MY vintage M41 JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER

[chief38]

Back in 1979 I bought a brand new M41 with the 5.5" bull barrel. I did like it but never shot it as good as I though I would have. I shot it every month or so but never too much. Fast forward to about 10 years ago when I found a NIB Field Sport barrel for it. I actually paid more for the barrel than I paid for the gun brand new. That said, it is the BEST THING I ever did! It shaved off almost a half pound (which I do prefer) and the gun shoots like a precision instrument as long as I do my part. I used in bullseye competition for a few years up until we moved and shot very well with it. While I was the only guy on my team shooting with standard iron sights it was not a disadvantage for me.

After not shooting it for well over a year because I was busy with the new house, unpacking and shopping for new furnishings etc. I broke it out of the safe about two months ago to become reacquainted with it. Last Friday I shot 50 rounds and these are two of the targets. They were shot at 50 feet - indoors with CCI standard velocity 40 grain ammo. This pistol with the Sport / Field bbl. is a true great combo! While I would not sell the original bull bbl. it has not been back on the gun in 10 years - doubt I ever will put it back on as I not only think the lighter barrel is much better for me I also thing it is a bit more accurate - for whatever reason.

My experience has been that many M41's can be finicky, ammo sensitive and give their owners fits, I must say this particular example along with the Sport / Field barrel it the nuts!! Hums along without a hitch and is more accurate than I could ever be.

 

[Troystat]

I love my 41, it is an early 70's model and it is a joy to shoot and not finicky about ammo. Mine came with a 7.375 inch barrel and I have a newer heavy barrel and a field barrel they work well too.

 

[S2000]

I bought my Model 41 two years ago. This week I just sent it back to S&W for the fifth time. First time I sent it back was after less than 300 rounds through it, the magazines kept falling out. The second and third times it went back were for failure to eject issues 20% of the time. The fourth time ,a month ago more failure to eject and now failure to feed issues appeared. Got the gun back and put 400 rounds through it. I thought they finally got all the issues sorted out, but after taking the gun apart and cleaning it I could not get it to go together. The shop I bought it from couldn't assembly it either, the slide wouldn't go on and operate freely. On another note the LGS owner looked at the rear sight and said "your rear sight is way off center". I told him "that's where it has to be to shoot accurately". This gun is the worse purchase I've ever made.

 

[Drm50]

I don’t have my original m41 bought around 71-72. I knew nothing about them but was in a Target Pistol Mode. I had the heavy barrel, also the Browning Medalist, Colt Woodsman Match, several Hi-Standards and a Ruger MK-1. I got involved in pre 64 m70s and got rid of them all. Now I have several and my favorite is old 7 3/8” model. I have never had the 5” field barrel, which I would like to try. I have several 5.5”HBs but really don’t like the balance of them.

 

[44wheelman]

I’ve had all three bbl lengths on mine; the 5.5” shot best. I was surprised the 7.38” was the worst, would have thought the longer sight radius would have helped. Was kinda bummed, the 5” was pricey.

 

[USBP SW]

I purchased a late fifties vintage model 41 for the unholy sum of $120, including the box and docs. I don't ever remember having a single malfunction after tens of thousands of rounds. I have always been impressed with the accuracy potential of this pistol. Bear in mind that each pistol is different, even two otherwise identical pistols will exhibit different levels of accuracy. Some with longer barrels and a longer sight radius may not shoot as well as a short barreled pistol. I also found that the longer barreled pistol has a longer barrel time, especially with slower, standard velocity rounds (recommended for the model 41), any errors that I made in the trigger pull and follow through, were glaringly magnified on the target for all the world to see. I stopped embarrassing myself several years ago, when I gave up shooting competitively and now I enjoy just a little trigger time.

 

[Baxter6551]

Mine was an estate purchase from a co-workers Dads estate. The 5.5 barrel shoots great for me.

 

[Endall]

Mine is two years old. Runs great. Swapped the 7” for a 5 1/2 Clark threaded barrel. Like the balance better.
Mine fits TIGHT. Factory barrel was very tight lockup. The Clark barrel required a little fitting.

 

[Dave Haynes]

Mine is under #5,000 has been shot by a pistol team shooter thousands of times. It shows no battering of the breech and has had a lot of HV through it. The only time it gets finicky is when I let it get too dry. I like to use a lot of lubricant. I think a lot of problems people have with guns is caused by not lubricating well. These are machines, machines need lubrication.