Why 41 Mag?

[David LaPell]

I would say that my 57 recoils a bit more than my Model 27. But it is a little different, the .357 has more of a crack than the push of the .41 Magnum.

 

[blueknight7]

Neal, when I first went to Chaffee Co., I carried a M-57 .41 mag. Never felt undergunned. It was a ton of steel to carry on your hip all day. That was back when everything was leather too.
But, I also carried the Rem. 210 gr. jacketed softpoints, not the 210 gr. soft lead semi-wadcutters, that were suppose to be the duty ammo.
It was interesting to qualify with that stuff. I always found a way to do it. When we were finding large tracks, that was on my hip, and my .338 Win. Mag. or my .350 Rem. Mag. was in my patrol car.
I have a long fond memory of the .41 Remington Magnum. Was with me for alot of miles, before the Department attorney decided we had to standardize on caliber. Then, we ended up with .38/.357 Mag. Everyone had .357's. And finally they furnished ammo.

 

[mtgianni]

Could be stated the other way around, "what does a 44 Mag do that can't be done with a 41?". Answer, nothing except there are no 41 Specials.

That one is easy to answer. There are a lot more bullet weights, molds and 44 gas checks are easy to find while 41 checks are difficult at best, being no longer made by Lyman or Hornaday.

 

[whelenshooter]

Thirty years ago I shot my first elk with a 4 5/8 inch Ruger .41 Magnum I had bought at a Sheriff's auction for $125. I was amazed at its performance, and I've been a fan ever since. I love the .44 Special, the .45 Colt, and the .45 ACP out of a revolver too, but the .44 Magnum has never given me the pleasure the other cartridges have given me. I can't really tell you why, however. It is more of a gut feeling than anything else.

 

[seeemmiss]

Cast Performance Bullets makes lots of 41 gas check bullets.

 

[wyozx]

I've owned 5 41 mags and only 2 44 mags. I feel the 41 mag is more accurate for me at least. I guess I just shoot it better.
It's way more powerful than a 357 mag I've had 3 of them.
However reloading is a must. It really opens up a new world for the 41 mag with so many more bullet wieght choices. Although I mostly shoot 210-220gr bullets. You just have to experience one for yourself, then you'll understand.

 

[David LaPell]

Montana Bullet company makes 215 grain SWC's that have gas checks, I have some loaded right now 16.0 grains of 2400.

 

[diamonback68]

That one is easy to answer. There are a lot more bullet weights, molds and 44 gas checks are easy to find while 41 checks are difficult at best, being no longer made by Lyman or Hornaday.

The question was what the 44 and the 41 can "DO", not what molds or checks are available.


I also never said that brass wasn't available for the Special, just there are no manufacturers of finished ammo.

 

[David LaPell]

The question was what the 44 and the 41 can "DO", not what molds or checks are available.


I also never said that brass wasn't available for the Special, just there are no manufacturers of finished ammo.

This is something that I am working on. I have written to every major and even some minor ammo maker out there in an effort to get the ball rolling on a .41 Special. I have done alot of work with it, but the real credit goes to John Taffin who I am following on this. I can tell that Hornady is not interested, have not heard back from Winchester, Remington, Federal, Black Hills, or Cor-Bon. I have made the case that if there was a .41 Special, it would be a hot seller, especially with the cost of factory .41 Magnum ammo. In the letter I got from Ruger, they were interested in the project, but since they don't make ammo, they are on the sidelines. I would like to get Smith off their behinds in coming up with a .41 Special like the 696, and Ruger in .357 framed Blackhawk in .41 Special if the ammo could ever be realized. It would be an easy cartridge to make, one of the easiest in fact. But it would be the first time I think that there would be a Special after a Magnum instead of the other way around.

 

[PRK 25-5]

If your purpose is to own only one handgun in a magnum caliber, the answer is nothing. But I own many calibers where performance can easily be loaded to overlap. For some reason, given opportunity and the right price, I would buy even more. He who dies with the most toys wins.

 

[BigBill]

He who dies with the most toys wins.[/QUOTE]

I'll be in the top ten soon.....before i die. Bill

 

[GyMac]

I have a .44 Magnum, a Ruger SBH, but I came close to buying a Ruger in .41 and sometimes wish that I did. The alloy frame makes for a much handier gun with pretty much the same power. In the S&W line, I would have trouble justifying a .41.

 

[BigBill]

I would say that my 57 recoils a bit more than my Model 27. But it is a little different, the .357 has more of a crack than the push of the .41 Magnum.

The difference in recoil is the size of the brass case. The 357mg brass is narrower while the 41mag brass is wider. This is also true in the larger straight cased brass in the rifles.(less recoil) Well the recoil felt is different. Bill

BTW; The only problem i had with the ruger SA's is the screws comming loose on the frame to grip frame on the stout loads in my 44mag.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Could be stated the other way around, "what does a 44 Mag do that can't be done with a 41?". Answer, nothing except there are no 41 Specials.

And that is what keeps the .41 Police in second place. I think it's as simple as that. Sure, you can load it down, but not everyone handloads. So, I think it's more hand loaders that keep the .41 alive. Just big enough of a crowd to keep it from circling the drain but not big enough to keep it in the glory light. Heck, I would say .45 Colt is far and beyond more popular even if you delete the Judge crowd. Does that extra .019 of steel make it any stronger even? And the Marlin .444 helps with the .429 bullet sales. And all the lever carbines in .44 while .41 are almost non present. There's just too much the .44 has going for it while the .41 isn't bad, it just never was really that innovative. They could just have easily made the 58 in a .44 like so many have done for them. Hey, how cool would a 658 in .44 be??? (Sweet, he thinks... Hmmm...)

P.S. - I still say .41 special doesn't exist. It isn't a factory load from a major distributor. You could make your own brass from magnum length brass it you wanted to.. Starline just found a nitch product again for who was it now??? HANDLOADERS!!! (That are the bigest thing keeping the .41 alive I still say.)

 

[Reddog]

I own three .41 Magnums. A 4" M657, a 6" M57 and an 8&3/8" M57. And just last week Mr. Lapell put me onto another, as new 6", that a dealer up his way was offering.
I also have a 7.5" Redhawk .44 Magnum. The only advantage I can see for the .44 is the 273 cast semiwad bullet I cast for it as a heavyweight. The heaviest I cast for the .41s is a 220 gr. semiwad. I much prefer the .41s! A lot of it is probably sort of a snob value, I guess. .41s are hard to come by. The other thing is the fact that the .41s are Smiths. Much prefer them over any Ruger I've ever owned!
I also have and shoot about eight or nine .38/.357 Smiths, mostly N frames, and I'm continuing to buy them, too, as a sort of hedge against inflation. Mr. L put me onto an as new M28 from the same fellow! These N frames loaded with Elmer's 172 gr. Semi Wad are very pleasant shooting for most uses. Probably shoot them more than any of the others.
But, if I could only have one handgun, it would be an M57 with a 6" barrel like my old one on top in the pic, loaded with a 220 gr. Keith bullet in front of 9 gr. of Unique! (Excuse the poor pic! Need to take some better ones.)
Dick

 

[Neal/CO]

The 657 is the Mountain Gun?

 

[David LaPell]

Smith made Mountain Guns in both 657 and 57 versions in addition to the standard 57 and 657's.

 

[Reddog]

I musta' missed the Mountain Gun part?

 

[Dftplan]

Ballistics

If I remember correctly, ballistic tables show that the 41 outperforms the 44 at longer distances due to a better ballistics coeficient. Don't remember how far out you have to get...I think it was past 100 yards.

 

[Dump1567]

Not a "Special", but shoots like a Special @ 800 fps.

"NEW" .41 Rem Mag 210gr Lead Semi-Wadcutter 100pk