41 .22 SHORT Conversion Kit Rescue!

[Hoosier45]

I was at an estate auction today and after the guns wrapped up there were a few tables of parts and accessories. A few others including myself were looking at two 41 barrels on the table, but upon closer examination I noticed the barrel read "22 Short" which set off the radar, and I began searching for other parts. I found the .22 short magazine, then a redfield scope box that had the aluminum slide, then a parts box with the slide release, spring, and weight. Luckily it appeared I was the only person to recognize this. I feel fortunate that I was able to find all the necessary parts and give them a good home... I would have felt pretty bad finding the barrel without the spring and release or someone walking off with the parts not knowing what they were. Then the other young man who purchased the only model 41 at the auction asked "do you want to sell those barrels" and I informed him why I bought it...to his surprise and my surprise he opens up the box to the 41 he just bought and looks at the magazines and 2 of 3 were converted 22 short magazines. He asked if they went with the conversion and I informed him they did and made him a fair offer on the two magazines. It was a good learning experience and I'm very excited that so many things went my way. Here are the pictures for proof, and once I got them installed. Oh, I also picked up a 5.5" bull barrel.

 

[Indynick]

That is so cool. Good eye.

 

[CALREB]

WAYYYYYYYY better than seeing them for some outrageous price on flebay. Great find by someone who will enjoy them as the original owner probably did.
I know, Im weird, but I get sick of people paying some widow 5 bucks for grips and then asking 500.00 on a auction sale site.
My 86 year old mother in law had a yard sale a while back and man the pressure these guys put on old folks is disgusting. . Great find for you...Bob

 

[Aussie Collector]

Great find and well spotted. Finding the stop and spring is a plus, easy to see the stop you have is the correct one. Good stuff.

Put the kit on your 41 and go shoot a rapid fire match. The match these kits (and the 41-1) were made for. The match changed to long rifle 10 years ago, shooting the match the way they shot it for 100 years is just bonza.

Not meaning to put a damper on the great find, I have to ask did you check that the 41 was in fact a 41 and not a 41-1. One of my 41-1s I purchased with a .22 long kit fitted, while 2 of my 41s were purchase with short kits, the guns/kits do get mixed up.

 

[smithfan4152]

short kits

Keep in Mind if you Buy an early model 41 and it has the 22 short conversion on it, that does not mean it was swapped on and left there.
The Early 41-1's were only stamped model 41.
Nice find on the conversion kit, they used to sell for $1000.00, and now are nearly double that, the slide stop is the toughest part to find, and spare mags are extremely nice to find at reasonable prices under what you could be paying for them.

 

[Hoosier45]

Thanks for the input and kind words everyone. I did check to make sure the Model 41 at the auction was in fact not a 41-1 or early potential .22 short 41. It was a .22lr 41 and the serial number was in the A115XXX range which I thought would be too late to be a factory .22 Short. Another peice of evidence is the small cardboard box that had the conversion kit parts in it, was a shipping box from Smith and Wesson to the gentleman from 1987, so I assume this is when he received the kit or parts from S&W, kinda cool having a dated and addressed box with the kit! I test fired 5 rounds last night and it functioned perfectly and the slide stop worked correctly on the last round. Just need to find .22 short ammo...

I didn't know the kits were quite that vauable, but I'm planning on keeping it since I'm only 25 yrs of age and hopefully have a long lifetime to enjoy it. I also made an honest but uneducated offer on the magazines based upon what I thought they might be worth, and I have to admit I'm a little guilty/surprised how expensive the short magazines are after searching online... $150-300 each!
Regards,
Beau

 

[gwpercle]

Awesome find.....getting lucky is so much fun!

Now if you can get lucky again and find 22 short ammo! I can't remember the last time I bought that stuff.
Gary

 

[Barrie]

Good for you. I hope you enjoy this kit for many years to come. Even if you have trouble finding the short ammo you can always convert your 41 back to shoot Long rifle which should work well in it also. They do prefer CCI SV if you can find it in your area.

 

[hoc9sw]

Academy has been getting .22 short on a pretty regular basis.

 

[Aussie Collector]

There is a lot if incorrect information, rumors and stories that exist for this Model. I encouraged owners and collectors to check and recheck any information or advice given, including mine.

A115XXX is not a too high serial number, in fact 41-1’s around this serial range is what I consider as the 6th type of 41-1. The numbers manufactured are very low and I see it as one of the rarest types however they do exist. One type I do not have yet.

Now the date of 1987 is a little late. S&W did ship a few 41-1s in 1986 these being guns made 10 years earlier. However I’m not aware of any short kits that late, all indications are that the short kits were last used up in 1976.

As per the first line check information or this model and the parts, what I have written are my thoughts on this, and I could be wrong. Regardless you have a great addition to any Model 41 collection or shooting kit, enjoy.

 

[Hoosier45]

Thanks Aussie Collector. I assessed the model 41 onsite and assumed that an A115XXX range model would likely be marked with the "-1"? And the fact that the 41 was in its box with .22lr barrel and parts installed, and the extra .22lr bull barrel suggested to me he had a standard .41 and later bought the conversion kit. The parts box from Smith and Wesson dated to 1987 will remain a mystery then. Although the box did contain two .22 short magazines and one .22lr magazine. I have the contact information of the gentleman that bought the 41, he tried to sell it to me. Maybe I can get more info on the gun in the future or buy it off him. Either way it would have to get lettered to determine if it was a true 41 .22 Short pistol.

I have about 100 rounds of .22 short but should be able to track some down, but if I recall most ppl want $15-18 per box of 50 around here.

I will probably convert it back to .22lr and I have 1500 rounds of CCI SV for the 41, so I'm ready to shoot. I now understand why the 41 can become addictive. I now have my original 41 5" field barrel, a 5.5" inch bull barrel, and the .22 short kit... Need another 41 frame/lower so I have to setups!

 

[Aussie Collector]

Not a problem, we can only guess and presume and that’s where stuff becomes cloudy.

I should add that short kits were mostly sold with only one mag, all kits I have seen and own only have one anyway. The guns were sold with 2 (mostly), however you could always order spares.

It may be worth following up with the owner of the 41. Of the 41-1s in this range some were not marked with the “-1”, I would say half were half were not. The numbers produced were very low, few dozen at the very most. Some were shipped in Model 41 boxes with a model 41 parts list. This type is hard to distinguish however not impossible, also a factory letter sometimes is not definitive. Feel free to PM or email any questions you have.

A model 41 barrel in a 1987 marked box would most likely be either a 7” or 5 ½” HB. The 7” is not correct for the serial number you quote. So if the gun did have a 7” its not the original. S&W rule never say never, you could possibly have the last shipped .22 short kit.

Cheers