Model 41 not ejecting empty case

[Kateh]

I recently purchased a secondhand model 41 from my pistol club (in Australia) and I am constantly having problems with it not ejecting the spent case and sometimes causing stove pipe. I am using CCI sv and have cleaned it very thoughly when I first got it plus after each time it has been used. I have tried some other ammo with mixed results. I have read about changing spring, I'm not sure if it has original one still but it is very firm and has been cut shorter. It is very hard to get parts here in Australia as we can not import them ourselves so a spring swap is not an easy option. Any ideas would be great.
I have since sourced a new genuine spring but the problems are still the same.

 

[Jeppo]

What lube are you using?

 

[BE Mike]

You can always try putting a drop of oil on the top of the first round in each magazine. It is an old bullseye competitor's trick.

 

[Exaviator]

G'Day Kateh, try using CCI Stinger ammo, it has a bit more power at 1450fps, and should overcome the heavy spring.

 

[chief38]

The two suggestions I'd make (if at all possible) is to buy a set of springs that vary in weight from 6.5 lbs. to 8 pounds and see what works best. The second suggestion would be to get a new extractor from Volquartsen. They make a better quality extractor than the original made by S&W and usually work much better. Many times they fix the issue all together.

I understand because of where you live, political issues and laws you can not get parts from the USA. I do not know how you can accomplish getting new parts but that will be something you must work out. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

[kscharlie]

I would not recommend shooting any hyper velocity ammo like Stingers in your Model 41. There is no reason to batter the slide. The Model 41 was designed to shoot SV ammo. If your spring has been cut, you really do need to find a replacement spring.

I had a good friend quite a few years ago who was a high ranking Bullseye shooter. He built two Ruger .22 target pistols for my two sons. I was shooting (and still have) a Model 41. His advice for stove pipes was to "shoot the guns wet", meaning to use plenty of high quality oil on the slides. If the oil isn't dripping off the slides, add more. In my experience, this worked any time that multiple stove pipes occurred. You might give it a try.

 

[barbsaurus]

Just a suggestion based on my experience. I have had failure to eject, failure to feed and general fussiness regardless of ammo type in my 41s, 46s and 2206s. However, I found all are finicky with some magazines I use. The older S&W branded magazines seem to function much better than the newer S&W magazines. I have examined the mags but see no differences. If you have spare mags that work well in one, try swapping the mags.

 

[Jim Watson]

Brownells Australia carries Wolff springs.
Ask if they have or will get M41 recoil springs.
Look for instructions here on which way up to install M41 springs.

WOLFF Products for Sale - Buy Online Australia

 

[Dave Lively]

I have tried some other ammo with mixed results.

By mixed results do you mean at least one of the other ammo worked well? If you do than using that ammo is the obvious solution.

While CCI SV is usually very accurate and works well in the majority of model 41s, it isn't reliable in all of them. I wasted a lot of time trying to get it to work reliably in my 41 but it never did. So I now shoot CCI MiniMags or Blazer through it which are reliable. They may be a little less accurate but not enough make continuing to try to making CCI SV reliable to be worth my time.

 

[Exaviator]

"Brownells Australia carries Wolff springs."



The only problem is, that website has been closed...

 

[10cats]

same problem

Just a suggestion based on my experience. I have had failure to eject, failure to feed and general fussiness regardless of ammo type in my 41s, 46s and 2206s. However, I found all are finicky with some magazines I use. The older S&W branded magazines seem to function much better than the newer S&W magazines. I have examined the mags but see no differences. If you have spare mags that work well in one, try swapping the mags.

the magazine that came with my 60s vintage 41 works fine. Its the new one that I have problems with. norma and rws ammo have oil on them and do not function in my 41.

 

[Jim Watson]

"Brownells Australia carries Wolff springs."



The only problem is, that website has been closed...

Well, darn.