.41 Magnum

[richhodg66]

Always been intrigued by it, never owned one. In a shop today was a Ruger Blackhawk, looked to be a 6" barrel, decent shape. Guy is asking 700 bucks whic would normally seem high to me, but everything is so expensive lately and .41s of any type are unusual. I need to set up for a new caliber like I need a hole in my head but I'm thinking about it.

 

[358156 hp]

It's a very well balanced and well behaved caliber. I had a Redhawk in .41 that almost daily I wish I had kept. If I were limited to one revolver for everything I do, it would almost certainly be a .41, assuming I had a reliable source for brass. That said, the 44 & 45 Colts do certainly out-power it, but power isn't everything. I feel it's more controllable and the recoil is less sharp than some of the high-end 357 loads I've fired in L frames and GP series Rugers.

 

[david s]

I've had a six-inch model 57 in the 1980's to mid 1990's and currently have one of the 41 magnums 4-inch S&W Mountain Guns in the caliber. It is a well-balanced round but nothing magical about it. I've moulds from 200-260 grain weight. It's supposed to recoil about 20% less than the 44 magnums but they seem the same to me. Long term brass would be the biggest concern, I've been hearing for about 30-35 years that the 41 should be discontinued, just like the 25-20, 32-20, 38-40 and 44-40 even the 45 Colt. I don't think it will be going away to soon though, it does seem to have something of a cult like following. The Ruger (Super) Blackhawk was my first magnum handgun. My first pistol was a Single Six so a BlackHawk as my second or third pistol made sense to me, still does now. Prices for everything seem to be all over the place currently, you could always offer what you think it worth and see how that works out.

 

[MikeN]

I have had for the last 5-6 years had both a Smith & Wesson M57 and a M58. I have probably put 5000 rounds through the M57, not as much though the 58. It seems like the .41 is maybe an optimum fit for the Smith "N" frame. I also have had for many years an pre-29 .44, but I enjoy shooting my .41's more I believe

 

[fiver]

got a couple of 41's.
they are a flatter shooting slightly light 44 mag.
only without all the flash and bang.
they can be a real nice 44 special/44-40 duplicator, or the 40 short or the 10mm.

starline makes brass.

 

[Rushcreek]

The 4-5/8” Ruger Blackhawk .41 magnum is one of my all time favorite revolvers. Great balance of size and power.

 

[fiver]

easy to carry around too.
mine is getting a bit loose though.

 

[richhodg66]

I am a big fan of Ruger Bllackhawks. It may not be the optimal platform for a cartridge like that, but I bet it would be pretty good.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I have always appreciated the caliber. Never was a 43 Mag fan always felt it was overstated. Right from its name. The 41 Mag was always more accurate. The most accurate big bore I ever had was my 4" Smith 57. Missed on a Redhawk back in the day hut bought the Marlin the same guy brought in!!

Then I found a Black Hawk 6.5" new model. Nice shooter. About a month later a old model came in and I swapped the new for that old.

Great caliber!

CW

 

[fiver]

the 41 mag Hunter model is right at the top of my most accurate handguns.
it's as good as the 44 Mag. Dan wesson i have that's setup for silhouette shooting, even though the trigger isn't near as light.

 

[todd]

my dad (RIP) always wanted a 41 mag in Ruger Blackhawk. he liked the weight of the Blackhawk. i have a Super Blackhawk in 44 mag. i should have waited and got a BH 44 Special. i don't need the 44 mag and the velocity, so i use a 280gr WFN and Unique in 44 mag and 250gr penta HP/255gr Kieth type boolit in a Skeeter load of Unique in 44 Special. the Special load is what i use most.

 

[Missionary]

The .41 is one fine cartridge. The .414 supermag takes it to another fine level.
We have molds from RB up to a 335 and I do think between all our revolvers, Contenders and rifles in some .41 caliber we could easily sell off all the others and live peacefully content we are not over or under gunned for any critter that we should need to sort out.
But we will happily keep the .45 Colts also just for some variety in life.

 

[Uncle Grinch]

Count me in the 41 Mag fan club! I’ve had numerous handguns in this great caliber over the years and even picked up a Marlin lever action many years ago. My latest is a BH with the 4 5/8 barrel which I find very handy. Had Chad from Chig’s Grips fit a set of Burl walnut grips.

 

[Bret4207]

FWIW- I've never heard any complaints about the accuracy of the 41. Since it was designed relatively recently, the numbers on all the guns and chambers tend to be spot on and not varying widely like the old 45's and 44's.

$700.00?!! I've outlived my bank account!

 

[richhodg66]

I have always felt a big bore revolver was a shooters and handloaders most fun for the buck. That $700 price tag was a bit much but looking at what .41s seem to bring elsewhere, might not be so bad.

I think I have a set of dies, but then there's brass, molds sizers, etc. Not sure I oughta do this.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I cannot advise on what is right for you.
$700 for a gun that you really want, ....isn't out of the ballpark. But $700 for a gun that just happens to be for sale........might not be a good move and you'll likely end up selling/trading it later.

My rule is to decide on exactly the gun I want and then look for that exact gun. If I find something that is close but not what I'm looking for - PASS.

I do the same with vehicles. Close doesn't make the cut, it has to be what I set out to find and only what I set out to find.

I have owned a few Blackhawk revolvers in the past and they are excellent guns if you like single action revolvers. They are seriously strong, and are no nonsense guns that work. That being said, I'm not much of a single action revolver guy and I perfer DA revolvers. To each his own.

 

[JonB]

Count me in the 41 Mag fan club!

ME TOO !
I've told my story before, but here it goes again.
I've had a long love affair with 44 mag, starting in 1988 with the second revolver I owned. I traded away my first revolver, a Dan Wesson 357 for a S&W 629. Over a couple decades, I acquired several different 44 mag revolvers and a Marlin.
>at some point, I started reloading, because of the 44 mag, so I could shoot more.
>Then I started swaging bullets because of the 44 mag, so I could shoot more.
>Then I started casting, because of the 44 mag, so I could shoot more. This is when I learned about all the different bore/groove size variations and twist variations in 44 mag guns. This is also the time when I learned how to solve the problems with some of my troublesome 44 mag guns I had.
THEN, I learned about 41 mag and how consistent the manufacturers made them and why that was so.
.
After acquiring a few 41 mag guns, I made the BIG decision to change over to 41 mag. I sold all the 44 guns, all the 44 brass(and I had a lot), I sold all my reloading dies/casting tools/sizing tools...lots of that was custom stuff.
.

SNIP>>> It's supposed to recoil about 20% less than the 44 magnums but they seem the same to me.

My friend who doesn't load his own tells me this all the time
But we, as reloaders, know the truth...41mag and 44mag are essentially the same.

 

[CZ93X62]

I still have the tools and moulds to take on 41 Magnum 'manufacturing', but no arms so chambered in the safe.

I've had 4 examples in this caliber--2 S&Ws and 2 Ruger BHs. These examples and several others owned by friends have one attribute that sets them apart from the 44s and 45s--EVERY throat is between .410" and ,411". They are MADE CORRECTLY. NO DIMENSIONAL POETRY. THAT is how their reputation for accuracy has been established--bullets that fit well will fly true.

Years ago the 41 Magnum was loaded at two levels--a lead bullet 'police' load that ran a swaged 210 grain SWC at about 950 FPS from a 4" barrel. These were a companion load to the S&W Model 58 revolver, which was issued to San Francisco PD for a time. This load has always struck me as being a factory-loaded 'Skeeter's Load'. It is an all-day load in 41 Magnum, and as accurate as all get-out. My concoction is Lyman #410032 (cast 212 grain SWC) atop 8.0 grains of Unique or 9.0 grains of Herco and prompted by a CCI #300 primer.

The other less interesting load runs 210 grain jacketed or cast bullets in the 1250-1400 FPS envelope. Nice for hunting venues, but I do that for 3 weeks per year--maybe. I want to be able to repel boarders 24/7/365, and big bullets at 900-1000 FPS do an excellent job of that.

 

[Josh]

I must be the only guy that got a Ruger Blackhawk 41 Mag with off sized throats. I acquired a 4 5/8's Blackhawk and shot it all over the paper. Normally a good revolver shooter, I was determined to shoot it well.

I soon discovered that the cylinder throats ran from 0.410" down to 0.408"! The bore was at a solid 0.410". So, I decided to hone the throats. I have each one honed to pass a 0.412" negative pin easy, a 0.412" +/- pin with resistance, and it will not pass a 0.412" positive pin.

Since then my handgun has shot perfectly. It holds 6" at 100 yds, which is as well as I can do. I'll never be without a nice 41 Mag, they're just the bees knees.

 

[CZ93X62]

I must be the only guy that got a Ruger Blackhawk 41 Mag with off sized throats. I acquired a 4 5/8's Blackhawk and shot it all over the paper. Normally a good revolver shooter, I was determined to shoot it well.

I soon discovered that the cylinder throats ran from 0.410" down to 0.408"! The bore was at a solid 0.410". So, I decided to hone the throats. I have each one honed to pass a 0.412" negative pin easy, a 0.412" +/- pin with resistance, and it will not pass a 0.412" positive pin.

Since then my handgun has shot perfectly. It holds 6" at 100 yds, which is as well as I can do. I'll never be without a nice 41 Mag, they're just the bees knees.

Josh--There it is there, I knew it had to occur to someone. I just haven't seen it myself, and no one I knew had encountered the anomaly either.