.41 Magnum / 41 Special Load Data Center

[RJM52]

...well...what I have narrowed mine down to for all my S&W revolvers and Ruger SAs is the original Keith 220. The mold I have is by MP and has HP and PentaPoint pins. NOE has the later version of the bullet at 230 grains and is also available with HP pins.

Dick has been using the 230 grain version of this bullet for decades and has killed a ton of game with it in Idaho...

Hopefully others will chime in with their favorite do-all bullet...

Bob

[BMW Rider]

Thanks Bob, I appreciate the advice coming from experience.

James

[RJM52]

I'm hoping some others will reply with their favorite all-around bullet.

[Minerat]

Mine for light loads or 41 special is the Lyman 410459 a 220 gr Keith or the MP 413640 at 200 to 220 depending on pin set used. In the Henry I like the MP 413265 trushot clone @ 258 to 270 again depending on pins used.

[ranchman]

I load my 41's for shock & smack, and typically employ them for large livestock dealings across big pastures above all other use.. I've come to settle on an NOE 255wfn for my all-around, everyday bullet. I shot the Keith 237 by NOE a long time and it did all I've ever needed it to, (got me through a scrape or two as well), BUT I had the barrel twist to turn the 255, the sight adjustment in my gun, and the recoil tolerance to bump up to the heavier bullet, so did. I like the wider meplat in the 255 for extra shock, and I very much believe the weight balance in that 255 is an advantage over the 237 while tracking paths through muscle and bone... I see straighter wound channels in big animals with the 255, and seems like less tumble. It's also the only bullet I've had enter a cow skull, break the spine and exit. Most of them just get lost deep inside someplace up against the backbone, there's lots of dense heavy bone in there.

Anyway, certainly, depending what a shooter wants from his bullet should be what determines which a guy/gal should choose. But to me, the 255 is the ticket for business like I'm discussing. I haven't seen a thread elsewhere so far cover reports quite this way, so to those that are interested and looking for such data, here ya go ... attached is a picture of the top three bullets I've used.. and my top, absolute best load-charges as well, they all make excellent accuracy & provide the most power possible for their size. Spent alot of time and effort in settling on these.

If I was shooting a standard twist 41, like a Ruger with run of the mill barrels, I'd shoot the snot out of that 237 and live happy. But if I had a boutique barrel with a quicker twist, I'd shoot that 255 and never look at another bullet again. It's the best there is for 41special. Pictures worth a thousand words though... so here they are..

I included the commercial 215 for the guy who just wants off the shelf bullets only. It's a bit light for bulls and big cows, but will do it if placed correctly. The 1010 load with 6.5Unique is a doozy on paper and very easy to shoot. It's a mild, all day plinker carrying just enough gas to crack light bone if it had to. A good load I can't not mention, so is here* --6.5Unique makes a dandy plinker load with the 237 & 255 as well, both superbly accurate, but they clock sub-par for my use so dropped them from my bench. Those clock 900 or slower with 6.5Unique, but do make for good practice if paper & practice is more someone's thing than field-use.

[RJM52]

Very nice ranchman...and thank you...

What guns are you using the loads in...a custom SAA?

[ranchman]

Very nice ranchman...and thank you...

What guns are you using the loads in...a custom SAA?

That is correct. Custom barrelled 4,3/4" Colt.

I tried the 255's through my blackhawk but the 237's shoot better in it... and I'm very very sure that's related to twist rate.

[wbbh]

A Nosler 210 grain JHP bullet over 14.9 grains of Shooters World Heavy Pistol with a Winchester LPP.

[RJM52]

Those are quite the loads ranchman...but if you are having to bust big cattle I can understand why you push the...

The gun must rotate up pretty quickly...

wbbh...no cast load?

[Rodfac]

Lyman's 410459 or the RCBS 41-215, sized 0.411" cast from ACWW's; work equally well in my Rugers and a Smith M57. I don't bother with heavy charges anymore, but prefer 8.0 of Herco, 7.5 of Unique or 6.5 of 231 for 99% of my shooting. These are 900 -1000 fps loads depending on bbl. length and comfortable even with factory grips. All of the above are put up in Magnum brass. I bought some .41 Special cases from Starline but found the accuracy was the same as equivalent loads in Magnum brass, but with the added problem of having to scrub out the gunk from the cylinders of my magnum guns. Sorta the .38 spl/.357 problem.

These same loads with the RCBS bullet sized to 0.412" (basically 'as cast'), work well in my Marlin 1894S with minimal/zero leading. I keep the velocity low due to the lack of a GC, and accuracy has been 2" or less at 50 yds with a peep. With a 2.5x Leupold Alaskan (the 7/8" tube one), I've had single ragged hole groups for 5-shots at 35 yds. It feeds ok with just an occasional jiggle required from the lever. The Lyman 410459 shoots as well but refuses to feed. QuickLoad (QL) estimates these loads at 1150-1250 fps from the Marlin's 20" bbl.

New data in italics.
For deer out of a tree stand, and 100 yd shots at most, I like the Marlin & Hornady's 210 XTP with ~17.0 of Bartlett's 820 pull down powder (Chrono'd 1468 fps for a 20" bbl.) or 18.0 gr of 2400 (Chrono'd 1680 fps) ...820 has a slower burning profile than Ac#9 but w/in 1 grain in my experience for the large magnums (.41 & .44).

I've also tried the 17.0 - 820 load in one of my Rugers (Chrono'd at 1086 fps from a Ruger 3-screw, 4-5/8" bbl.) with good/excellent accuracy out to 50 yds, but prefer a rifle for deer and a no-nonsense quick kill. Either of the Hornady loads is a hellofa deer bullet inside 100 yds. Rod

[RJM52]

Very nice Rod... I like the saddlering on the Marlin...I have been tempted to put one on mine also. I think I bought the crossbolt-safety eliminator kit from the same company but have have put them in.

[Rodfac]

Pretty easy project, RJM; you have to remove the buttstock however, which in my case, was a benefit as I found a spot or two of rust there. I have three Marlins with the cursed "safety", and all have been refitted with that saddle ring. While we (my #2 son and I) still keep a half dozen horses, neither of us has used the "saddle ring" to secure one of our lever actions in a scabbard. Best regards and congrats on a great thread...51 pages of .41 lore! Rod

[Minerat]

Rod, I like those grips on the shorty, what kind of wood are they? I have rose wood on mine but it is finished too red for me.

[Rodfac]

Minerat, the 3-screw 4-5/8" bbl. has a pair of grips I made from some spalted poplar horse fencing boards. (the dark lines are bacterial infestation along the grain lines). I enhanced the contrast with a light staining of Minwax Golden Oak stain. They're finished in multiple coats of tung oil. This particular board produced a cpl of pairs of grips that are harder than woodpecker lips.

The other pair on the longer bbl'd Flat Top I made up from some rosewood. It's darkened over the years to what you see. Grip escutcheons came from Brownells along with a countersink/drill that matches the escutcheons. Your rosewood grips may darken over the years as well...although I'd think a polyurethane finish with UV protection may slow the darkening process vs. the tung oil.

BTW, where's Jefferson county CO? I used to elk hunt up above Jefferson across from Kenosha pass...pretty country there... but a real work out for a flat-lander from KY. Just looked it up...western side of Denver...we were out 285, 4-5 miles east of the big bend at Kenosha Pass.

Best Regards, Rod

[Minerat]

I wish mine were that dark, mine look like cheep red stain was used on them. I bought the gun from a friend and they could be cheep pine, stained red and called rose wood by the guy he got them from at a gunshow. I may take them off and refinish just for fun to see if they are really rose wood since yours look so good.

Steve

[RJM52]

Rod, thanks, but it is contributors like you that make up these 50+ pages and hopefully will one day be 150...

Isn't there a picture somewhere of you and your dad with a big old deer? Or am I thinking of someone else?

Beautiful grips and a great talent....

Bob

[Rodfac]

Thanks for the kind words, RJM. The pic you mentioned isn't me...my Dad's been gone since '82, tho I've often spent considerable time in a freezing deer stand ruminating about those long lost times. Hard to put into words but I wish for all of our children, the memories of camp fires gone cold for 50 years and the stories and love that was shared over them. All the best to you and yours....all of you...Rod

[Rodfac]

Did a little chronographing today with a friends "Prochrono DLX"... I've had a PACT for 15 yrs or so and have had some problems with it not reading bullet passage, even with the 'sky screens' installed. No such problem with the Prochrono DLX today...and in hard bright almost springtime sunshine. I really like the machine: stores 9 strings...shows individual shot avg's, computes extreme spread and standard deviation for each string and WORKS even in bright sunshine!

The gun in use today, among others, was a 3-screw Ruger .41 with a 4-5/8" bbl. & in almost new condition...it's a 4 digit one from 1966. (Pic below, that I've posted before) I was curious about my deer load, normally used in a Marlin 1894S .41 Magnum using Hornady's 210 XTP pushed along by 17.0 gr of Jeff Bartlett's 820. Jeff says to use Ac#9 data with this lot but I found my supply was a good bit slower when compared to data reported in Sierra's Infinity Disc program for the same Marlin carbine. My load, again is 17.0 gr. of 820 which gave me an average velocity for 5-shots of 1468 fps and 35 Extreme Spread. Sierra shows 1550 fps for their 210 gr JHP....a bullet I've not measured for comparison to Hornady's 210 XTP and could account for the difference due to seating depth differences...just don't know.

I then ran the same load, (17.0 of 820 with the Hornady 210 XTP) through my 3-screw Ruger with 4-5/8" bbl. and got an average velocity of 1086 fps and 39 Ext Spd. This with great accuracy at 25 yds, rested = sub-2" groups for 5-shots. A comfortable load, good for defense from a good DA revolver, and but questionable for deer, even inside 25 yds. The 20" rifle barrel showing 382 fps gain over the short Ruger bbl. a far better choice and one that I've made many times over the last decade or so.

Trying RCBS' 41-215 LSWC, as cast from ACWW's with a pinch of tin, 6.7 gr of Win 231, (a great load in all my .41 revolvers), I recorded 966 fps & 33 Ext Spd with similar accuracy in the Ruger. As cast dia. is 0.411"...which is a good fit in three Rugers and a Smith M57. I've not tried it through the Marlin as yet, but suspect it to be a thousandth or two on the small side. This load is a good all-day practice load...accurate, and leaves no leading problems in my guns. It's a little shy of the original LEO prescription as put up by Remington IIRC, but is entirely usable for my purposes. The old FBI .357 load with lead SWC-HP's produced ~950 fps with a 158 gr bullet...this load with a 215 grainer ought to more than duplicate that old favorite.

Lastly I tried my alternate deer load in the Marlin 1894S, 18.0 gr of 2400 as produced in the last 5-7 years, with Hornady's .41, 210 gr. XTP. This load is a good killer on our KY whitetails. I chrono'd it today with a 5-shot average of 1680 fps & an Ext Spd of 61. Off the porch rail, supported, it'll do less that 2" at a bit over 50 yds with a Skinner peep mounted on the receiver, and the issue Marlin front sight. So equipped, slim, light, accurate & with some serious smack, that Marlin's a joy to lug through the hardwood stands around our farm.

While set up, I did do some shooting with a 5" M27 Smith in .357 of course. My favorite bullet for all of my .357's over the years, has been Lyman's old Thompson designed 358156GC. My original mold, a two cavity, was purchased new in 1971 & has produced literally thousands of those good LSWC's. Using ACWW alloy with a pinch of Tin, my mold drops them at 0.360" right on the nose. I gas-check them with Hornady's GC's, & anneal for a better fit and crimp. For years, I've shot thousands of these bullets using Skelton's old load of 13.5 gr of 2400, in magnum brass, and got great accuracy from both Ruger's and Smith's. Today's chrono activity showed that load, through the 5" bbl. of the M27 produces 1358 fps! Much higher than I've estimated in the past. I've used it extensively in a three Ruger BH's, a couple of M19's, two M66's, and a 3" bbl'd M60. The K frames handled it well, but you could tell it was a very healthy load, but the J frame was a real handful. Through my Marlin 1894CS, it's given me many 3-shot gps of 1-1/2" at 100 yds with a 2.5x scope helping out. This load is just too much of a good thing for the J frame and I'll start by reducing it to 12.0 and see how it goes. In the K frames, I'll reserve it for what I don't know as yet, as it's a true handful...But it's much easier to tolerate in the N frame M27. BTW, I size to 0.358" for all the handguns and 0.359"-0.360" for the Marlin's bigger bore.

Guess that's it for now, fellow .41 aficionados...keep praying for some relief for the current primer shortage. The guy that fixes our family time pieces has been out for 6 months...I gifted him 500 Win Small Primers for his 9's and .40's. If you've got any to spare, it'd be a God-send to a fellow shooter...just a thought.

Best Regards, Rod

[RJM52]

GREAT post Rod!!!!

Funny but when I bought my first handgun in 1970, a S&W Model 19 4", I bought the same mold...put 20K rounds of mostly that bullet through the gun before selling it in 1980. Just recently started shooting that same bullet again. A friend has a Lyman mold and I bought a MP plain base solid and a GC with pins. 6.0 grains of Unique in a .38 Special case runs 980 from a 2" and 1130 from a 4"...great bullet...

Bob

[cowboy4evr]

My most used cast bullet in my 41 magnum , 2/57's , a 58 , and a Ruger NMBH 4 5/8" barrel is H&G 258 . The " REAL " Keith swc bullet . I have a couple of Veral Smiths (LBT Molds ) designs , a 210 LFN and a 220 WFN . They both shoot exceptionally well , from mild to wild . But I usually go back to the Keith design . In 38 spl / 357 magnum it's the Ray Thompson design 358156 only in a plain base mold from Accurate Molds . I have literally shot thousands and thousands of those in both cartridges . In my 44 magnum , again it's H&G 503 , the Keith swc and in my 45 Colt , H&G 501 . Keiths swc design for the 45 Colt . My powder of choice in the calibers listed here is WSF . I shot Unique for years , but when I got started using WSF , I never looked back . Regards Paul