Greetings all,

I am asking this question because I bought a new model 41 about 3 weeks ago. With respect to ammo, the general consensus is to use SV 22LR. My question is if there are some 22LR ammo that is made more so for a 22 LR rifle than the model 41 pistol. For example, I own some Norma TAC 22 that shoots great out of my Ruger 10/22 rifle. Is it “made” for pistol use or is it better for rifle use? I know that CCI Standard Velocity 22LR is recommended by most for the model 41. Am I doing my model 41 a disservice by using “certain” 22LR ammo that suits a rifle more than this particular pistol? My Ruger 10/22 eats everything—no jams nor issues after 500 rounds. The model 41 is MUCH more finicky and actually, quite irritating, since it cost $1600 and seems more unreliable. I have shot about 350–400 rounds through it. It likes Federal Target ammo at 1200 FPS and 40 grain with no issues. Norma TAC 22 and CCI Standard Velocity jams every 3-4 rounds or stove pipes. Lastly, how often should I disassemble and clean the model 41? Thank you.

CCI SV is pretty much the standard for all but serious competition in bullseye shooting. Aguila SV is about the same.

Your pistol much just need to break in. And keep it clean. It has a tighter chamber than the chasm that is the Ruger sporter chamber.

500 rounds, it's not even broken in yet. The higher velocity ammo you are using with good results won't hurt your Model 41. Once you've shot 1000 round you should find SV working much better in it.

Use what works though. If your gun likes Federal Target or Norma TAC 22 go right ahead and use it.

LOL, try “ any brand” 22 in a Hi Standard Supermatic Citation. Most finicky 22 auto I’ve shot.

Hi Standard Victors, etc have a history of frame cracks when fired with significant amounts of high velocity ammo.

They also don’t have a feed ramp, but use the magazine lips to launch the round into the chamber.

So they are both ammo sensitive and require properly tuned magazines.


But I prefer both my Victors to my Model 41. They all run very well with CCI SV.

It is a bit unfortunate that some of the better (more expensive) .22s are ammo sensitive, but to be fair they do run pretty tight chambers in order to enhance accuracy. It would be easy to make a more reliable gun at the expense of some accuracy. That said, there is general consensus the "They don't make them like they used to" and the older guns do seem to have a better reputation. I don't know if they are in fact better or if they just are well broken in.
I also find mine likes the Federal, particularly "Automatch".
The Norma works fine but groups go from 1.3" with the Federal up to 1.5" with the Norma at 25yds. Eley Club also comes in behind the Federal for my particular gun.
I know now there is a general suggestion to use SV ammo in a 41, but I didn't know that for the first few decades of owning one and in that time I fed it tens of thousands of rounds of whatever I had on hand with no apparent ill effect. I did run one of those shock buffers for much of that time. I know there are a variety of opinions on those as well and have no interest in derailing the conversation with a long discussion of their merits, just mentioning it in the context of having run a bunch of SV and HV .22 over the years.
As to cleaning, I read a pretty scientific article on .22 and bore wear and quit cleaning my bore as a result. Once again, you will find a variety of opinions from equally experience shooters on the subject, in the end you will have to work out what works for you.
As for other cleaning, I find every ~500 rounds it's good to pull off the barrel, run a brush through the magwell, and do a good job of cleaning off the chamber end of the barrel and breechface on the slide. Crud does tend to collect in those areas and I've had fewer stoppages with cleaning them, paying particular attention to the extractor. It can get a buildup under it which requires it's removal and keeping the breech clean reduces that tendency. If you do happen to remove it, myself and others have had good luck with the Volquartsen extractor as a thing that tends to improve extraction reliability.
You can buy a recoil spring kit that will allow you to tune the gun to a specific ammo a bit.
Also, when testing for reliability and accuracy it seems to discount the first few shots after changing ammo type/brand as it seems to settle in a bit in some cases.

YES, you should clean your guns. Part of cleaning is lubrication, Guns need to be properly lubricated. Before shooting a new or used firearm is disassemble, clean and properly lubricate. I can’t believe how dry most guns are inside. You will only know if you look. And yes, I do have a model 41.

It is a bit unfortunate that some of the better (more expensive) .22s are ammo sensitive, but to be fair they do run pretty tight chambers in order to enhance accuracy. It would be easy to make a more reliable gun at the expense of some accuracy. That said, there is general consensus the "They don't make them like they used to" and the older guns do seem to have a better reputation. I don't know if they are in fact better or if they just are well broken in.
I also find mine likes the Federal, particularly "Automatch".
The Norma works fine but groups go from 1.3" with the Federal up to 1.5" with the Norma at 25yds. Eley Club also comes in behind the Federal for my particular gun.
I know now there is a general suggestion to use SV ammo in a 41, but I didn't know that for the first few decades of owning one and in that time I fed it tens of thousands of rounds of whatever I had on hand with no apparent ill effect. I did run one of those shock buffers for much of that time. I know there are a variety of opinions on those as well and have no interest in derailing the conversation with a long discussion of their merits, just mentioning it in the context of having run a bunch of SV and HV .22 over the years.
As to cleaning, I read a pretty scientific article on .22 and bore wear and quit cleaning my bore as a result. Once again, you will find a variety of opinions from equally experience shooters on the subject, in the end you will have to work out what works for you.
As for other cleaning, I find every ~500 rounds it's good to pull off the barrel, run a brush through the magwell, and do a good job of cleaning off the chamber end of the barrel and breechface on the slide. Crud does tend to collect in those areas and I've had fewer stoppages with cleaning them, paying particular attention to the extractor. It can get a buildup under it which requires it's removal and keeping the breech clean reduces that tendency. If you do happen to remove it, myself and others have had good luck with the Volquartsen extractor as a thing that tends to improve extraction reliability.
You can buy a recoil spring kit that will allow you to tune the gun to a specific ammo a bit.

Mine is much older and right now is shooting Aquila SV with few if any problems. When the Aquila is used up, I will go to CCI SV, it shoots well and I have a pretty good supply.

Something I have noticed on my M41 and Nelson Conversion is that after a thorough cleaning, including scrubbing the chamber, it takes a few shots to resume reliable operation. I think they need a little bullet lube and powder fouling to lubricate the chamber. I have tried the old Bullseye shooter's trick of a drop of oil on the top round in the magazine and it helps.

I’ve only been on the fringe of real Bullseye Pistol shooting, but I was collecting old High Standards years ago and still keep a casual eye on them. BB57, I have never seen or even heard of a frame crack in a modern (or even pre-War like I collected) High Standard. While most people I knew shoot/shot SV ammo in them, it was for accuracy and control, not concern over damage.

I use a lot of Federal Auto Match which gives more accuracy than I am capable of achieving and can be had at a reasonable price in non-panic buy times. I keep a bunch on hand for hard times.

I took to heart articles I read suggesting that damage from cleaning was more likely than accuracy gained, so I have to be reminded to clean my Bullseye guns, either when somebody notices how filthy one of them has gotten and comments on it, or when I start to get malfunctions. That’s the way I do it, you have to do what works for you.

Froggie

I just bought 5000 rds of Norma Tac 22 from an estate. Velocity is advertised as 1082 FPS vs 1070 FPS for CCI SV (and 1235 FPS for CCI minimag), so it should run fine in your S&W 41. It runs trouble free in all my semi auto .22 pistols.

A tight chamber isn't going to break in I would expect. I would polish the feed ramp and see what that does. Todays smiths get to see no human touch, strict parts bin guns with no final inspection I would think and when they don't work it is up to the customer to figure it out.

The cracks occur in the slide stop cut at the rear of the magazine well. There are three reasons for this:

1) the rear corner of the mag well isn’t rounded but rather has an angle that creates a stress riser;

2) the surface inside the slide stop cut on the older Connecticut era guns is quite rough and that surface roughness creates additional stress risers; and

3) the metallurgy in the older CT era Hi Standard pistols wasn’t alloyed properly to allow adequate heat treatment.

The newer (1993 and later) Houston TX era Hi Standards addressed all of the above issues not by eliminating the stress risers, but by using better 4340 steel.

Alan Aeronstine, the manager during the Houston area reported he’d replaced between 500 and 600 cracked CT era frames.

Most, but not all of the cracked frames occur in pistols that are shot a lot by Bullseye competitors. Generally speaking a crack won’t occur unless the pistol has tens of thousands of rounds through it, or has been shot with a weak recoil spring.

Crack prevention is best done by:

A) sticking with standard velocity ammo; and

B) ensuring the recoil spring still retains at least 90% of its original strength. Replace the recoil spring when you buy new pistols since you don’t know the round count, and replace it every 10,000 rounds after that.

The crack in this one is pretty obvious:





This one isn’t as bad…yet…as it hasn’t worked it’s way up into the slide rail:



Another crack in a frame rail:



A really, really skilled TIG welder can weld the crack and the surfaces can be reprofiled. A less than really skilled TIG welder will blow right through the frame.

This Auto Match?
So is it OK to shoot it in my Model 46?
Hi Standard HDM?

Attached Images

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If you simply mill some copper blocks to act as dams it becomes much easier to do a frame repair with TIG, but I'm pretty sure we are waaaay off in the weeds unless someone has pics of a 41 they broke from HV ammo.

Those rounds should be fine.
That's the AutoMatch the 41/46 seem to be particularly partial to, accuracy-wise at least.
Your 46 has thinner slide rails than a 41 so replace your recoil spring if you can't remember the last time you did so and even better advice to avoid HV ammo than for a 41 owner.

Back in the old days of this forum (2009?), I posted about my 41 that experienced a case head separation shooting CCI Mini-Mag ammo, during one of those periods of ammo shortages when I couldn't get SV ammo. This was my one owner 1969 vintage 41. The case separation destroyed both original grips and the guts of the magazine, and my hand was a bit numb for a bit. It was the only time I ever used HV ammo, back in 1969 and early 70s we used a steady diet of Remington green box. Lots of it!

Picked up 500 rounds of CCI S V today, my Hi Standard will be happy.

Both of my M41’s shoot the Auto Match flawlessly FWIW. And I have a LOT of it accumulated over time.



I’ve also found CCI SV recently for a little north of $0.10 a round - expensive but worth it to me.

__________________
Pass it on.
Mark

Yes, my model 41 shoots the Federal Automatch 40 grain 1200 FPS ammo flawlessly as well. But will this hurt the gun, the springs, or crack the frame? I read that the top end definition of SV is 1150 FPS. CCI SV is 1070. CCI mini mags are a 36 grain bullet and 1435 FPS…..HV. Just asking. I really like the Federal Automatch……why does it work so well when others don’t?

BB57,

Thank you very much for your informative and detailed response. In my 40+ years collecting and shooting High Standards, this was literally the first I had heard of this phenomenon. Now I’ll have to go check all of my Supermatics that have received moderate to heavy use and see whether I have this problem and didn’t know it. Strange to come to the S&W Forum to get this info about HS pistols though. Thanks again!

Regards,
Froggie

No problem. Again, frame cracks are mostly associated with high round count bullseye guns, or with those fired extensively with high velocity amp and weak recoil springs.

But if you buy one, it’s always a good idea to remove the slide and the stocks and inspect for a crack.

That cracking tendency in the Hi Standard pistols is unfortunate as in many ways the Hi Standards are superior to the S&W Model 41. I own and have shot the Hi Standard 107 Victor, the Model 41 and both the Ruger Mk I 678 and Mk II 512 target pistols (both with volquartzen triggers) in bullseye competition, and for bullseye or pin shooting purposes I prefer them in exactly that order. The Model 41 is a fine target pistol, but the Victor has a better trigger and a better feel, at least for me.

—-


As for the Model 41, the current S&W Model 41 manual doesn’t specify anything other than SAAMI specification “.22 Long Rifle” as marked on the slide.

If you talk to old school bullseye shooters they’ll tell you the Model 41 is a target pistol designed for standard velocity target ammo. Standard velocity ammo was often required in matches, particularly in indoor ranges, but as far as I know it was never an S&W requirement.

I am also not aware of the Model 41 having issues with frame cracks.

The CMP has Eley 22LR standard velocity at a reasonable price for match grade ammo.. PS do not spread that around :-)

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Kind regards, Heinz

S&W doesn’t limit the Model 41 to standard velocity ammo, just to SAAMI spec .22 Long Rifle. Personally, I’d avoid the hyper velocity .22 LR ammo.

——

Most standard velocity ammo has a velocity of 1060-1080 FPS. That keeps it comfortably below the speed of sound and out of the transonic region on a cool day.


Those velocities are also based on rifle length barrels.

Winchester T-22 Target ammo as well as Winchester Super-X Standard Velocity both have a nominal velocity of 1150 FPS. Remington Target .22LR does as well. Aquila Standard Velocity has a velocity of 1135 FPS.

Those rounds are where you see the up to 1150 FPS figure being called “standard velocity”. It’s well below the 1240-1280 FPS or so that is common for “high velocity” .22 LR but no serious match shooter will consider 1150 FPS to be standard velocity for good reason.

The speed of sound is almost entirely dependent on air temperature at at a standard temp of 59 degrees the speed of sound is 1116 FPS.

At 90 degrees F the speed of sound increases to 1149 FPS and at 100 degrees F it is 1159 FPS.

Conversely at 30 degrees F the speed of sound is 1084 FPS and at 10 degrees F it is 1062 FPS.

——

Putting that together then, out of a rifle, Winchester T-22 and Remington Target ammo is only subsonic at high temperatures above about 95 degrees.

Conversely, even standard velocity ammo at 1060 FPS shot from a rifle will be supersonic at temperatures much below 10 degrees F.

Supersonic velocity is a problem for .22 LR target ammo as the .22 LR has to use a heel based bullet since the bullet diameter is the same as the case diameter. Heel based bullets do not transition well to sub sonic velocity, and that instability as they transition adversely affects accuracy.

Most high velocity .22 LR ammo will go sub sonic within about 35 yards so that instability shows up in poor accuracy at the 50 yard line. In addition, wind has a significantly greater effect on a supersonic .22 LR bullet than it does on a sub sonic .22 LR bullet and they lose velocity much faster at supersonic velocities.

The end result is that even for long range .22 LR shooting, a standard velocity round is a better choice as it is more accurate and drifts less, even though it drops a bit more.

Consequently, most .22 LR ammo marketed as standard velocity and nearly all .22 LR marketed as target ammo will have a muzzle velocity around 1060-1080 FPS to avoid those transonic stability/accuracy issues.

——

Companies like Remington and Aquila that market supersonic “target” or “standard velocity” ammo then use the term “subsonic” for subsonic ammo with velocities around 1020-1025 FPS. It stays subsonic down to about -25 degrees F. Other companies market a “subsonic” .22LR round because it appeals to the suppressor fan boys.

I’ve never seen the point. In a 20” precision .22 LR or a 24”-28” .22LR target rifle, normal “standard velocity” ammo with a 1060-1080 FPS muzzle velocity will be ear safe. In a handgun, most “High Velocity” ammo will be subsonic and certainly all ammo marketed as “standard velocity”, even the 1135-1150 FPS variety will be sub sonic. You still need a suppressor due to the short barrel, but you don’t need a “sub sonic” marketed round.

Some published velocities for .22 LR rounds:

Aquila
Aguila Ammunition | Feed Your Firearm | Aguila Ammo
Colibri-20 grains, Lead Nose,340 FPS
Super Colibri-20 grains, Lead Nose,500 FPS
Super Max HP-30grain,Copper Coated Lead Hollow Point,1750 FPS
Super Max SP-30grain,Copper Coated Lead Round Nose,1750 FPs
High Velocity HP-38grain,Copper Coated Lead Hollow Point,1280 FPS
Subsonic HP-38grain, Lead Hollow Point,1025 FPS
Golden Eagle Target-40grain, Lead Round Nose,1100 FPS
High Velocity SP-40grain,Copper Coated Round Nose,1250 FPS
Match Pistol-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1080 FPS
Match Rifle-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1080 FPS
Standard Velocity-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1135 FPs
Subsonic SP-40grain,Lead Round Nose, 1025 FPS
Sniper Sub Sonic-60grain, Lead Round Nose,956 FPS

CCI
Sites-VistaCCI-Site
Mini-Mag High Velocity- 40grain,Gilded Lead Round Nose,1235 FPS
Standard Velocity- 40grain,Lead Round Nose, 1070 FPS
Stinger- 32grain,Gilded Lead Hollow Point, 1640 FPS
Mini-Mag Hollow point-36grain,Gilded Lead Hollow Point, 1260 FPS
Segmented Hollow Point-32grain,Segmented Hollow Point bullet, 1640 FPS
Segmented Hollow Point-40grain,segmented Hollow Point Bullet, 1050 FPS
SGB-40grain,Lead Flat Nose, 1235
Subsonic Hollow Point-40grain,Lead Hollow Point, 1050 FPS
Velociter-40grain,Gilded Lead Hollow Point,1435 FPS
Shotshell-31grain,Number 12 shot shell, WILL NOT CYCLE IN AUTOS
Stinger-32grain, Gilded Lead Hollow Point, 1640 FPS
Green Tag-40grain,Lead Round Nose, 1070 FPS
Pistol Match-40grain, Lead Round Nose, 1070 FPS
Select-40grain,Lead Round Nose, 1200 FPS

Eley
Page not found -
*Disclaimer*The Listed Eley ammo speeds are gathered from their website, and are very general in terms. A more precise FPS can be found printed on every box of ammo by the lot #.
Rapid Fire Match-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1085 FPS
Club Match-40grain, Lead Round Nose, 1085 FPS
Target Rifle-40grain, Lead Round Nose,1085 FPS
Subsonic Xtra-Plus-40grain, Lead Hollow PointNose,1050 FPS
Tennex Ultimate EPS-40grain,Lead EPS,1085 FPS
Mach EPS-40grain, EPS, 1085 FPS
Sports-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1135 FPS
Tennex Pistol-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1030 FPS
Match OSP-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1030 FPS
Match Pistol-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1000 FPS
Team-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1085 FPS

Federal
Shop products in Rimfire today | Federal Premium
*The Code Listed Before The Brand Name is the Load Number*
510-Champion Target- 40grain, Solid Lead, 1240 FPS
710-Game-Shok- 40grain,Copper Plated Solid, 1240 FPS
711B-Gold Medal-40grain,Solid, 1080 FPS
712-Game Shok-38grain,Copper Plated Hollow Point, 1110 FPS
714-Gameshock-40grain, Solid Lead, 1080 FPS
716-Game Shok-25grain, No. 12 Lead Shot,
724-Game Shok-31grain, Copper Plated Hollow Point, 1197 FPS
745-Champion Target-36grain,Copper Plated Hollow Point, 1104 FPS
810-Game Shok-40grain,Copper Plated Solid, 1240 FPS
AE22-American Eagle-38,Copper Plated Hollow Point, 1260
AE5022-American Eagle-40grain,Solid Lead, 1240 FPS
AM22Champion Target-40grain,Solid Lead, 1,200 FPS
719-Auto Match Gold Medal-40grain,Solid Lead, 1200 FPS
UM22-Ultra Match Gold Medal-40grain,Solid Lead, 1080 FPS
922A-Match Gold Medal-40grain,Solid Lead, 1080 FPS
900B-Match-40grain, Solid Lead, 1000FPS
UM1B-40 grain, Solid Lead, 1080 FPS
Match 900a-40grain, Solid Lead,1185 FPS
UM1-Gold Medal Match-40grain, Solid Lead,1185 FPS

Fiocchi
22ammo.com - This website is for sale! - 22ammo Resources and Information.
Super Match 280-40 grain, Lead Round Nose, 950 FPS
Super Match 320-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1080 FPS
Super Match 340-40grain, Lead Round Nose,1095 FPS
Match 320-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1080 fps
HVCRN-40grain, Copper Plated Lead Round Nose,1255 FPS
HVCHP-38grain,Copper Plated Hollow Point,1280 FPS
CRN-40grain, Lead Round Nose,1225 FPS
Maxac-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1148 FPS

Lapua
http://www.eabco.com/Lapua03.html
X-ACT-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1073 FPS
Midas Plus-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1073 FPS
Center-X-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1073 FPS
Pistol King-40grain,Lead Round Nose,958 FPS
Pistol OSP-40grain,Lead Round Nose,277 FPS
Polar Biathlon-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1106 FPS


Remington
http://www.remington.com/products/am...22_rimfire.asp
22 Subsonic Long Rifle- 38grains, Hollow Point
22 Long Rifle- 40grains , Lead Round Nose
High Velocity Golden Bullet- 40grains, Plated Lead Round Nose
High Velocity Golden Bullet- 36grains, Plated Hollow Point
22 Yellow Jacket LR- 33grains, Truncated Cone Hollow Point
22 Viper LR- 36grains, Truncated Cone Solid
CBee Long Rifle- 33grains, Hollow Point
22 Thunderbolt LR- 40grains, Lead Round Nose
22 Cyclone LR- 36grains, Hollow Point
22 Game Loads- 36grains, Hollow Point

RWS
http://www.rws-munition.de/en/sports...n.htm?navid=27
Subsonic-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1000 FPS
RWS Target Rifle-40grain, Lead Round Nose,1035 FPS

Sellier & Bellot
http://www.sellier-bellot.cz/rimfire-ammunition.php
22 Long Rifle High Velocity-36grain,Copper plated Lead Round Nose,1330 FPS
22 Long Rifle SB Club-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1080 FPS
22 Long Rifle High Velocity HP-38grain,Lead Hollow Point,1280 FPS
22 Long Rifle SB Standard-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1080 FPS

SK
http://www.wolfammo.com/index.php?op...d=3&Itemid=118
22 Long Rifle Standard Plus-40grain, Lead Round Nose, 1050 FPS
22 Long Rifle Match-40grain, Lead Round Nose, 1033 FPS
22 Long Rifle Rifle Match-40grain, Lead Round Nose, 1050 FPS
22 Long Rifle Pistol Match-40grain, Lead Round Nose, 1050 FPS
22 Long Rifle Pistol Match-40grain, Flat Nose, 1031 FPS
22 Long Rifle High Velocity-40grain, Flat Nose, 1063 FPS
22 Long Rifle High Velocity-40grain, Hollow Point, 1063 FPS
22 Long Rifle Subsonic-40grain, Hollow Point, 1063 FPS

Winchester
http://www.winchester.com/products/catalog/rimfire.aspx
WW22LR-Wildcat-40grain, Lead Round Nose, 1255 FPS
XPERT22-Xpert-36grain, Lead Hollow Point, 1220 FPS
WD22LRB-Dynapoint-40grain, Dynapoint Copper Plated Lead, 1150 FPS
X22LR-Super-X-40grain,Lead Round Nose,1255 FPS
X22LRH-Super-X-37grain,Lead Hollow Point,1280 FPS
X22LRHSS1-Super-X-37grain,Lead Hollow Point,1330 FPS
X22RPP-SuperX Power Point-40grain,Lead Hollow Point, 1280 FPS
X22LRPP1-SuperX Power Point-40grain, Lead Round Nose,1280 FPS
X22LRS-SuperX 12Shot- #12 shot-Crimped Tip
X22LRSS1-SuperX-40grain, Lead Round Nose,1300 FPS
X22LRSUBA-Super X-40 grain, Lead Hollow Point, 1065 FPS
XT22Lr-SuperX Standard Velocity-40grain,Lead Round Nose, 1150 FPS


Wolf
http://www.wolfammo.com/index.php?op...d=3&Itemid=118
22 Long Rifle Match Target-40grain,Lead Round Nose, 1050 FPS
22 Long Rifle Match Extra-40grain, Lead Round Nose, 1050 FPS

Froggie,
I shot a 107 Supermatic Trophy (much modified) in Bullseye competition for 18 years using CCI SV ammo. I can't even begin to think of the number of rounds that went through that gun. Indoor 2700 match every month, added outdoor matches all summer long, winter league, practice matches 3-4 times a week. Never a sign of cracking on the receiver. I know they do it but I haven't seen one yet amoungst the bullseye shooters I knew using Hi Standards.

Stu

I have said this before, model 41's seem to come in two flavors, either really finicky and unreliable and happy campers that will feed and shoot anything. Mine is a happy camper. After you have put a 1000 rounds through yours give it a good cleaning. The problem areas for model 41's seem to be recoil springs (either to heavy or to light) extractors, there are some aftermarket ones that are better and lastly chambers that are tighter then they should be. On the chamber sometimes all it needs is to be polished. Here is a very good website for Model 41 maintenance. Model 41 maintenance

If all else fails send it to KC customs, he is well regarded when it comes to model 41's

Wow. Thanks for all the fantastic information and websites. This is a great forum with wonderful, knowledgeable people!
I have learned A LOT!

I was told today by a very wise older gentleman to load only 5 bullets in each magazine for use…..he said that is what is allowed in competition and the fewer bullets that one has in the magazine, the more reliably it should feed and shoot with no problems. He did say to use SV ammo as well. I learn much everyday!

I’ve not had much experience with formal or sanctioned matches of any kind. I’ve tried just about all them at one time or another. I do have a lot of experience with guns and have owned hundreds.
It isn’t a trade secret that Hi-Std suffer cracked frames from HV ammo or just round count due to match shooters. Dealing in Target Guns is like dealing Corvettes, you get two kinds. The ones with the snot run out of them or one that has been babied. There seems to be no in between.
When 22 Target pistols hit the used market many are bought by whistle dicks that have no idea that HV ammo should not be used in them. Most wouldn’t know frame cracked unless gun stopped running.

It’s hard to find any hard data on failure rates, but given the 500-600 CT era guns that Alan Aronstein reported with frame cracks against rhe number of guns out there, it’s obvious the rate of crack in is low, probably on the order of 1 in every 500 to 1000 guns. However it is a known issue and a known vulnerability. I don’t know any informed Hi Standard Victor, Citation or Supermatic owner who shoots HV ammo in their pistol.

Will shooting HV ammo in one cause a crack? Almost certainly not in the short term, but why risk it, especially in what is by design a target pistol intended to shoot SV ammo?

——-

In terms of the S&W 41, S&W makes no mention of it and HV ammo is apparently fine to shoot in them.

They also still sell a lot of them even though Bullseye shooting is in sharp decline. I assume then that most of them are being purchased by shooters who use them for general plonking and range use and just appreciate a handgun that is a couple cuts above a Ruger Mk IV, a S&W Victory or a Browning Buckmark.