The only time I've ever seen a .41 Magnum on movie/tv
- Thread starter Doug.38PR
- Start date
actually, my father and I met Officer Ramiro Martinez a few years ago at a gun show in Houston. He went on to be a Texas Ranger and a Judge. had a very good career.
He told us that S&W .38 M-10 and shotgun took down Charles Whitman (the sniper). He also told us, some things you have to take with a grain of salt....with that movie, you should take it with A LOT of salt.
I believe it was the San Antonio police, not Austin, that issued the Model 58.
As for Deadly Tower..officer martinez sued the movie people and, if I remember right, settled out of court for the way he and his wife were depicted personally. The movie depicts crazy gun toting Texans. The real Officer Martinez credited those brave civilians with guns for saving lives by keeping Whitman pinned down.
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gkitch
Member
Jack Webb
Jack Webb was very pro-cop and produced Adam12, Dragnet, and others. He was detail oriented and worked very closely with the LAPD big wigs on following real crime stories closely. Of course, then as now, the big city police depts were headed by political appointees with political agendas. These were the depts that banned "dum-dum" bullets as they smacked of police brutality. Sad that Webb bought into the foolishness and participated in the propaganda.
Jack Webb was very pro-cop and produced Adam12, Dragnet, and others. He was detail oriented and worked very closely with the LAPD big wigs on following real crime stories closely. Of course, then as now, the big city police depts were headed by political appointees with political agendas. These were the depts that banned "dum-dum" bullets as they smacked of police brutality. Sad that Webb bought into the foolishness and participated in the propaganda.
Yes,
The 9MM Magnum (9x29) was developed by Winchester for the AMT Automag III. T/C also produced barrels.
Brass is still available from Starline.
I recall Don Galloway with a 4 inch 29/57 in one - and only one - episode of Ironside which I took to be a nod to the SFPD partial adoption of the .41.
Give credit to one pro-gun moment in the Adam-12 episode where the unknown dead body found in a park turned out to be an armed robber shot by a store owner. Surprisingly there was absolutely no criticism of the citizen shooter. (Normally PC Law & Order had a similar episode too.)
Give credit to one pro-gun moment in the Adam-12 episode where the unknown dead body found in a park turned out to be an armed robber shot by a store owner. Surprisingly there was absolutely no criticism of the citizen shooter. (Normally PC Law & Order had a similar episode too.)
BUFF
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
"Well I don't know about .41 Mag, but .38 Special had hollow points available."
I started shooting and handloading the .41 Magnum in 1976 or so. The only ammunition loaded by the big makers for it then was the 210 grain lead reduced load (about 950 fps) and the 210 grain jacketed soft point full power load (about 1,400 fps), both made and sold by Remington and Winchester. If you wanted 210 grain hollowpoints, you loaded your own. I liked the Sierra JHC (jacked hollow cup, their term) and the Hornaday JHP bullets in .41, but mostly cast and shot my own lead semiwadcutters.
The first jacketed hollowpoint .41 Mag factory loading was Federal's, which arrived in the early 1980's. Winchester's Silvertips came along shortly after that.
Winchester's first .41 Mag 210 grain "JHP" load was just their regular soft point bullet with a very small dimple punched in the end of the exposed lead! It was pretty comical and performed the same as their soft point, by my experience and others'.
The .41 Mag probably wasn't written into TV and movie scripts because the .44 Magnum had a more over-powering, brutal, blood-thirsty image and was already somewhat known about by the public.
There were jacketed hollow point loadings available in other pistol cartridges well before this, of course, such as .38 Special, .357 Magnum and 9 X 19 mm.
The designation +P or Plus-P didn't become defined by SAAMI (Small Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute) until the late 1970's, I believe, and originally in .38 Special. Several makers loaded higher-than-normal velocity ammo before this, notably Super-Vel and Norma, without much discussion of higher pressures. Norma's 110 grain jhp .38 Special was initially touted as being loaded to standard pressures yet with higher velocities, using supposedly special powder. Norma was somewhat red-faced when SAAMI adopted +P standards, began testing and found that Norma load was well into SAAAMI's +P range. They immediately began so marking it.
I started shooting and handloading the .41 Magnum in 1976 or so. The only ammunition loaded by the big makers for it then was the 210 grain lead reduced load (about 950 fps) and the 210 grain jacketed soft point full power load (about 1,400 fps), both made and sold by Remington and Winchester. If you wanted 210 grain hollowpoints, you loaded your own. I liked the Sierra JHC (jacked hollow cup, their term) and the Hornaday JHP bullets in .41, but mostly cast and shot my own lead semiwadcutters.
The first jacketed hollowpoint .41 Mag factory loading was Federal's, which arrived in the early 1980's. Winchester's Silvertips came along shortly after that.
Winchester's first .41 Mag 210 grain "JHP" load was just their regular soft point bullet with a very small dimple punched in the end of the exposed lead! It was pretty comical and performed the same as their soft point, by my experience and others'.
The .41 Mag probably wasn't written into TV and movie scripts because the .44 Magnum had a more over-powering, brutal, blood-thirsty image and was already somewhat known about by the public.
There were jacketed hollow point loadings available in other pistol cartridges well before this, of course, such as .38 Special, .357 Magnum and 9 X 19 mm.
The designation +P or Plus-P didn't become defined by SAAMI (Small Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute) until the late 1970's, I believe, and originally in .38 Special. Several makers loaded higher-than-normal velocity ammo before this, notably Super-Vel and Norma, without much discussion of higher pressures. Norma's 110 grain jhp .38 Special was initially touted as being loaded to standard pressures yet with higher velocities, using supposedly special powder. Norma was somewhat red-faced when SAAMI adopted +P standards, began testing and found that Norma load was well into SAAAMI's +P range. They immediately began so marking it.
gruntdeputy
Member
Doug.38PR,
The one and only time that I saw the move was on a Sunday afternoon in 1977 while I was attending the Sheriff's Academy. We all know the liberties taken by the entertainment industry, being that they are the "entertainment industry" and not the "truth industry." Thanks for correcting me on the model of Martinez's sidearm. He was always one of my heroes; he did what had to be done and did it on his own initiative. I need to track down his book, They Call Me Ranger Ray.
I do recall that the police department had no rifles, nothing bigger than a 12 gauge shotgun, and that they relied on the citizens with hunting rifles who just showed up at the tower.
Frank
Whay if Dirty Harry Callahan carried a .41mag instead of the .44?
"Since this is a .41 magnum, not quite the most powerful handgun in the world, and even though it won't blow your head clean off, it's still gonna make a helluva mess. You have to ask yourself, "Do I feel lucky?"
"Since this is a .41 magnum, not quite the most powerful handgun in the world, and even though it won't blow your head clean off, it's still gonna make a helluva mess. You have to ask yourself, "Do I feel lucky?"
getoff
Member
its to bad the .41 never made it to the mainstream media/movie industry. i love my 57 ( got from a member in trade ). i will never let this one go! it would be a perfect bad guy gun. chrome, big bore, mean looking... maybe i need to make a movie.
I'm thinking of the one with the kidnapped heiress -- Patty Hearst type case. I would expect most L&O to go the way you remember.
And I got a signed copy of that book when I met Officer Martinez. Very good book. He wasn't alone either. Another officer named Houston McCoy was with him (he had the shotgun I believe) and there was also a armed civilian with them when they took out Whitman at the top of the tower.
I watched the Adam12 episode "the chaser" just the other night on dvd again after posting this thread....never could get a good enough look at the gun. They'd keep pulling it out of Bruce Gordan's holster and their body's or their hands would be in the way. I couldn't even see if it had fixed or adjustable sights. Just that it had wooden grips and was blued.
What are the odds they just grabbed a prop room gun and said it was ".41 Magnum" for he show.
Reed and Malloy walk up and disarm the guy. Malloy says ".41 Magnum hollow points....what are you hunting fella? Grizzly bears?" ohhhhhh how dangerous
What are the odds they just grabbed a prop room gun and said it was ".41 Magnum" for he show.
Reed and Malloy walk up and disarm the guy. Malloy says ".41 Magnum hollow points....what are you hunting fella? Grizzly bears?" ohhhhhh how dangerous
I can't remember that one offhand. Dad and mom probably would. They know them by heart.
Jack McCoy is such a liberal wimp. everytime there's a citizen with a gun it means "We can't let them be armed. We'd have a bunch of rambos on the streets" he rants in that drunk sounding slurred voice of his as he swaggers around the DA's office
If I'm not conflating different episodes, this is the one I remember.
Amanda Peet in "Hot Pursuit" - Original Air Date: 8 November 1995
A man and a woman rob a nightclub and a deli, killing the owner. When they're caught, the woman claims she was forced to participate against her will.
"Law & Order" Hot Pursuit (TV episode 1995) - IMDb
Amanda Peet in "Hot Pursuit" - Original Air Date: 8 November 1995
A man and a woman rob a nightclub and a deli, killing the owner. When they're caught, the woman claims she was forced to participate against her will.
"Law & Order" Hot Pursuit (TV episode 1995) - IMDb
jasperbob42
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Yes, I remember that episode. But the one that I remember most is one in which a security guard wrongly shoots a customer in a grocery store and when the wonded guy is approached by one of the cops he wisphers "NOW I OWN THIS PLACE."
Gunsandguitars
Member
In the original "Walking Tall" movie, Sheriff Pusser carried a 4" Colt Python. In the flick, his wife didn't want him to go armed (?). After some violent threats and actions, she brought down the reviolver and gunbelt and handed it to him. The next scene, he steps out on his porch to address his deputies, and he has his big stick and the Colt in a cross draw.
I can't speak for the sequels or remakes. Never paid them much attention.
Roadranger
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I reviewed the Adam-12 episode in question. After watching the first and last scene several times, the gun in question appears to be a blue M58 with some kind of small target stocks. The show aired in 1972 or at least is copyrighted in 1972. Still no factory HP's then, but Sierra introduced their HP component bullet in 1970, and Speer had their's out before then. BTW, I viewed another episode released within a month of the aforementioned episode where a property owner had hollow points in his old Winchester M92 levergun, more Hollywood imagination. Bob!!
San Antonio did indeed issue the Model 58.
While stationed there from 1975-1978 I had the opportunity to shoot with many of the SA officers at the local ranges.
The apartment complex we lived in was all military and cops. One of my next door neighbors was a Ranger and the guy across the street was a US Marshall. MP's, SP's and the like.
Sunday afternoons at poolside was beer,BBQ and guns..
The complex manager and his wife loved us...they said they always felt safe with all the cops living there. And had fewer issues.
We even got a better rate on our rent if you were LE. Military or civilian.
While stationed there from 1975-1978 I had the opportunity to shoot with many of the SA officers at the local ranges.
The apartment complex we lived in was all military and cops. One of my next door neighbors was a Ranger and the guy across the street was a US Marshall. MP's, SP's and the like.
Sunday afternoons at poolside was beer,BBQ and guns..
The complex manager and his wife loved us...they said they always felt safe with all the cops living there. And had fewer issues.
We even got a better rate on our rent if you were LE. Military or civilian.
