.41 mag?

[reddog]

I hope this is the right place for this. An elderly friend of mine was gifted a BH in 41 mag. (I know lucky guy) He wants me to load him some ammo and all I need is brass and a mold or some boolits. I have never loaded 41, but I got some .40 FMJ TC boolits in a trade a few years ago. Can these be used in the 41? He doesn't want blasters, just a few to plink with so he can try it out. Thanks, Frank

[reddog]

Sorry, they are 155 grain. Thanks Frank

[rintinglen]

The 41 mag has a true .410 bore. Your 155 grainers are too small, being meant for a 40 S&W.

[GLynn41]

it is easy to load for and lots of data around

[mold maker]

Getting brass is the hardest part. Factory is outrageously priced, and except for those selling range pickup, it's hard to find.

[reddog]

Thanks for the replys. I'm finding out how hard it is. I bought a die set, but I'm havin real trouble finding brass and a mold. I ordered some cast from a website, but I'm still looking for a mold, brass and sizer die. I really want to give him a few to touch off. I'll keep lookin, good things come to those who wait. or in my case, God takes care of drunks and idiots. Either way, I've got my fingers crossed. Thanks again, Frank

[smoked turkey]

Frank you might keep a watch over in the swappin and sellin section for what you need. Also you should post your wants in the want to buy section. Lots of folks here and you never know when the right thing might come along.

[canyon-ghost]

Check the PM, I'll offer to help.

Ron

[reddog]

Thanks to you all for your advise and generosity. I'm glad I get to be around here. Gotta keep an eye on the wants and the swappin and sellin. Thanks again, Frank

[Clay M]

I love the .41 magnum.It has become my favorite.I find them to be very accurate and pleasant to shoot.I have done well with 296,2400 and N110.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
If your friend has not shot a BH in a mag caliber before do him a favor and start out with some loads in the 950 - 1000 fps range. The BH can be a wild animal with maxed handloads pushing a heavy boolit.
The grips also need to be considered. Does your friend have the hand strength to grip a BH with full power loads ? Another reason to start light and work up.
You also want to measure your boolits to the mouths of the cylinders. Caliber .410 sized boolits may be too small for that BH. Have one that needs .412.
Then the barrel.. some BH's have a serious restriction at the barrel / frame area and a possible one where the rollmark was "crushed" into the barrel. This is a later concern to finally be able to get good accuracy with boolits.
Mike in Peru

[runfiverun]

I can't chamber 412 in my Blackhawk or my bisley hunter.
I have to have 411 for a slight thumb press fit in the chambers.
8.0-8.5 grs of unique is a pretty good load with 210 swc's and my cast wad cutters, it let's you know you are shooting a magnum but isn't obnoxious or uncontrollable and is accurate.
8.0 is really soft for what it does on the other end.

[Rodfac]

Red... I've worked with two Ruger Blackhawks and a Smith M57 in this interesting caliber. Both Rugers were new models, one an early NM, the other a current Lipsey's Flat Top. All three guns shoot well with .411" dia. WW alloy cast bullets. In my guns, the relative hardness doesn't seem to matter, tho I've not pushed them beyond a chrono'd 1100 fps. All three like Win 231 or its clone, HP38 up to the aforementioned velocity. I cast my own from Lyman's 411459 PB with good results in WW alloy...gps run well below 2" at 25 yds from a rested position. Commercial bullets that I've tried are considerably harder than my WW alloy, but group equally well...I've used both Truncated Cone types from Valley (now out of business) as well as Magnus' LSWC with the hard blue lube...neither showed any significant leading.

I'll add too that .40 cal bullets are not to be used in a .41. They're undersized by 0.010" and are unusable. If you want good quality commercial cast bullets, you can't do better than Missouri Bullet Co. in my opinion. I've used thousands, literally, of their bullets and have yet to find one that's a reject. They're as good as those that I cast myself.

The pic is of a NM BH with a typical target...it's a good load and was shot from 25 yds. Son #2 now owns that Ruger. The 2nd pic is of the Flat Top...equally accurate...I've managed to hold on to that one...tho both son's have lustful eyes whenever they see it.

Best Regards, Rod

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii64/Rodfac/Targets/RugerNMBH41-1.jpg (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/Rodfac/media/Targets/RugerNMBH41-1.jpg.html)

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii64/Rodfac/Handguns/41FlatTop.jpg (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/Rodfac/media/Handguns/41FlatTop.jpg.html)