You know you're getting old when you find a gun in the safe that you didn't know you had. With a little memory ransacking and paperwork inspection I realized that I had bought this one a few years back from the range where I usually shoot.
The A-prefix serial number dates it to the late '70s. [ADDENDUM: I am informed that this pistol actually shipped in June 1980] The box label has the same serial number but makes no mention of the 5.5" barrel; this was sold as a 7" pistol. There is a separate small sticker with the printed code 1950, but I haven't found that as a kit or package code for a two-barrel sales unit. Also, the foam liner looks too good for 40 years old. I wonder if the shorter barrel was a later purchase along with a foam insert that would let both the pistol and the alternate barrel reside comfortably in the original box. No tools or paper came with the package when I picked it up.
I don't think I ever fired this. I should get to the range soon and try it out. I have long heard that 41s can be finicky until a few hundred rounds have gone through them, and I appreciate all the info in the current thread about ammunition preferences, chamber smoothing, and alternate spring sets for problem specimens. I like the weight of the pistol in my hand, and I look forward to comparing its performance to a Ruger Mk III target and a Colt MT (second model, 1949) that are also in my safe.
The A-prefix serial number dates it to the late '70s. [ADDENDUM: I am informed that this pistol actually shipped in June 1980] The box label has the same serial number but makes no mention of the 5.5" barrel; this was sold as a 7" pistol. There is a separate small sticker with the printed code 1950, but I haven't found that as a kit or package code for a two-barrel sales unit. Also, the foam liner looks too good for 40 years old. I wonder if the shorter barrel was a later purchase along with a foam insert that would let both the pistol and the alternate barrel reside comfortably in the original box. No tools or paper came with the package when I picked it up.
I don't think I ever fired this. I should get to the range soon and try it out. I have long heard that 41s can be finicky until a few hundred rounds have gone through them, and I appreciate all the info in the current thread about ammunition preferences, chamber smoothing, and alternate spring sets for problem specimens. I like the weight of the pistol in my hand, and I look forward to comparing its performance to a Ruger Mk III target and a Colt MT (second model, 1949) that are also in my safe.
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