S&W Model 41 Reliability

[OldRN]

I have hesitated buying a model 41 because of the many reports I see and read about their level of reliability . There's very little more frustrating to me than spending good $$ on a firearm...particularly one that would be considered a premium firearm ...and having reliability issues with it.
Any owners on the forum care to share their experiences ...good and bad with the Model 41 .

I have had one for over 40 years and it has never been a problem or needed smithing. I’m inclined to think, that there are so many 41’s out there, that the people with issues discuss them more than the 41 owners that have not.

 

[xb40]

I haven’t seen it mentioned but the magazines need to be worked to prevent chambering problems. If you get them right the gun will function properly. Clean the gun, find the preferred ammo, very few problems.

 

[chief38]

I own a vintage M41 that I bought brand new back in 1979 or so. It is 100% reliable with CCI standard velocity ammo. I have use that gun in competition for 4+ decades and still shoot it a lot - still perfectly reliable. The only FTF is a "dud" and with the CCI ammo that happens very infrequently.

That said, I will not tell you that every M41 (out of the box) is that way. I have heard many horror stories right here on this forum over the years. For the money they cost they should be shot 100 rounds to insure that! I have 5 or 6 friends that own M41's and they all seem to work just fine. My friends and I all own older model 41's which I believe are the better made ones by a long shot. Some here have bought newer models and they seem like a mixed bag to me.

 

[bph9]

I have never had a problem with my M41. I feed it quality ammo and keep it clean and lubricated with Breakfree CLP. If I remember correctly mine was made in the year 2000. The question is would I buy a new M41 made today. Answer is no.

Still if you are worried about buying one of the newer M41's you can buy a Ruger and put a Volquartsen trigger in it and even shoot garbage ammo out of it with no jams. I bought one of the Ruger MK IV 75th Anniversary pistols and did just that. I have two other Ruger .22 pistols both MK III's with target custom triggers and I can and do shoot any ammo out of them with no problems.

 

[ms]

Several folks I know that shoot competitively have early model 41s and have told me that as long as they rigorously clean and lube them and use quality ammo they rarely have problems and when they do it's usually ammo related.
My S&W 442 is much the same and though it will cycle about any ammo it loves everything made by Eley.

442 is a J frame 38.

 

[Troystat]

Mine is an early 70’s model and I shoot it at an informal match. The round count in mine is well over 15k rounds and it rarely gives me any grief with any type of ammo. I shoot CCI SV because of the cost and at 25 yards it is more than accurate enough. Mine seems to shoot well with any ammo that I have tried. I clean mine every 500 rounds or so.

 

[Tabby Lynn]

I have hesitated buying a model 41 because of the many reports I see and read about their level of reliability . There's very little more frustrating to me than spending good $$ on a firearm...particularly one that would be considered a premium firearm ...and having reliability issues with it.
Any owners on the forum care to share their experiences ...good and bad with the Model 41 .

I own and have used my Model 41 for student training, personal practice, and competition for many years and many thousands of rounds. During all this time the Model 41 has performed flawlessly with the only issues being ammo related. It is extremely accurate and for the most part is not all that fussy about the cannon fodder that you feed it. It is extremely easy to take apart and clean, and cleanliness means reliability. Like any fine piece of equipment it performs best when cleaned and properly lubed. All in all it is a superb pistol that works well and does what it was intended to do, shoot accurately. Treat it right and it will take care of you.

 

[Themistocles]

442 is a J frame 38.

Pretty sure they meant 422, Great pistol slotted in below the 41. accurate and reliable so long as it is clean, 200-300 rounds and it starts to get a few jams.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Mine is reliable with HV CCI (have a buffer), but much less so with Federal bulk. Mine shoots well with both barrrels (a faux 'field barrel' and a heavy barrel).
Moon

 

[mdymkoski]

I have hesitated buying a model 41 because of the many reports I see and read about their level of reliability . There's very little more frustrating to me than spending good $$ on a firearm...particularly one that would be considered a premium firearm ...and having reliability issues with it.
Any owners on the forum care to share their experiences ...good and bad with the Model 41 .

I’ve found that by putting a few drops of lube on a rag snd rolling a handful of rounds around in it to put a film of lube on the brass, my extraction failures disappear.

 

[Doriangray6]

442 is a J frame 38.

My bad. I meant my 422.

 

[Dave Haynes]

Ever look at a vintage box of SuperX Winchester .22? I'm talking about 50+ year old stuff that says "Range 1 mile be careful" on the flaps of the box. Those bullets are beautiful, sharp edges nice well made stuff. Today the 22 is sold in loose boxes, dumped and the box sealed. The highest quality gets into 100 rd plastic strips where you can bet that the rounds are dumped onto the plastic pit and rattled around until every hole has a round in it. Point being that the product isn't valued enough to handle it and make sure it is as close to perfect as can be done. In the old days there were almost no duds I can't recall ever having one on the shorts that we could afford at ,52 cents a box as kids. Take that and mix it with a firearm that is put together on an assemble line like a water pump using tap hammers and pins where the ultimate goal is "Snap", and problems are waiting to happen. The only remedy is to make the firearm wet. On a 41 put some grease on the bottom of the slide and in the rails. Keep it clean and wet, break it in with regular 22 LR and see what happens. Use light oil on everything else. After a brick or two then see how it does. Don't look for the SV CCI to solve an assembly problem.

 

[Neumann]

I don't own a 41, but I have a similar experience with an High Standard of that era. Once totally reliable with any ammunition, not only CCI works consistently. The difference seems to be quality of the ammunition, mainly due to excess lubricant on the bullet and casing. CCI ammo is perfectly clean out of the box. It may be a bit hot for the metallurgy in a target pistol, but I've had no problems or observed any battering.

 

[Neumann]

Ever look at a vintage box of SuperX Winchester .22? I'm talking about 50+ year old stuff that says "Range 1 mile be careful" on the flaps of the box. Those bullets are beautiful, sharp edges nice well made stuff. Today the 22 is sold in loose boxes, dumped and the box sealed. The highest quality gets into 100 rd plastic strips where you can bet that the rounds are dumped onto the plastic pit and rattled around until every hole has a round in it. Point being that the product isn't valued enough to handle it and make sure it is as close to perfect as can be done. In the old days there were almost no duds I can't recall ever having one on the shorts that we could afford at ,52 cents a box as kids. Take that and mix it with a firearm that is put together on an assemble line like a water pump using tap hammers and pins where the ultimate goal is "Snap", and problems are waiting to happen. The only remedy is to make the firearm wet. On a 41 put some grease on the bottom of the slide and in the rails. Keep it clean and wet, break it in with regular 22 LR and see what happens. Use light oil on everything else. After a brick or two then see how it does. Don't look for the SV CCI to solve an assembly problem.

A thin layer of grease topped with a light gun oil works very well.

 

[wproct]

I will give my experience with the Model 41. I've been owning and shooting guns for about 60 years. I had looked and dreamed of owning a Model 41 for a long time. I finally bought my first one, a new one, around 1982, and it ran perfect right out of the box, anything that I fed it. I have had an affliction all my life of constantly buying, selling, and trading guns. So, over the years I have probably owned 4 different model 41's, and my experience has been exactly the same with each one. My last one was manufactured in 2007, it was new enough that it had a more dull matte finish, and laminated grips, but it performed exactly like the ones I had owned before it. So, here I am, many years later, and I currently don't own a Model 41, and at the age of 80 I probably won't, but my experience is that I just haven't had a problem with any of them. Keep them clean and oiled, and they run like the proverbial timex watch.

 

[Narragansett]

I recently got a 7" model from 1978. I took it to the range the other day with CCI mini mags 36gr, and it functioned quite well. I had 2 issues, and I attribute them to the magazine. I have cleaned 2 of the mags, and they were very gritty and dirty inside. Also, there was a fair amount of caked bullet lube on the sidewalls of the mags. I called Wolff springs to get new springs, and they do not have them for a 41. Big surprise!! So I will get some factory springs. I have 2 other mags that appear to be non serviceable. I guess I will just soak them and then use brake cleaner and compressed air?

All in all, I am quite happy, but I would not buy anything that comes from the performance center. The PC label is a marketing tool. The vision of experienced gunsmiths sitting at benches and hand fitting your next purchase is just that, a vision.

 

[Tabby Lynn]

I have hesitated buying a model 41 because of the many reports I see and read about their level of reliability . There's very little more frustrating to me than spending good $$ on a firearm...particularly one that would be considered a premium firearm ...and having reliability issues with it.
Any owners on the forum care to share their experiences ...good and bad with the Model 41 .

I have a Model 41 and have been shooting it trouble-free for many years. Like any other piece of fine machinery, it requires care and cleaning, which many people are too lazy to take care of. The S&W 41 cannot be ignored and then be expected to function properly. Many then complain about the pistol, which is actually blameless when it malfunctions because of shoddy or no maintenance. Clean and lube your Model 41 after each match, or if you don't shoot competition after each shooting session. The extremely tight tolerances that the Model 41s are built to do not accept mediocrity in maintenance.

 

[mikede]

I have one from the early 90 ‘ s no issues . Just use standard CCI ammo ! Runs like a champ !