

As a C&R (type3) FFL holder with a CA Certificate of Eligibility (COE), that opened up avenues for me that were flatly shutdown by most other shops.

Try finding coverage of ANY shooting competition on TV.