I'd apppreciate learning from those of you who have experience with the Model 41 what your recommendations are concerning barrel length: 5.5 or 7 inches.

I'd apppreciate learning from those of you who have experience with the Model 41 what your recommendations are concerning barrel length: 5.5 or 7 inches.

No help here, I'm curious as well. Also interested in opinions about new vs old M 41's.

I own and personally like the 5 1/2" best. It just feels better in my hand and appeals to me more. Mine is an A prefix model from the 80's.

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S&W Accumulator

Mine was made in 79 or 80 and came with the long barrel. After a year or so of ownership I ran across a sale of new bull barrels and picked one up. It did not fit correctly and S&W fixed it for free. I highly recommend having both barrels. I enjoy shooting both.

I have and shoot both. I seem to end up shooting the 5.5 more, the balance feels beter I guess.
If you put a Red Dot on, you will probably opt for the 5.5.
For someone who is really, really good the longer sight base may be indicated w/iron sights, practically for the rest of us, one will be as accurate as the other. .

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Ipsis Rebus Dictantitbus

I have 4 different barrels with 2 different model 41 pistols. One is an A prefix from around '82 or so that has had a bit of work done to the trigger by Clark, the other is a late 5 digit SN# from about '68 with the cocking indicator. The earlier gun does have a shinier finish but between these two there is not much else different other than the earlier has seen much less use. As far as barrels go I prefer the 5 inch field barrel for general purpose use, has a great balance and makes the gun handle closer to what a centerfire defense pistol feels like to me. The 7+ inch barrel with the comp is nice as it has a long sight radius and makes for some great target shooting, smaller groups. The other 7 inch barrel I have is a latter barrel without the comp, I am thinking about having it cut down to about 6 inches and installing a red dot just for fun. Last on my list is the 5.5 in bull barrel, it shoots well and the sights are really great but I just do not care for the extra weight on this one. That is my .02c.

I have both; the 5.5" shoots more accurately with the Federal bulk pack from Wally World. I haven't tried to get better results from the longer gun; so I don't know if it's me, the gun, or the ammo that works better.

The 7 3/8 was made in the mid '70's, the 5.5 made in the early 80's. The 7 3/8 has cocking indicator & slightly better finish.

the 5" was ok'ed for NRA bulls eye three gun competition if my old memory is correct 6" was as long as you could use. they were a very accurate pistol out of the box 22lr was all you could use in competition. that was in 60s and early 70s....A great pistol

I shot three-gun matches with the service teams in the iron sight days. The 41 with the long barrel was the gun of choice because it had a longer sight radius. The 5 1/2" barrel with the extendable front sight gave the same effect. Now almost everyone uses a red dot sight so it really doesn't matter.

Perhaps from a balance standpoint it might matter?

I prefer the long barrel with muzzle brake. Not because it's a lot more accurate .. and yes, that would make sense.. but because I simply like the looks of it the best. I have a 3 barrel set for my older A series gun. The 5.5" with extendable sights (with sights completely retracted, I haven't tried it yet with the front sight extended) shoots just as well as the long barrel for me. Easily my least favorite is the light Field barrel.

I recently bought a new Model 41 with a seven inch barrel. It took a while to find the best feeding round for it. After some experimentation. I found CCI Standard to feed consistently well and provide optimum accuracy. When the weather got much cooler, the CCI Standard round was stove piping a bit so I switched to the CCI Stinger which is excellent. I recently learned that S&W recommends the CCI Standard for the gun.

A friend on the range offered to sell me a five inch barrel for the 41 and after shooting a few dozen rounds with it, I decided to buy it. It proved to be very accurate and of course, a little lighter than the seven inch.

I really enjoy target shooting with the Model 41 and prefer the longer barrel of the two. Can't comment on the 5.5" barrel as I don't have one.

I am a newbie to the 41 but I will pipe in.
I bought a used 97-98 with a 5.5 barrel and a rail on it. It also had bomar (I think) steel sites.
I then went and bought a 5" bully barrel and mounted that with a redot ultradot.
The sight hangs all the way back over the magwell so balance is awesome.
I think the 5"/ultradot combo is actually lighter than the stock 5.5" with rail and steel sights.
The 5" shootis dime size at 50' freehand.
So, for me the 5" is more than I need for now.

n

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DILLIGAF?

For me, bullseye shooter, the 5.5" barrel is a little heavy with the Ultradot added to it, but the balance is good if the dot is low and rearward. The seven inch with the same dot setup seems a little nose heavy. The seven inch with Ultradot and shortened to 5.5" becomes too light. For irons either barrel is good especially the longer sight radius. It is easy to adjust to the weight or balance within a certain range or degree. A lot of the weight or balance feel depends on the grip as well. You notice balance with your fingers and wrist, weight with the arm and shoulder.

Hands down the 5.5 barrel. I have 3 model 41 two 5.5 and one 7". I bought another 5.5 barrel and sold the 7".

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IN GOD WE TRUST     ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I had a 41 with both barrels. Enjoyed the 7" more. Rarely used the 5"barrel. Sold the pistol. Missed it. Replaced it a year later with a 7" 41.. I can't say which one is better. You would have to fire each and decide. Either one would be a good quality choice that you won't regret. If you should buy one and aren't crazy about....simply buy the other barrel. You can always sell the barrel you aren't using. Enjoy which ever you choose

I have owned both and preferred the 5.5 in heavy barrel. It was just a matter of balance for me.

Had both. Sold the first(early 80's....paid $325.)
I'm enjoying the newest model as much as the older one. However I do not shoot competitively....if there is a finer edge to the older ones I never realized the difference if there is one.

I have both. The 7" is used with open sights and the 5.5" has a Doctor Optic.

I shoot them both a lot, but recently I've been using the open sight 7" a bit more. The red dot just makes shooting well, too easy. Really... it kinda takes the "fun" outa it.

Joe

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Go NRA

I have the 7 inch, which is what I ordered. It shoots very straight.

A friend on the range sold me a 5 inch barrel and it also seems to shoot very straight.

I don't have the 5.5 inch.

I have 7", 5.5" heavy and 5.5 with dot...
i like the balance of the 7" best - and i shoot it the most , iron sights just suit me better. long sight radius makes for cleaner sight picture. the 5.5s are heavy and with the dot i just get plumb tired of holding it...CCC SV lets each barrel do 1" at 25 yds off pistol rest...