1964-2014...The .41 Magnum

[colt_saa]

Happy Birthday 41 Magnum

Bill, thanks for the display. I think I walked over to look at it every time I entered the big room.

I just returned from my dealer. I went there to pick up a 6" Model 57 that I just purchased from a fellow SWCA member.

Sorry, I have not photographed that one yet.

I accidentally got involved in 41 Magnums back in 1980 when a coworker of mine brought his two week old Nickel 6" 57 to me and asked if I could give him $250. He needed retainer money since his wife had just hit him with divorce papers.

At that time, I knew nothing about 41 Magnums. I only owned one revolver at the time, a 6" 27 I had bought two years earlier.

I grabbed a box of ammo and went to the range. I was going to try it once and then sell it to recoup my money (I already had an offer). I loaded the firearm and pulled the trigger.....bullseye, dead center. I fired a second shot and could not see the hole. I was shooting next to a jeweler buddy who said I missed. We pulled in the target and the two holes made a slight oval in the paper. Back out for shot three and still no additional hole. So we checked again, tiny clover leaf. Shot four did the same thing. At that point my buddy said he would give me $5000 if the next shot did the same .....so I ended up pulling shot #5. #6 was touching the first 4.

That revolver is still in my safe. It will not be sold as long as I live.

This experience, 34 years ago, began a long term love affair with this cartridge. Today I have 35 firearms chambered in 41 Magnum from various manufacturers and I do not see an end insight.

This group photo was taken more than a decade ago and is very incomplete

One day I may put them all out for another group photo, but it would be out of date in a few anyhow. So for now I will just keep shooting individual shots.

 

[turnerriver]

My model 57 with Keith Brown grips and yes, I shoot it with those grips.

My Ruger Blackhawk.

Great thread for a great cartridge.
Regards,
turnerriver

 

[05CarbonDRZ]

Here is my quartet:

Early Model 58

DSCN0276 by alex1961m, on Flickr

First Year 4"

DSCN0280 by alex1961m, on Flickr

First Year 6"

DSCN0291 by alex1961m, on Flickr

LNIB 8 3/8" "S" Prefix

DSCN0303 by alex1961m, on Flickr

 

[Smithy]

I'm in on this anniversary celebration. Model 57 no dash, S serial, that was Nitex coated before I acquired it and a nickel and blued 58 with N serials. The nickel obviously does not have the original grips.

 

[SuperMan]

Great pics and stories everyone...

A few more of mine....

Marlin CCL 20" Octagon...



Sitting at 50 yards, 255 CPBC LBT w/22.0 H110...





Two more 1894s...stainless LTD and a 1894S...both with XS scope mounts...





Desert Eagle...6" and 10" scoped barrels..









50 yards...




Great round no matter what one fires it in....Bob

 

[max]

I have 3 right now, 2 57's and a 58. My first new S&W was my 6 inch 57 that I bought with money I got from teaching an adult ed class. I got nickel cause Skeeter had a nickel 29 and I liked the way it worked. That gun started me on my nickel craze. This is my 58 I had the factory renickel. It has not been fired since.

 

[80Goat]

I need to take some pictures. The .41 Mag was the first round that I reloaded. I remember spending days working on different loads with a variety of bullets, powders and primers. Today I am lucky to find a single useful pistol powder for reloading.

My first revolver was a Ruger Blackhawk in .41 Mag. I shot that revolver so much that I blew the ejector housing off the pistol twice. I was using it for IHMSA matches and NRA Hunter Pistol. Eventually retired the Ruger and started to use a T/C Contender in .41 Mag for Silhouettes.

I also had a DWA 741 which is one gun that I wish I kept.

Got a nice Marlin 1894. Have not shot it in a while, so I am going to break it out this weekend and run a box of .41 through it.

Also got a S&W 58 and a nice 657.

 

[ko41]

Around 1983 I decided I needed a handgun for deer and bear hunting, and since my dad already had dies, powder, primers and bullet mould the logical choice was .41 Magnum. The first .41 was a blue 57 with 8 3/8" barrel followed by a long tube nickel 57. I mounted a Bushnell Phantom scope on the blue revolver for those long range shots.
My handgun big game hunting career never did amount to anything more than a few walks in the woods. The year we drew a bear permit, we went up to northern MN totally unprepared for actually hunting bear. It was about dusk when we canoed out to what we thought was a nice spot to set up camp for the night. The next morning when we were packing up the tent we found out we spent the night about 10 yards from somebody's bait station. Oops! Never did see a bear.

KO

 

[SuperMan]

....boy are those nickel guns bright.

Bob

 

[bmcgilvray]

I was late to the .41 Magnum party. When I was about 14 I would read the catalogs and dream of a nickel 6-inch Model 57. When I was about 22 went out one Saturday afternoon looking for a .41 Magnum with money burning a hole in my pocket. They were all out o f .41 Magnums so I went the .44 Magnum route. By then I had come to loathe the notion of shiny nickel finish and greatly favored the blue finish.

Some 30-something years later I picked up that dream gun of my youth.

 

[teesur]

Here's a couple more of the bright ones.






teesur.

 

[Tom_R]

I bought this gun in 1966 after I had to shoot a porcupine 6 times with the Model 10 .38 special. I kept thinking, what if he had a gun and was shooting back.
Elmer and Skeeter were bragging on the .41 Magnum round and the Model 58, and it was cheaper than a Combat Magnum back then.
I paid $81.00 for it NIB and a box of shells.

It was my sidearm for 13 years as an LEO.

It proved effective anytime I needed it.

I used hand loads mainly because the only factory loads available at the time were hunting loads and just plain nasty to shoot and I couldn't afford to buy factory ammo.

I hand loaded the rounds to levels recommended by Elmer and Skeeter at the time.
I used a 210 Sierra JHP and a dose of 2400 powder. In the 900 to 1000 FPS range.

The cartridge is effective, I've killed injured wild life and cattle. Killed a mule deer when I was in too close quarters to bring a rifle to bear.

Even did a one shot stop on a Ford Bronco way back when.That one shot went through the back of the Bronco and took out radio in the dash. The kid driving it went to the PD and said someone was chasing him and shooting at him.. The Bronco belonged to a friend, and he tried that as an excuse for the bullet hole I had put in the rig. Well..... He did stop a little while after I put only one shot into the rig after he ran me down.

The modified Magna grips that came on the gun were pretty tough on the hands and not cool back then.

I couldn't afford factory Target grips on a new cop's salary so I destroyed the PC grips to get the hardware and made the set of grips you see in the picture.
Those grips that I destroyed would probably sell for more than the gun would today.

I did a heck of a lot of practicing with that gun and got pretty handy with it. It's got the finish wear to prove it.

We got into some serious social encounters and it got me home more than once.
I have owned a beautiful blued 4" and and nickel 6" Model 57 and let them both go, but that old M&P ain't going anywhere.

My name is etched in it, and it is the last gun I will ever let go of, and that will be when I settle down for a dirt nap.

Iggy, that revolver is gorgeous. I love the patina on it, thanks for sharing some stories about her history.

 

[Scotter260]

Walked into Cabela's in Owatonna, MN, some time around December of 2001 and noticed a nice 4" Smith
with odd stocks. I knew very little at the time (not saying I know much now) but knew that a diamond
around the screw meant it was older.

My former Chief had also recently told me about the nickel 4"er he'd carried on duty for a number of years
in the early 80s and how he'd practically deafened himself during qualifications so my senses were perked
up for a .41. Wife asked me what I'd like for Christmas within reason and I stated this would be an adequate gift.

Price was $495 and talked them down to $450. Used a $50 gift card so after taxes it came out to about
$425 OTD. No box or tools and carried out of the store wrapped in a plastic bag but I had a nice revolver.
Found out later how nice it was due to the stocks. About 1968 vintage based on the serial number.

I think in all these years I've shot 55 rounds of 210 grain Remingtons and MAYBE two 20-round boxes of
175 grain Silvertips through it. I really do need to get some .41 "Specials" from Georgia Arms Ammo but
other things always come up.

 

[ko41]

And now for something completely different.
Uberti 1873 Carbine .44 Special converted to .41 Magnum and a Jager Mod Super Frontier Super Dakota .41 Magnum.
Maximum cartridge O.A.L. for smooth functioning in the Uberti is 1.570", so a short bullet or seating deeper than the crimp groove is required. I have 500 Starline .41 Special cases so I'll use those and not have to worry about C.O.A.L. I'm probably not going to run anything heavier than a 215 grain cast bullet and keep the velocity under 1000 fps in both guns.
Average velocity using 4.5gr of Trail Boss, 170gr SWC, Starline .41 Special brass is 915fps out of the 19 inch rifle and 717fps out of the 5 1/2 inch Super Dakota.

KO

 

[oldafsp]

The Model 58 was a love affair from the early 70's for me. Finally acquired the ones that I yearned for last year.

S Prefix from 1964


N prefix from 1976 in nickel
The targets came on this gun from the factory.



And why not? The nickel 58 made a appearance in IDPA competition this spring. It caused quite the stir amongst the revolver crowd that day..

 

[flundertaker]

The Model 58 was a love affair from the early 70's for me. Finally acquired the ones that I yearned for last year.


And why not? The nickel 58 made a appearance in IDPA competition this spring. It caused quite the stir amongst the revolver crowd that day..

I like your style!! Get them all stirred up. Reminds of the 3 gun match my friend shot with his SOCOM II M1A while everyone else plinked with their ARs. Some times you gotta make a statement.

 

[80Goat]

After Reading this thread, I had to head out to the range with a couple of .41s. Brought my Marlin and 657. The 657 is from the 80s so it is not a 60s to 80s S&W, but it is the right caliber for this thread.

 

[ko41]

I like your style!! Get them all stirred up. Reminds of the 3 gun match my friend shot with his SOCOM II M1A while everyone else plinked with their ARs. Some times you gotta make a statement.

Once a year for grins I like to use my .41 Magnum Desert Eagle at the local USPSA club matches. For 3 gun I'm all about BOOM...S&W 1911DK .45ACP, S&W 3000 Police 12ga., Springfield Armory M1A Scout Squad.

KO

 

[SuperMan]

I am currently "on the road" for an extended vacation in Idaho. Stopped along the way to visit with an unnamed forum member who had some fun sampling some .41s he had never got to shoot...this is the 5" 57 but he really fell in love with a 6" Freedom Arms 654 .41 Magnum....



FA Model 97...



97 with big brother...




Bob

 

[M29since14]

Walked into Cabela's in Owatonna, MN, some time around December of 2001... Wife asked me what I'd like for Christmas within reason and I stated this would be an adequate gift...
Found out later how nice it was due to the stocks. About 1968 vintage based on the serial number.

That's a beauty. Today, the stocks are worth what you paid for the whole thing, so you can think you loaned them the money for 13-years or so and got the revolver for free.

I would be surprised if that gun was made in '68 though I suppose it might have shipped in '68. I'm no expert on that kind of thing, but I'd think the gun with the coke bottle stocks (unless they are not OEM to this particular gun) might be a little earlier. Really great looking .41 you have there. Very nice.