.41 mag qestions

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I have had my 4" M-57 for years. The 41 Magnum was sort of a revolver version of the 10MM Auto, it was meant to fill that elusive "caliber gap'-whatever THAT is. Because of
either marketing failures or people simply misunderstanding the niche the round was supposed to fill, it never achieved wide acceptance. Jeff Cooper told the story of one PD that adopted it but used full power ammunition that made training difficult, he also mentioned that some smaller police recruits found the N-Frame too large to grip properly. Bill Jordan had huge hands but he persuaded S&W to develop what became the M-19. And like him, I do not find S&w target grips comfortable-I have Herrett's on mine. Since recoil is a very subjective thing saying it has "15-20% less" recoil than the 44 Magnum really doesn't mean much.
I have found it a very easy cartridge to reload, I confess I have gotten away from reloading
but I recall lead bullets were somewhat scarce, when I found them I bought as many boxes as I could. "Someday" I will get a Marlin 1894 in 41 Magnum.

 

[lafayne]

I can't speak from S&W experience regarding the .41. My only .41 is the Ruger Acusport 5.5 inch s.s. Bisley and it is one of my favorite revolvers. I think I now have four Bisleys with Alan Harton triggers and a few other tricks.

If you are a handloader, the .41 is made to order. Everything I have stuffed in mine shoots great. With a good .41, I could be happy without a .257 or .44 mag.

 

[Roadranger]

41 magnum

I've been shooting the 41 magnum since it's introduction in the mid sixties. As a teenager, one of my friend's Dad had a 6.5" Ruger Blackhawk and of course, cast bullets and handloaded for it. My current crop of 41's include a Ruger 7.5" Bisley, a 4" Nickel M57, a 4" Blue M57 Mountain Gun, a 4" M657 SS Mountain Gun, a 4" M357 AirLite, a 6" Blue M57, a pair of 6" M657, and an 8.375" nickel M57. Of course I handload, and usually shoot a 225 Keith/Lyman SWC with 8 gr. TrailBoss. The aforementioned Speer 210 Gold Dot would get the nod for a factory load. As previously mentioned, the 41 magnum thrives on handloads. I've got 44's, 45's, and a bunch of 357's and just got a Ruger SR in 480 with 9.5" barrel. I handload for all of them, so at least I can shoot frequently. To answer the jest of the thread, the 41 magnum with the big Keith bullet over powers any thing the 357 has and is in the same ballpark as the big 44. Bob