Mod.41-?

[29-1]

I recently acquired this Model 41 in .22 Short. It is 16918 and probably shipped in 1959-60. I have a letter request in on it but thought I'd post it here on the forum to see what you pistol experts can tell me. I am generally clueless about autos. My interest is in the .44 Magnum revolver and in fact, was strong armed into buying this Model 41 in conjunction with a .44 Mag deal. That happens sometimes

I did not even realize it was in 22 short until I returned home with the .44 Mag. I noticed the slide is turning purple like on an old Ruger Flattop loading gate and is made of some type of alloy. It will not chamber a 22LR and the magazine will accept only 5 rounds. Is the serial number too early for it to have been shipped in 22 Short? I believe it might be a conversion kit gun but one of our resident experts, Tom Beckwith, says anything is possible with S&W. He's right about that so I'll just have to wait until the letter comes back to know for certain.
Regards
Chuck

 

[29-1]

I recently acquired this Model 41 in .22 Short. It is 16918 and probably shipped in 1959-60. I have a letter request in on it but thought I'd post it here on the forum to see what you pistol experts can tell me. I am generally clueless about autos. My interest is in the .44 Magnum revolver and in fact, was strong armed into buying this Model 41 in conjunction with a .44 Mag deal. That happens sometimes

I did not even realize it was in 22 short until I returned home with the .44 Mag. I noticed the slide is turning purple like on an old Ruger Flattop loading gate and is made of some type of alloy. It will not chamber a 22LR and the magazine will accept only 5 rounds. Is the serial number too early for it to have been shipped in 22 Short? I believe it might be a conversion kit gun but one of our resident experts, Tom Beckwith, says anything is possible with S&W. He's right about that so I'll just have to wait until the letter comes back to know for certain.
Regards
Chuck

 

[smithfan4152]

You never know, at least the box, is valuable in that condition, not to mention the value of the conversion unit.

 

[gunnerbern]

I bought a model 41 #18710 in Jan. 1960, .22 LR. I recall Smith and Wesson offering the .22 short version ostensibly for international rapid fire competition. There was also a three-piece barrel weight set available. In 30 years of competitve shooting, I've never seen one. My guess is it wasn't a commercial success and quickly disappeared from the scene. Probably a collector's item today.

 

[Gunhacker]

I would not think it was a conversion unit given that it has the factory box marked as a .22 Short. There were less than 1,000 41-1's produced, so it is a rare variant.

The M41-1 (and they were all not marked as a 41-1 on the frame) first came into being around the end of 1960. The slide is aluminum to compensate for the lower power of the .22 short to operate it.

Whoever strong armed you into buying it with .44 Mag... send them a thank you note. If it letters as genuine, the 41-1 .22 Short version is worth double the amount a Standard M41 .22LR goes for, according to the 3rd edition of Standard Catalog of S&W.

 

[29-1]

Thanks for the reply folks. I'll let you know how this plays out when I get the letter back. That may be a while though as Roy Jinks is backed up for several months with these.
Chuck

 

[Guest]

Chuck;

Nice catch! I do love the Model 41s and if yours actually comes back as an "Un-marked" -1 you'll be in very good condition. Actually, a simple phone call to the Factory 800 number should be be to tell you if the serial number fits a standard 41 or a 41-1. I'm just guessing but it would be my guess that unless the other end of the box has a label on it with 41-1 and the other normal markings on it then it is likely the wrong box for that vintage piece of History. The 41-1s were normally in a box with a cardboard cut-out and would also have the cut-outs for two magazines -- S&W didn't stop shipping with two magazine until the days of Slick Willy. So that is the way these guns were normally shipped. Also, this gun should have the "Muzzle Break" attached - especially if it shipped as a -1 gun. The piece on the end is called a "False Muzzle".

Roy is way behind on Letters so this one could take a pretty fair amount of time before it arrives. But, Good luck with your new "1/2 a .44"!!!

 

[22target]

Tom's comments on S&W s/n's is a good
reminder that while we can make useful
approximations correlating ship dates and s/n's
one never really knows for sure until the mailman arrives. I just lettered a 17000
series gun (1959 right?)that actually shipped in '62 so a -1 with that early a s/n while unusual, is possible.
Is it stamped -1? Is the slide aluminum?
Does the box have an end label or is the s/n
marked in grease pencil on the bottom of the
box?S&W didn't like to throw boxes away so there are exceptions here too. Looks like it could be right and you
might have one of the earliest -1's. Either way
you have a nice 41! Keep us posted !
Regards
22target

 

[kpendleton]

Did you ever received the letter on this gun?

 

[smithfan4152]

sometimes they can't tell if you have a 41-1 as they did not keep good enough records when guns were modified after being made, before shipping.
I have a model 41-1 A prefix A suffix, that lettered as a model 41, but it did state in the letter that they could not tell if it had been changed to the 22 short before leaving the factory without the original invoice.
So out of 1000 made, they can't letter them all.
My other 41-1 clearly stamped, came back as a model 46, shipped to the US Army, one of 300 shipped to them. But it clearly is a model 41 frame, not a 46, nor does it have any military markings (stampings) anywhere. To me I have 2 41-1s.

 

[JacMac]

New member, so late on this one. You have a ISU, international shooting union, gun S&W made for Olympic shooting. Nice find.

 

[29-1]

JacMac, can you tell me more about the ISU guns and how/why this one fits the description?
Thnaks
Chuck