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Thread: 41 Mag or 44 Mag

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    41 Mag or 44 Mag

    I’ve shoot a 44 mag SRH 7.5” barrel with light loads. However, I don’t own either caliber.

    Would be used as a woods gun, hunting and range. The only reason I haven’t bought one of either as I’m not sure about the felt recoil which is very subjective.

    The 44 seems a little more versatile as I can run 44 Special loads and tailor the 44 Mag loads to a manageable recoil level.

    Most important features to me are:

    1. Stainless
    2. Balance
    3. Double action

    Thoughts or lessons learned ?

  2. #2
    Boolit Man
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    I have had both and decided on the 44. 44 as you stated was more versatile. Powder was easily had and so was brass. Recoil to me was not much different until I went to heavy 44 mag loads. Either one will serve you well.

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
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    Trying to decide between SWC or WFN. What boolit weight and design (mold) do most of you cast ?

    Game will be White Tail and Hogs.

  4. #4
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    Either should do the job, but I prefer SWC.

  5. #5
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    I have both. The 41 magnum is excellent but I don't try to turn it into a 44 magnum nor try to fool myself that it is "just as good". Reloading for either, especially with cast bullets, is essentially the same as either can be loaded down to easy shooting or to full power if needed.

    Either will do nicely on white tail and hogs.

    I also prefer the SWC if "solids" are used but, most often, for hunting I use a GC'd softer cast (16-1 alloy) HP in the 44 and a 210 HP in the 41. Both perform quite well.
    Larry Gibson

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  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    If you want single action in a .41 Mag, you have a few choices. Blackhawks in this cartridge are not hard to find. Double action, Ruger Redhawks .41 Mag is hard to come by. You may be stuck with a S&W. Or look for a vintage (expensive) revolver. Regardless, you have many more choices in .44 Mag.

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy Pereira's Avatar
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    I have both in pistols and rifles, I prefer the 41, but it's a personal thing.
    I agree that the 44 has more options, and factory ammo will be easier to find and will be cheaper.
    Have killed deer with both and both bang flops at 20 to 25 yds.

    RP

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  8. #8
    Boolit Master Dan Cash's Avatar
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    I have both, a M29 6 1/2 inch and a M57 6inch. The 57 sees the most use. I load .41s with a 240 grain LBT bullet at a little over 1000fps and find it a pleasant load and effective on the couple deer I have shot with it. The M29 sees mostly .44 spl as I am not into heavy recoiling louden boomers.
    To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the trouble with many shooting experts is not that they're ignorant; its just that they know so much that isn't so.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master

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    I have both in S&W, years ago I settled on 41 mag and never bought another 44. To this day I have 4 or 5 revolvers, 1 Desert Eagle and 1 lever gun in 41 mag. I have small hands and a degenerative bone condition in both hands. To me the recoil with the 41 feels different, maybe slower? I love to shoot full house loads and stiff medium loads, I can shoot quite a few in 41 but not in 44. My favorite bullets is a 265 LSWC that I cast, I also show quite a few 235's.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master Wheelguns 1961's Avatar
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    Early on, I bought into the 45colts. With this, I never saw a reason to have 44’s and 45’s. I don’t have anything bad to say about the 44 magnum. Components and factory ammo are readily available as are a good selection of fine firearms, but I just went in a different direction. The only time I regretted my decision, was with the ruger bisley flattop. Available in 44spl, but not available as a bisley in 45colt.

    Now the 41mag is a great round. It has a lot of the same characteristics as the 41mag, just a little smaller bullet. It can be down loaded to a mild level, or loaded hot.

    You will need to realistically decide what you want your new caliber to do, and how much felt recoil you want, and make up your own mind. There are no wrong answers. If you are anything like me, you will eventually end up with both.

    The double action part just sank in. You will have more options with the 44mag. A model 29 with a shorter barrel will probably make you very happy.
    Due to the price of primers, warning shots will no longer be given!

  11. #11
    Boolit Master Thumbcocker's Avatar
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    I am a hard core. 44 fan. However, I have shot a .41 Blackhawk. If I were in a situation where all I had or could get was a .41 I would not feel all that bad. It is a fine cartridge and would do what I need a big bore revolver to do.
    Paper targets aren't your friends. They won't lie for you and they don't care if your feelings get hurt.

  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I have both and either one will do what you want. And either one can be loaded from mild to wild. The 44 is more popular and fired brass will be easier to find. I load a Keith type SWC in both of mine, cast from wheel weight alloy.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    Take a hard look at the Smith Mdl 69 in 4-1/4" bbl length. Ever since I got mine, my other Smith 629 4 inchers have more or less been "safe queens".
    It's all chicken, even the beak!

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Not a 41 fan, back in the 70’s during the “Dirty Harry” magnum craze, I couldn’t find a M-29 for less than double MSRP, so I bought a M- 57 instead. I couldn’t find ammo and this was back in the bad old days of GC 68, where you couldn’t order through the mail (the internet was still a gleam in Al Gore’s eye back then). I ended up selling the gun after about 6 months due to the difficulty buying ammo. Nowadays you can order ammo on line, if you live in America and not Commifornia, or some other similar lost states. But you still have the issue of ammo availability. If a business sells handgun ammo at all, they’ll have .44. .41 not so much.
    _________________________________________________It's not that I can't spell: it is that I can't type.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    Starline sells 41 special brass.
    Yes, thats 41 special, not 44 special.
    A 41 mag case shortened to the length of 38 and 44 special.

    Myself, I would go 44 mag, much more common, and you can find brass and molds anywhere.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    If you do much hand gunning you really need to reload so either caliber will get you what you want. If you are a part time shooter go with the 44 as mentioned. A 250 gr bullet loaded in each is pretty much a toss up, at least I've never been able to see the difference in he field, from deer, elk or bears. In the N frame S&W the 41 magnum is a better model 29! If you're shooting a single action try to go with a bisley grip frame and at least a 5.5" barrel & you can kill anything out there. No need to shoot crazy hot loads in either, a good, heavy SWC or LBT style bullet will do a lot of killing at 1000-1100 fps & be very easy to handle.

    Dick

  17. #17
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    I'm happy to see positive comments and no caliber war rants.

    In terms of factory ammo and new brass, the 44 has the lead but since this is a casting/reloading forum, that's probably not a huge issue.

    The 44 certainly has a longer history and is also a bit more versatile overall. The 41 mag is no slouch and as Pereira stated back in post #7, both the 41 & 44 mags are capable cartridges.

    If you build the 41 magnum on S&W's N-frame, it will result in a slightly heavier gun than a 44 due to the smaller bore diameters of the barrel and chambers, if all other factors are equal. That can be a good thing (less perceived recoil) or a bad thing (slightly heavier gun overall).

    Good bullets and molds are available for both but the 44 has a greater selection.

    I'm a big fan of the "Skeeter" load (44 Special casing, 240-250 gr LSWC, 7.5 grains of Unique) and this load can be duplicated in a 44 Magnum casing with about 8.2 grains of Unique to compensate for the large case volume. That load will handle about 90% of what a 44 is called upon to do and the 44 magnum will handle the remaining 10%. That ability alone would sway me to the 44 over the 41.

    Like the OP, I'm a DA shooter more than a SA. That requirement limits the 41 magnum a bit due to availability of DA guns in 41 mag. There are a few but the 44's are easier to find.

    Obtaining a good supply of 41 Mag brass could be challenging or at least expensive.

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I like my .41, but I'm going to recommend .44, just for the ease of getting brass and the great selection of molds out there.
    KE4GWE - - - - - - Colt 1860, it just feels right.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master Shawlerbrook's Avatar
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    The 44 for all the reasons above.

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy
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    I appreciate the feedback and I’ll go with 44.

    I see Taurus revolvers are close to half the price of Ruger and S&W. Don’t know much about Taurus so thoughts on the three manufactures mentioned ?

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check