My new 41

[old pipefitter]

I picked up a newly built 7 inch model 41. I have a couple of questions to ask. What brand .22 LR ammo is a good choice other than Eley or other high dollar ammo. I'm thinking CCI mini mags as they shoot real good in my MKIV Comp. And how many mags should I have, I found an online place that has them for $24.99 ea. thanks in advance for any advice and here SHE IS

[KulKanin]

Congrats on the beauty. Feed only SV ammo in M41. CCI Sv works perfectly

[D Brown]

Nice looking Model 41, old pipefitter! Your gun should have shipped from the factory with two magazines, is that what you have?

Most everyone shoots CCI Standard Velocity, because it's accurate, works well, and isn't outrageously expensive.

Best of luck with your new Model 41!

[Troystat]

Nice pistol, I have a 41 and it will shoot any LR that I have tried but I stick to CCI standard velocity because it works well is more than accurate enough for off hand target shooting (will put all the shots in the X ring if I point the gun in the right direction) and is priced well for the quality. Most of the people who shoot 41's use CCI standard velocity as their default ammo. Good luck and let us know how it shoots.

[old pipefitter]

looks like CCI SV is the one to use

[Barrie]

Its definitely the ammo to use if you want a Happy gun and shooter both. You bought one of the finest target pistols ever made which will last all of us a lifetime of emjoyment. Welcome to the Club as well.

[7tcu]

Yes the Model 41 is one nice pistol, as I do not shoot in any competition I shoot a lot of Aguila standard velocity, along with CCI. Both are accurate. The 41 can handle the others like Mini-Mags and such but the don't shoot as good as the standard velocity rounds, good shooting

[Jerryatric3]

Just picked up a 41 (2003) last week and LOVE it. It LOVES CCI SV. Tried some CCI Mini-Mags and Federal--both seemed "harsh" and were not as accurate. Soooo....CCI SV for me. Thought the S&W red dot added some bling...anyone have any idea who made them for S&W?

[Racer X]

Every time I have been around someone shooting a 41, they were shooting SV ammo. Most I shoot bullseye with use CCI SV.

[Wise_A]

Indeed. On rare occasions, you might find one that prefers Aguila SuperExtra, but CCI SV is such that if it doesn't work, I look at the gun first. Once you find what works, do yourself a favor and buy a case. That lets you shoot from a nice, consistent lot--good for reliability, and saves you from frequent re-zeroing.

Other options range from rather expensive, to prohibitively expensive, and finally wrapping up with ludicrously expensive. Although one could make a case for the limited use of them at 50 yards.

Magazines: Depends on your use. If you're shooting Bullseye matches, between three and six would do you. Three would be a minimum: load one with 10 for slow fire, the others with five, and then reload with five as needed. Four gives you enough for either the sustained fire portion of a 300, or the individual Timed and Rapid Fire portions. I like having six for shooting 300-point NGCs, as I can load my magazines once and forget about them.

Optics: You didn't ask, but look at an Ultradot-25, especially if you plan on shooting BE. It's a little pricier than something like a TRS-25, but well worth it. Better dot, better windage/elevation adjustments, etc.

Avoid holo-type sights like the Burris Fastfire and Vortex Venom/Viper. Nothing against the FF3--I own one--but the parallax is noticeable, and the 1.1x magnification is irritating as hell to try and be precise with. Given that these sights are more expensive than the Ultradot--you could have a Matchdot II for the same money--there's just no point in using them.

[n c rod]

My vote for ammo. CCI Standard Velocity hands down. $250.00 for 5000 delivered. Clips are inexpensive so 5 will load a box of 50. Add more when possible. The fun part is shooting the 41. Really accurate and dependable. Enjoy.

[Barrie]

I own both a M41 and a M46. The last time I counted I had around 12 magazines for them which I rotate thru so that no-one mag gets abused or used more then any of the others. Works for me. I usually buy two new ones every year and just add them to the mix.

[Tom S.]

First, a word about magazines. S&W still sills magazines for the 41, and they should be backwards compatible for earlier models. Note the word "should". There have been reports of people having issues using new magazines with older guns. IIRC, the newer mags don't fit as well, sometimes being difficult to insert or release. Some reported success sanding/grinding/filing down high spots on the mags and using a light lubricant or wax. As noted, the mags are inexpensive, so such mods (if needed) shouldn't cause too much anguish.

On ammo, volumes have been written here about it with the overall general consensus that CCI standard velocity being the overall favorite. I uses CCI as well, but will add this note: if maximum accuracy is desired, you can do better. I've found Eley ammo (they make multiple standard velocity favors) can shrink groups with Model 41's, but for a price. Eley runs between $7.50 and $10 a box, a whole lot more than CCI. And the difference in accuracy is small, but if shooting competition, that difference could make a difference. For me at least, shooting offhand with CCI is all the accuracy I need, which is to say I induce more error than the ammo does.

[old pipefitter]

Someone wrote on Brownells review of new mags that fit the 41 don't work as well as the factory ones with all steel parts instead of some plastic parts. what is the skinny on the new ones

[Engineer1911]

IMO don't use CCI Mini Mags. I am on my third case of CCI Blazer 22 LR ammo. It shoots accurately in 5 different 22 LR semi-auto fire arms, including two M41 S&W target guns.

[Tom S.]

Originally Posted by old pipefitter

Someone wrote on Brownells review of new mags that fit the 41 don't work as well as the factory ones with all steel parts instead of some plastic parts. what is the skinny on the new ones

I believe the new ones may be made by a different vendor, as S&W got out of the mag business quite a while ago. I've had no issues with the new mags in my PC 41, but haven't tried them in my older 41, which is what most people report issues with. Still, the issue shouldn't be insurmountable, according to what I've seen posted. It goes without saying though, modify the magazine and not the gun should problems arise.

[Cardboard_killer]

I shoot mostly standard velocity out of my 41, but I used the recoil tuning spring set from Wolff so that it runs Federal AutoMatch (slightly hotter than standard velocity, something like 1,200 f/sec I think) just as well. The most consistent ammo out of it is Wolf Match Extra, but the federal is so much cheaper and is pretty good, that I use it for most of my shooting.

[Barrie]

My M41 was produced in 1958 and has never had a problem accepting any of the newer style mags at all. Dosen't matter which color or material the bottom plate is made of as they all work fine for me.

[Joe Hohmann]

My 41 is 20 years old. It used to like CCI sv, but now it wants a little extra kick to re-set the trigger all the time. My "fix" is Remington Golden Bullet, which is working 100% of the time.

[Tom S.]

Originally Posted by Cardboard_killer

I shoot mostly standard velocity out of my 41, but I used the recoil tuning spring set from Wolff so that it runs Federal AutoMatch (slightly hotter than standard velocity, something like 1,200 f/sec I think) just as well. The most consistent ammo out of it is Wolf Match Extra, but the federal is so much cheaper and is pretty good, that I use it for most of my shooting.

FYI: CCI SV is rated at 1,070fps while the Federal is rated at 1,200fps. That equates to over 20% increase, which exceeds my definition of slightly hotter. You might want to bump up your recoil spring to absorb the extra power.

[Jolr]

Originally Posted by Wise_A

Indeed. On rare occasions, you might find one that prefers Aguila SuperExtra, but CCI SV is such that if it doesn't work, I look at the gun first. Once you find what works, do yourself a favor and buy a case. That lets you shoot from a nice, consistent lot--good for reliability, and saves you from frequent re-zeroing.

Other options range from rather expensive, to prohibitively expensive, and finally wrapping up with ludicrously expensive. Although one could make a case for the limited use of them at 50 yards.

Magazines: Depends on your use. If you're shooting Bullseye matches, between three and six would do you. Three would be a minimum: load one with 10 for slow fire, the others with five, and then reload with five as needed. Four gives you enough for either the sustained fire portion of a 300, or the individual Timed and Rapid Fire portions. I like having six for shooting 300-point NGCs, as I can load my magazines once and forget about them.

Optics: You didn't ask, but look at an Ultradot-25, especially if you plan on shooting BE. It's a little pricier than something like a TRS-25, but well worth it. Better dot, better windage/elevation adjustments, etc.

Avoid holo-type sights like the Burris Fastfire and Vortex Venom/Viper. Nothing against the FF3--I own one--but the parallax is noticeable, and the 1.1x magnification is irritating as hell to try and be precise with. Given that these sights are more expensive than the Ultradot--you could have a Matchdot II for the same money--there's just no point in using them.

My Victory equipped with a Vortex Venom shot these groups at 25 yards from a solid rest with Wolf Match ammo