Model 41 Muzzle Brakes

[civil1977]

At the request of Tom Beckwith I measured two of my Model 41 muzzle brakes. The long one is 1.503" and the short one is 1.367". I have several of the short ones and they are all in the 1.366-1.368" range. I recall another forum member stated that the longer brakes were the older, original version but I can't verify that.

Long brake:



Short brake:



Side by side:



Lined up:



And here's how they mount over the 3/8" barrel nub on the 7 3/8" barrels. You can also see how the internal weight installs in the 7 3/8" barrels.

 

[Homie]

Civil,
The shorter one is on my '71 gun that I know is original. All your photos are a great asset to M41 owners-Thanks!

 

[gobbler]

civil1977. The the screws that attach the brake to the internal weight appear to be brass or brass colored in your picture. To your knowledge were any of these screws bright/shiny steel or maybe aluminum?

 

[Aussie Collector]

model 41 brake history

The longer brake dates from 1957 to 1960/61. 1960/61 the shorter brake after the release was the only brake attached to the model 41-1s, real early 41-1s can be found with the longer brake. The Model 41 continued to be fitted with both the longer brake and slowly more and more were seen with the shorter brake up to around 1965 when prominently the shorter brake was used. I speculate that any gun fitted with a longer brake after 1970 is not original more likely the date is closer to 1966.

I had some information in this post.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-...ols/315970-model-41-1-hypothesis-failure.html

I'm not sure how competitions are run in the US, here in Australia all guns are checked for compliance to the competition rules (ISSF). One check is the box check where the gun must fit in a box with the dimensions of 300mm x 150mm by 50mm high. Trying to get a model 41 fitted with the longer brake can (and most likely will) result in cracking the stock, or braking a small piece off the lower back. So a WARNING do not place an older gun in these boxes.

I will speculate this box check was the reason for the change in the brake length. Longer brakes in S&W inventories were not wasted and used up on the model 41 (not the 41-1) till all gone.

Cheers

 

[civil1977]

civil1977. The the screws that attach the brake to the internal weight appear to be brass or brass colored in your picture. To your knowledge were any of these screws bright/shiny steel or maybe aluminum?

Must be the lighting or the lack of bluing on the screws. They are blued carbon steel.

 

[Aussie Collector]

Do you guys in the US have to pass the "box" test for some competitions?

At a club level it might not occur however at larger more serious comps is when the box will come out. I know for sure the box test was used in the US for the Model 41-1 in "Rapid Fire" as this is a competition controlled by ISSF (formally UIT).

 

[Tinks 69]

I need one of those screws, could you tell me what size and length they are? If possible where could I get one.

 

[civil1977]

I suggest contacting Tom Beckwith on this forum. He should have the screw you need.

 

[Aussie Collector]

If you cannot get one, the thread is 5 - 40. Take the brake and barrel weight to a nuts and bolt shop they should be able to help.

 

[colt_saa]

I never realized there were two different lengths. Now I have to go and measure both of mine

 

[BruceB]

A short aside - I'm totally tickled that this whole thread has 'brake' spelled correctly, no sign of 'breaks' here

 

[Barrie]

That just shows what smart folks we have as members on here. They have good language skills.