Model 41 Ammo Suggestion

R

Rick H.

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
Messages
332
Reaction score
420
Location
Muskego, WI
I have a Performance Center Model 41 that I really like. It is a beautiful pistol and is fun to shoot. Therein is the problem though, it doesn't necessarily like to shoot at times. When I first bought the pistol it had to go back to the Mothership for some work. It came back in good condition, no added scratches or marks and it did work better, but still not all the time. So I began a quest to make it work better thru various types of ammunition. After trying some 10 or 12 different types of ammunition I settled on CCI standard ammo, but even this stuff didn't work very well. I did the higher velocity thing to help break in the pistol, but in the end the results were the same. At least one or two rounds out of each magazine load would result in a variety of misfires.

Yesterday while looking for something entirely different in my ammo stockpile I stumbled on some CCI Greentag that I bought at a closeout price. I realized I had never tried this stuff in my M41 and thought what the heck, let's try it. My indoor range is only about 40' long from stem to stern, but it is all I have at home. First mag load had no failures much to my surprise. This setup a pattern and 150 rounds later with no breaks for cleaning or anything else I had no failures of any kind. Absolutely none! I wasn't really prepared to go for an accuracy test, but the Greentag was right there with CCI Standard.

Now I am not saying CCI Greentag is the ultimate round to cure all problems with all Model 41's, but in my case it worked extremely well in MY pistol. At one point I ran two full mags thru the pistol about as fast as I could pull the trigger and stay on target and the gun worked great. First time that has ever happened. I know one go-around with a certain ammunition doesn't mean all problems are over with, but it proves the pistol can and does function properly. I will dig thru my stash and find some more Greentag to run another test, but for right now anyway I am quite pleased with the results. You may want to try Greentag if you are having issues with your M41.

Rick H.
 
IMO you stumbled in to a good choice. The CCI standard velocity has been written up in this forum as the initial go to ammo for a 41 for many years.
I've used some of the Eley stnd velocity as well with no issues BUT each one, especially the last several years of build, can be problematical since, IMO, the fitting at S&W has diminished big time.
If it ain't broke leave it alone and enjoy it!
 
I’m not a big believer in having to break something in. But it’s possible that’s what’s going on. My M41 is 40 years old, and I do vaguely remember it stumbling early on. That didn’t last long. My 41 is a garbage disposal. It will feed, fire , and eject anything that resembles a 22 LR cartridge. I keep mine clean and wet.

I’ve been Buying Armscor 36G brass plated HP at Rural King. I bought 1000 for around $57. I’ve probably fired 750 rounds of it in the last few weeks. Not a single misfire. Yeah….. I don’t believe it either, but that’s been my experience. It could all go downhill at any time, but so far so good. The stuff is as accurate as CCI MMHP, 30 fps slower.

Shoot that 41! The more the better in my opinion.

*Edit: I shot my 7 inch M41 with the above mentioned Armscor. 30 yards. Benchrest, sandbag, iron sights. For less than $6 a 100, they perform well for me. Armscor comes in flimsy cardboard boxes, no schmancy plastic case like CCI. But if you take the box apart after it’s empty, there’s a cool little target printed on the inside!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0681.jpg
    IMG_0681.jpg
    34.2 KB · Views: 32
Last edited:
Interesting discussion.
I have two 41’s.
I see a distinct difference in accuracy with different brands of ammo.
However function wise, neither one seems to care what brand of 22 ammo I feed it.
Guess I got lucky.
 
Rick, you might not believe this but Kent Sakamoto, who was the chief engineer for RCBS and, later, the Vista Outdoors Group that owns CCI, told me this tidbit. Back in the day, when testing 22LR Standard Velocity ammunition and a particular lot shot great groups, a green tag was affixed to the case. Eventually, it was discovered that those lots were loaded on a certain machine so from that time forth, all lots of CCI Standard Velocity loaded on that machine were labeled "Green Tag." There actually is no physical difference between SV and GT shells. There is a substantial price difference, though...

Oh, forgot to mention that S&W employees have told me that CCI SV is the ammo they use for all 22LR test-firing.

I also can tell you that my Model 41, purchased new 18 months ago, would not return to battery with consistency. A trip back to the factory didn't change anything although I was told it functioned properly for them. My gunsmith found high spots on the slide rails; just working the slide back and forth for about 10 minutes smoothed things right out and corrected the problem so your gun, like mine, might just might have needed some more rounds through it.

Ed
 
Last edited:
One thing is for certain, the Model 41 is a discerning firearm when it comes to ammo, and CCI along with other quality brands work just fine. But, try feeding it the cheap stuff, like Winchester 555, and it will let you it doesn't like it...
 
Party pooper with the unpopular opinion… (me, not you)

I have a Performance Center Model 41 that I really like.
Click to expand...

If we go by basically every occurrence of evidence in this forum, the problem is that S&W cannot build this pistol properly these days, and this has been the case for quite a while now.

That you detailed it is a PC model, a gun that was never built in the real Performance Center, in fact it was built in Maine, nowhere near the (now long disassembled and defunct) Performance Center.

When folks stumble in to a good 41 made recently, that’s the anomaly.

What S&W could have done to make this easier would have been to retire the classic Model 41 name.

If they called it “the dark Victory” then we’d know straight away what we’re dealing with.
 
The last time I shot my 41 I used Remington hyper-velocity rounds...either Vipers or Yellow-Jackets...don't remember which. I usually use CCI SV but the Remingtons is what I had with me to use up the box.

The pistol performed superbly with outstanding accuracy. I know the hyper rimfires aren't supposed to be nearly as accurate as standard velocity stuff but that 41 chewed them and put them on the paper in a tight cluster.
 
Well I tried Eley, Lapua, RWS, Winchester, Aguila, Federal and Federal Auto-Match, Remington, CCI Standard, Mini-Mags and on and on. The only flavor that responded well at this point is CCI Greentag. My Greentag is probably 4 or 5 years old and I actually forgot I had it. I bought a bunch of it on sale years ago when I had the chance. I also bought some CCI Select and Pistol Match at the same time. The Select did very well as I recall in my BR rifles, but I shot it all up.

I have heard all the stories about certain ammo coming off the same machines and being randomly selected as "better" more expensive ammo for no other reason than making money or filling a need, but the Greentag I have definitely has a different feel to the lube on the bullet than my CCI standard ammo. I have no way of determining what type of lube is used on .22 bullets as I don't work at HP White, but Greentag does feel different to me.

When I found my stash of Greentag I also found a case of the old no longer made Federal GM Match ammo that was made in Germany by RWS I believe. Just for grins I am going to try some of that ammo in my M41 and see what happens. Hopefully it too will work well in my pistol so I can start using it up. More to follow shortly on this.

Rick H.
 
M41 flawless performance - a simple solution

I bought my first M41 in 1982 from Total Sports, the first anti-gun sport shop chain in the US. It had feeding issues, tried different ammo with limited success.

Finally in frustration. I applied a small smear of oil on the case of the top round in a magazine. The gun shot 10 rounds flawlessly. When I loaded the 2nd magazine, 3 rounds fired before failure to eject.

Quite simply, I apply that smear of oil from a needle applicator on the brass case of the top round in every S&W or Ruger 22 LR pistol I own. I also explained this to my son, who received my second M41. His three 22 LR pistols all work flawlessly now, Ruger or S&W.

A small smear of oil on the top brass case brings perfect performance. You become confident in your pistol, shoot better scores, and no alibies because of the gun. :D
 
Last edited:
Rick, if your Federal Match is load #711B and is in a white box, you and your Model 41 will love it. The current #711B in brown boxes is plinking fodder. Because the white box stuff worked so well for me in several rifles, I bought five bricks of the new stuff. I let my grandchildren shoot it.

Ed
 
My 41 is the only firearm I've had to "break in" and I own many and shoot them regularly.

CCI standard velocity was the only ammunition it would cycle out of the box, but having been broken in, it now shoots virtually everything reliably.
 
One suggestion is to change the original factory recoil spring which I believe is 7 1/2 pounds to a 7 pound spring. That does sometimes help.

If you do use a Wolff Spring, MAKE SURE THE OPENED END OF THE SPRING FACES REARWARD! Unless things have changed, Wolff does not finish both ends like the factory springs are. If the Wolff spring is installed with the opened end to the muzzle your gun will jam up beyond your belief. If it is installed properly, with the opened end rearward - A-OK. The 1/2 pound lighter spring may solve your issue - I have seen that before.

If that lighter spring works, paint the spring on one end to remind you when reassembling. That lighter spring has helped a few friends with unreliable functioning. I HOPE Wolff has fixed this issue by now and is finishing both ends.
 
I am lucky that my M41 does not have any functioning issues with CCI standard velocity ammo - always works 100%, lot after lot. I have tried Green Tag however even though it also functioned flawlessly, it was less accurate in my M41 than the standard velocity ammo for some strange reason. I also tried Eley, Remington Target and a few others and they did not function 100% and were not nearly as accurate as the CCI std. vel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Model 41
Replies
1
Views
112
Troystat
T
7
Model 41 snub
Replies
10
Views
648
Engineer1911
Engineer1911
tlawler
Model 41 conundrum
Replies
9
Views
769
SlamFire
S
T
Model 41 - Magazine question
Replies
7
Views
473
Troystat
T
4
Model 41
Replies
16
Views
1K
SlamFire
S

Latest posts

Back
Top