Yes, it is unfortunate to see it go. I guess they just could not compete with the other .22 target pistols on the market at 1/3 the price. I love my vintage circa 1979 M41 and have shot it in competitions, practice sessions and just or fun for 46 years! It still runs and shoots like the day I bought it - maybe better! Not that I am saying the other brands and models are as well built, look better or are better pistols - it's just comes down to raw price that most people are willing to pony up for a .22 pistol.
I have recommended the Ruger Mark IV to many people over the last few years and they bought one along with a Volquartsen drop in target trigger kit which brought the entire package to about $650 or so. They could just not afford the almost $2K for a M41. For that money you get a reliable, very very accurate pistol with a 2 pound, glass break trigger pull. OK - the Ruger is a much cheaper metal frame gun and not nearly as finely finished however it will shoot just as well as a M41 as far as accuracy is concerned and comes with Ruger's great customer service. Spare magazines are readily available for about $20 bucks and they work flawlessly out of the package - unlike the spare mag's for the M41. After many years of production Ruger finally got their stuff together and made the Mark IV easy and quick to take down to clean - long overdue! The Ruger Mark IV is also a lot less ammo sensitive than our coveted M41's are - that's for sure! From what I have seen, while they like some ammo better than others as far as accuracy is concerned, they usually function just fine with almost any brand and weight rimfire 22 cartridge.
Most of the shooters I instruct are not really interested in any particular gun company, model or competing in shooting matches, they simply want to target shoot with a reliable, accurate and easy to maintain target pistol. The Mark IV fits that need without the need to spend close to $2K. In order for S&W to keep making the M41, it MUST be a superior pistol in all respects, including customer service, ease of buying and using new magazines and must do things better than the competition in order to justify triple the cost.
I suppose even though they are planning to discontinue the M41, if consumer demand warrants it, they can always bring it back like on a limited run basis as many gun company's usually do at some point after discontinuing a popular model. Quite honestly, I am actually surprised the M41 made it this far - mainly because of the ever increasing price and waning QC they have been shipped with.
That said, it was an exceptionally nice .22 target pistol, arguably the best in its day. Like anything else we buy - in order to command top dollar a company that makes it must provide the bests product to justify the price. I guess in today's market it did not at 3 times the price.
