Mod. 41 is not accurate.

[billglausier]

This pistol is not bullseye competition accurate. I have the 6 inch bbl. and shoot match ammunition in it. Eley, Lapua, Wolf match target/extra, and SK match. No hv and nothing works.
I have shot this thing from a sand bag rest with no good results. Yes, it is clean, the trigger is 2-3 lbs. and all seems ok with the pistol. Oh, I am not New to shooting a pistol.
The pistol came to me from a member of our state pistol team
That won it in a competition. No work has been done on the pistol.
I had been shooting a Ruger Government Target model when I got the 41. Sorry to say, but the Ruger out shoots that 41. Very disappointed. Should I send this thing back to the factory or sell it?? I gave the Ruger to my son, so I need a gun to compete with. Any answers out there?

 

[Retired LTC USAR]

Did you clean the barrel before shooting it? Have you let someone else shoot it to see how it groups for them? How does the crown and bore look?

 

[Joe Hohmann]

I've had my 41 for 20 years. The one drawback is that it makes targets hard to score...the bullets in the center go through previous holes. Were those shots 10s or 9s?

 

[Bullet Bob]

If I were you, I'd sell it. It's probably within factory specifications, so if you're not happy with it, let it go.

Welcome to the forum by the way.

 

[stu1ritter]

Call S&W Customer Service and discuss it with them.

Stu

 

[Homie]

Whose 6" barrel is it? Not factory. How old is the gun (#)? Have the previous owner shoot it if he is good enough for the state team- Buyer beware?

 

[Protocall_Design]

If the barrel is cleaned well, check the muzzle crown. A bad crown can ruin groups from an otherwise good barrel.

 

[shovelwrench]

What size groups are you getting??

Have you tried CCI standard velocity? Its the ONLY ammo that mine shoots exceptionally well!!

 

[shawn mccarver]

Six inch?

I thought the M41 only came in 5 inch and 7 1/2 inch. Where did you get a 6 inch barrel? Is it after market? Or did someone modify a factory barrel? Perhaps that is the issue?

 

[colt_saa]

Welcome to the Forum

Plenty of good ideas so far.

Since you are already a shooter, I would guess that you clenaed the barrel and checked for leading.

I would certainly be interested in knowing how it shot for the previous owner.

As I am sure you already know, auto loader barrels are measured from the back of the chamber to the muzzle. I presume the 6" figure was a guesstimate and not a measurement.

As already mentioned, the Model 41 was not offered from the factory with a 6" barrel. The factory barrel lengths were 5", 5 1/2", 7" and 7 3/8"

If this is a NEW firearm and not one the previous owner received used, I would certainly ask Smith and Wesson what kine of accuracy you should expect and if yours is not providing that to you and the other shooters that have tried it, then I would send it in.

Both of my Model 41s shoot one ragged hole. They do prefer different ammunition. The majority of the 41s I know of shoot very well with the Standard Velocity CCIs.

 

[Huskerhunter]

Lot's of good advice here!

might just be a terrible example of a 41. I'd sell it for $400. Let me know if you need a buyer.

 

[RILEY31]

I had a model 41 that the crown was bad on, I put another barrel on it and now it is a tack driver.Check the crown

 

[Engineer1911]

I am on my THIRD case of 5,000 rounds of CCI Blazer ammo shooting through my two model 41s. The Blazers are clean, accurate and affordable. Muzzle velocity is 950 fps to 1025 fps in my M41.

The Blazers are also accurate in 5 other firearms. I can't argue with satisfactory results achieved with affordable ammo.

 

[uspatentkid]

First off take it to a competent gunsmith and have him check the crown. No need to rebarrel if both can be cut to proper spec. again. The crown can be checked with a lamp light over the barrel and a q-tip. With plenty of light place a q-tip into the crown with the breech open or removed. Check that all the lands are sharp and exit the barrel at the same time. They must be sharp at the muzzle and even. This is something you can easily check. If your crown is damaged it can be recut by an experianced gunsmith. Good luck

 

[ontargetagain]

Does your very first shot to always seem to be on target?
Karl

 

[Backlighting]

I had a 41 yrs ago and sold it after a short time. Didn't group well for me.
Now I use a Buckmark Camper for plinking. Extremely accurate, well made and 1/2 the price of what I paid for the 41.

 

[chief38]

I find the BEST and most accurate ammo for my M41 is CCI standard velocity 40 grain. Federal's 40 grain offering is excellent as well.

I've STILL got at least a dozen different boxes and types of ELEY Target grade ammo and have never been impressed with it. I find it is way less accurate for me than the CCI.

While I do not buy Remington ammo any longer I still have a few boxes of their 40 grain target ammo in the 100 round plastic slide boxes that seems to work well in the M41 also. I have no idea if Remington's current production is any good as my limited supply is at least 30 years old.

A good cleaning with a Brownell's Special Line Bore Brush and some Hoppes (assuming the bluing is the older standard type) can only help. The other thing is to have a known excellent Marksman shoot your gun for groupings and see how he does. Try the CCI Std. Vel. 40 grain ammo!