Accuracy .41 vs .44 mag

[PacMan]

I picked up a used BH .41 mag recently with a 4 5/8 barrel and am waithing for my LBT 240LFN mold to arrive so i can start some serious load work. The waiting is tough.

Anyway was wondering about the accuracy of the .41mag compared to the .44mag. I read on this site and others about the kind of accuracy RBH .44 are capable of but little to nothing on the .41mag.

My question to those that have experience with both is how do they compare given the gun is made and put together right and the right load is used?

My sucess to this point has been a little disapointing but hope to cure that if load development is the problem.

Thanks for any input guys.
Dwight

[Shooter6br]

i have had 41 Mag Rugers and my Smith 657. I believe it is an inherently accurate cartridge. Of course your results may vary. I would say it at least is equal to any other cartridge as accuratcy goes.

[felix]

Because of the large primered cases, use slow powders to get equal accuracy from the 41 as the 44. You can use the same slow powders as for the 44. ... felix

[exile]

I have a Ruger .41 magnum flattop (Anniversary model) with an all steel frame and a six and a half inch barrel. I don't shoot well enough to make any claims as far as accuracy is concerned, but I have heard that due to the fact that so many fewer .41 magnums are made as compared to .44's, that the tooling is used less, worn out less, and thus produces a tighter gun.

This is simply hearsay on my part, perhaps someone with more knowledge than I have could comment?

exile

[theperfessor]

I think some the problem with various .38s, .44s and .45s is that the basic cartridges were developed before the widespread adoption of domestic and international standards, and that certain gunmakers continued to use their existing tooling and gauges when they magnumized their guns. I think the .41 Magnum was a new offering not based directly on any prior round and for a while offered only by S&W and then Ruger. The dimensional and pressure specs developed from original data sources were adopted throughout the industry.

Not a lot of difference between the .41 and .44 in accuracy in any good gun that I've ever had. I usually shoot .44 Special level loads in my M57 now, a 220 gr SWC at 850 to 1000 is pleasant to shoot and easily knocks over steel plates and bowling pins.

[Good Cheer]

Best dang 40 caliber huntin' rifle round ever created but for some reason they only make it in pistols. Now that's weird!

[44man]

No difference at all, both are neck and neck and are great calibers.
Find a mild primer, not a magnum because the case is small and you need to avoid too much primer pressure, you just want heat.
Even the .44 case is too small for a mag primer.
I do not move to a mag primer until I get to the .475 and up.
My favorite in the .41, .44 and .45 is the Fed 150. Even a WW LP will open groups. That goes for all powder choices including H110 and 296.

[big dale]

I loved my old model 41 mag blackhawk that I bught new in 1966 for full list price $87.50 that also had the short barrel. Never considered another handgun till it was stolen about 1980. Then I switched to a SuperBlackhawk in 44 mag. I have had one of them ever since. I have also had a couple of Redhawks 5.5 inch barrel ( one in each caiber 41 and 44 as well as my current Superredhawk in 44 with a 7.5 inch barrel. They all have given between 1.5 and 2 inch groups at 25 yards. If your dosen't do the same just keep developing the loads till they do. Work up a good mid-range load as well as a full power load. Then just shoot the hell out of it for a few decades. My old 41 blackhawk just loved the lee 240 grain semi wadcutter boolit. When you load it to 44 mag veocities, it kicks more than the 44 mag does cause the gun weighs about 5 ounces less. Screws could loosen due to recoil. That 240 grain boolit at about 1000 fps was favored by mine for many years....the full loads always put a big grin on my face too.

Have fun with this stuff.

Big Dale

[GLynn41]

there is likely no real difference between them-- been a long time since I had a .44 but it was a great shooter my 44 was an old model super Blackhawk -- for me longer barrells --6"+ have done the best -- ---- I have also gotten good accuracy with both pb and gc -- either cal.
.44 man I will try the mild primer thing -- normal for me are wwlp or Fed 155-with .41s
John Taffin used a Freedom Arms in the .41 and said it was the most accurate 6 gun he ever used -- this is found in his book Big Bore Hand guns IIRC--have fun

[exile]

.41 magnum in a rifle! Now there is an interesting idea.

exile

[44man]

there is likely no real difference between them-- been a long time since I had a .44 but it was a great shooter my 44 was an old model super Blackhawk -- for me longer barrells --6"+ have done the best -- ---- I have also gotten good accuracy with both pb and gc -- either cal.
.44 man I will try the mild primer thing -- normal for me are wwlp or Fed 155-with .41s
John Taffin used a Freedom Arms in the .41 and said it was the most accurate 6 gun he ever used -- this is found in his book Big Bore Hand guns IIRC--have fun
Give them a try. I went down to shoot on the coldest day we had last year. It was bitter and windy. Even my water at the barn was frozen and that thing is not supposed to freeze.
I shot these at 50 yards with the Fed 150 on the left and the 155 on the right. The standard primer still beat out the mag. I use 296.

[pdawg_shooter]

I picked up a used BH .41 mag recently with a 4 5/8 barrel and am waithing for my LBT 240LFN mold to arrive so i can start some serious load work. The waiting is tough.

Anyway was wondering about the accuracy of the .41mag compared to the .44mag. I read on this site and others about the kind of accuracy RBH .44 are capable of but little to nothing on the .41mag.

My question to those that have experience with both is how do they compare given the gun is made and put together right and the right load is used?

My sucess to this point has been a little disapointing but hope to cure that if load development is the problem.

Thanks for any input guys.
Dwight

What takes longer? Two weeks or 14 days?

[ReloaderFred]

I carried a 6" Model 57 as my duty gun for about 15 years of my 26 years "on the job". As far as I'm concerned it's a great caliber. Now that I'm retired, I don't shoot it as much, but it's still a good caliber for most uses that require a little power.

As for the .41 Magnum in rifles, I have three of them. I have a second issue Marlin 1894, a third issue Marlin 1894, both in blue, and a 16" stainless steel Marlin Model 1894 Limited Edition. The second two are unfired.

In pistol caliber leveraction rifles, my second issue 1894 is the most accurate of any I've got in my collection. It's just a joy to shoot.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[NHlever]

"Newer" calibers are often more accurate than the older ones in factory offerings partly because the SAMMI specifications are closer to what is actually required for the case design to function correctly. Look at the mess that NEF, and Marlin got into when they went with the old black powder specifications with the 38-55's they produced. The chambers were too small for the bore sizes, and the bore sizes were larger than the components, and molds available to reloaders. Word got out they didn't shoot very well, and the companies stopped producing them. Now if you were to ask one of their marketing folks, they would tell you that there wasn't enough demand for the caliber. The .41 Mags have been good shooters, and wonderful walkabout guns because the specifications and components were developed at the same time, and matched each other. Accuracy with the .44's has been very good too because the original specs happened to be pretty good. The fact that manufacturers completely ignore bullet weights, and shapes in popular use doesn't do much for functioning, or accuracy in some firearm styles available for them though. ( Keith boolits, 38" twists, etc.) In contrast the .45 Colt has developed an undeserved reputation for weak brass, and poor accuracy purely because of generous black powder specifications. Gun companies are slowly getting that worked out, but it sure has taken far too much time. One of the problems there is that most gun companies send representitives to SAMMI meetings where such things are discussed, and worked out.................... problem is that often these representitives are not shooters, and even less likely to be reloaders. I have talked to Engineers designing guns, and suggested a more thorough look at what is actually going on in the field with reloaders, and shooters, and have explained why some dimensions have to be matched with what is commonly available, but I have usually been met with blank stares, and a complete disbelief that SAMMI just might not match what was going on in the world. Look at the poor .257 Roberts. Put it in a short action with a long throat first, and then put it in a long action with a short throated chamber......... They just don't get it sometimes! I could seat boolits out further in my short Remington 722 than I can in my Ruger RL. Oh well where would the challenge be if we could buy things that work. The 41 Remington Mag works because the cartridge, and all the components, molds, etc. were designed at the same time.

[PacMan]

pdawg shooter i would say 14days???????
Thanks for all the replys guys. I was working with H-110 and N-110 and 210 XTP yesterday trying to find a good load at around 1150 to 1250 fps. 17.5 gr of N-100 and 20.5 grs of H-110 looked promising at 25yrs. i have had 0 luck to this point with 2400 and have not tried Little Gun yet. I hope to find a suitable load with N-110 because it is much quiter than the other powders.Maybe it will happen.
44Man i will try the non mag primers ,have CCI 300s on hand, with the above loads and see what happens.
Once again thanks guys.
Dwight

[9.3X62AL]

Late to the party (again). I own both, enjoy both, and can't discern an accuracy advantage in my several examples in these calibers. I've owned a bevy of these over the years.

44 Man, some interesting conclusions concerning the 'spark plug heat ranges' using WW-296 and H-110 in these applications. This is something I will try out in my revolvers. I've always used the Magnum caps in such loads, because The Factory Said So. I generally pay The Factories little mind, but have done so in this venue. Consistency.......the final refuge of the unimaginative.

[PacMan]

Was looking in the Hornady Volume 1 and it shows all the loads for the .41 mag using Fed 150 primer.
Interesting i would say.

[Gunsmoke4570]

Have a S&W M57 and a S&W M29. No difference in accuracy between the 2.

[Bigbore4me]

Over the years I have owned several of each but more 44s than 41s. I would have to say I have had more accuracte 41 mags than 44 mags but both are close. To me it always seemed easier to get the 41 mags to shoot better.

[big dale]

Dwight: You might also try a can of 4227...sometimes getting good accuracy with that powder is as easy as falling off a log.

Big Dale

[Lloyd Smale]

through the years if i look at the 41s ive owned and the 44s i had to give it a toss up. Both seem to do better then the 45 colts ive owned

[Tatume]

What takes longer? Two weeks or 14 days?

Which has more paper in it, a pound of one dollar bills or a pound of newspaper?

[felix]

Newspaper by volume. ... felix