Favorite Light Load in .41 Magnum?

[Throwback]

I have a .41 again after maybe 5-years without. I still have all my dies, brass, bullets, moulds and now I have a New Model Blackhawk 4-5/8". I have loaded many full-house loads for the .41 so I know that territory well enough. I am in need of a light load for plinking and small game.

I just loaded up some 220-grain Lymans and I also have a whole bunch of commercial cast bullets in 210 and 215-grain weights. One load I tried with the Lyman uses 7.5 grains of Unique and the other uses 5.0 of Bullseye. The Unique load shows promise but the Bullseye dissappears in the big case and the cases are coming out smoked, so not enough powder.

A now deceased friend and I landed on 10.5 of Accurate 7 and a 210 gr SWC. I seem to recall it shooting well in a 6" M57 but was erratic when I last tried it and I can't remember how we arrived there. I am unable to find it in any manual and it is below the starting charges listed by Accurate Arms.

Does anyone have a favorite light load?

[JudgeBAC]

8 grs. of Unique and any 210-230 gr. boolit. I am also presently experimenting with W540 (same as HS-6). Will let you know how that works out.

I have also used some trail boss loads but you need to stay on the upper end to prevent the smoked case syndrome.

[GLynn41]

7 grains of 800x --225 grain 410459 --
7gr herco--unique same bullet

[fourarmed]

8 grains of Unique is a good load with a 210 cast bullet giving about 1000 fps. For a lighter load than that, the best I have used is 6.0 of 231. It has a muzzle velocity from my 6" M57 of about 870 fps, and with the RCBS 210 SWC sized .411, is the most accurate cast load I have shot in that gun. Sunday I tried it in my 10" Contender barrel and shot 34x40 in field pistol production class. Of course, the temperature was a balmy 25 degrees, and I was wearing two coats over two shirts, which steadies the aim somewhat. Many years ago I used an even lighter load of Red Dot that was so pleasant we shot it without ear protection. I probably wouldn't do that now.

[acemedic13]

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[AZ-Stew]

6.7 gr 7625 (gray can/label) under a 410459 or equivalent, CCI Standard LP primer.

900-950 fps from a 4-6" bbl.

This is a "shoot it all day" load, and very accurate. 7625 fills the case better than Unique. The load listed comes to the base of the Keith bullet when seated to crimp in the groove. You may occasionally get some discoloration on the sides of the cases. This is a low-pressure load. On the plus side, the brass lasts for a long time.

I have not been satisfied with this (or any other load) using bevel-based commercial-cast boolits. With a flat-based home-cast boolit, it's hard to beat.

Regards,

Stew

[Topper]

8 grains of Unique with 210 gr cast gets my vote as well.
It has always performed well for me in both .41's I have.

[Throwback]

Unique at 1,000 fps with the 410459 sounds just ducky. AZ-Stew, I also have little regard for the bevel bases which is one reason I still have so many of those bullets. (I inherited them) I was hoping to find something down in the 800 fps range so that the BB bullets would not lead. That seems to be where the line is with them. The problem of course is low pressure in the big case. Possibly a heavier charge of Bullseye or Titegroup will do the trick. Once I find something I really like, I will share.

The .41 has no problems with high-end loads. The 410459 is a great shooting bullet regardless of velocity and the 170-grain Sierra is just a hoot - what a detonation when that goes off!

Thanks for the inputs.

[Dan Cash]

I can't really comment on a mid range load for the 41 as I am useing loads in the upper ".41 Special" level but the loads I am seeing that give problems are with powders that neet to be throtled up a good bit. I think some filler or wads to up the loading density without boosting the weight a lot would improve things and give a better burn with low recoil.

[felix]

Primer force is the culprit in the 41 mag. This case should have the small primer, not the Casull. They got it bass ackwards. Where is John? ... felix

[runfiverun]

4-6 grs of titegroup.

[big dale]

I had an old model short barrel blackhawk for about a decade and fed it a lot of 240 grain cast semi wadcutters loaded with Herco. ( Yes I like big boolits!) Start at 8 grains with cast boolit and work up from there. I started several kids shooting pistols with this load and never found a 8 year old that could not handle it.

Big Dale

[Lloyd Smale]

another vote for 8 grains of unique or power pistol.

[Don McDowell]

8 grs of unique with any bullet from 210 grs and up.

12 grs of bluedot has worked rather well in my 4 5/8 Blackhawk over the years also.

[Throwback]

For the benefit of everyone interested in the .41 Magnum: Bluedot has been changed and it is VERY dangerous if you use old data.

[felix]

I wish we had more evidence of that, Throwback. Larry is supposed to be playing some A-B comparisons with the old versus the new. If he lived around here I would provide a rifle for him should he not have one. ... felix

[AZ-Stew]

Alliant recently changed Blue Dot. It's a bit faster than it was.

Since most loading manuals and magazine articles completely ignore the pleasurable shooting available using mid-range loads in the .41 and typically only publish full-house Magnum loads, the previously published Blue Dot loads (magnum level) develop excessive pressures with the new formulation.

I just read an article concerning this, but I can't remember where. The article was written as an interview with an Alliant engineer. Point is, don't use the top-end Blue Dot loads that have been published prior to the change in the powder.

Regards,

Stew

[coat]

I have had a lot of luck with Green Dot 7.0 grs 210 to 220 swc. At 25 yads under way under 2 inch light recoil:castmine:

[Don McDowell]

For the benefit of everyone interested in the .41 Magnum: Bluedot has been changed and it is VERY dangerous if you use old data.

That could very well be true. It could also be a bit over blown.
At any rate I've still got a little better than 5 lbs of the stuff left from before the kids in the lab at Alliant got things all screwed up when they were testing bluedot.
:drinks:

[Mack Heath]

Folks,

Below is a reply that a fellow on another forum received when he contacted Alliant directly. This may help clear things up a bit.


"Well, the main Alliant customer service guy is at Camp Perry shooting, but this morning I got a hold of a gentleman at Alliant who very graciously spent some time answering my questions. I feel much better about the situation.

I told him that I bought Blue Dot only for the .41 Mag. He asked what I was shooting, I told him my particular loading, and he told me, “That’s acceptable.” He told me that, as many of us had suspected, new tests showed that several of their previously published loads exceeded pressures they liked.

He told me that Alliant’s loadings run up to 98% of SAAMI pressures. New testing showed that some of the previously published .41 Magnum loadings exceeded that (though they were well under PROOF pressures). The gentleman mentioned what we’ve all heard before about there being new pressure-testing equipment and techniques, as well as different components introduced from time to time.

He told me that Alliant will be publishing new Blue Dot recipes for the .41 Magnum in the future, but that they wanted to get the news out right away that some of the loads were exceeding what they considered acceptable, and the blanket prohibition was their way of getting this done in a hurry."

[9.3X62AL]

8.0 grains of Unique has done well for me in 41 Magnum with the 212 grain Lyman SWC #410032, as has 8.0-9.0 grains of Herco. Herco gets the nod at 9.0 grains for most of my shooting these days. An all-day load, and it runs about 925-950 FPS from my 6"-6.5" barrels.

[376Steyr]

7.5 grains Unique and the 220 grain Lyman 410459 are very accurate in my M57. Lyman's online catalog doesn't have any .41 handgun moulds listed anymore.

[Throwback]

"Lyman's online catalog doesn't have any .41 handgun moulds listed anymore."

Damned if your not right! I just got a Midsouth catalog and they too no longer list it. They must not be selling but still...

It looks like we're down to RCBS & Saeco. Lee also has a couple .41s but I have never used any of their pistol moulds.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
I may have all the available Lee 41 molds... they all work well in my 41´s for my intended purposes.
It would be nice if Lee made a 265+ mold...

[GLynn41]

i emailed Lee once //asked them about that very thing -- answer was we will pass it on -- and that was several years ago-- no answer is a no answer I guess

[Doc_Stihl]

I've had good luck with a 210Gr SWC over 6Gr of Trail Boss.

[missionary5155]

Good morning & GREETINGS Doc Stihl...
Always good to see another 41 gunner pop up !
Mike in >Peru

[Throwback]

So - I still haven't chrony'd anything (and won't until the snow melts) but I have shot a few from the back porch and figured out a couple things.

First, I am going to abandon Bullseye. It continues to smoke the cases even with heavier charges and if I continue to approach "maximum" I will end up with the same "mid-range" velocities I can achieve with Unique or Accurate #5.

Second, Trailboss seems really promising. The maximum load in the Hodgdon manual is 6.5 grains for a 215 grain bullet. This supposedly hits 910 fps from a 10-inch tube. My Ruger has a 4-inch barrel so my velocities will end up in the light .44 Special range. I found that 6.0 grains works just as well as 6.5. It shoots beautifully and does not smoke the cases. I will eventually be able to use up the remaining bevel-based bullets without worry of leading and have a fantastic small game load to boot.

For mid-range loads with the 220-grain bullet at 1,000 fps I will use Unique or Herco, or Accurate #5, whichever shoots the best. The 8.0 gr load of Unique looks excellent so far.

[JudgeBAC]

I have not tried Herco yet in the .41 but in my neck of the woods right now Herco is the cheapest powder going. I bought a pound and plan on trying it out.

[NoDakJak]

The 8.0 grains of Unique with 210 grain boolit is a great load. In the revolvers that I have been using 8.0 grains of PB is even better. It measures as well as any ball powder, is the cleanest burning powder that have encountered and is at least as accurate as the Unique load. Neil

[Throwback]

I actually broke out the chrony briefly today.
6.0gr of Trailboss - 215 gr cast - 835 fps
6.0gr Bullseye - 215 gr cast - 960 fps still with smoked cases albeit not as bad as with only 5.0gr

[TDC]

I've used 8 grains of Unique behind a Lee 195gr SWC for years. I've used it for Close Combat competitions and it always performed well for me. The .41mag is still my favorite caliber in an "N" frame S&W.

I'm very interested in this thread because I'm a "newbie" here and returning to handloading/casting after about a 13 year absence. I have a lot of powder remaining from that time period and I'm curious about the differences in the powders using the same number designations for loading my 41's. Unique, 2400, WW231, Bullseye, WW630, IMR4227 from production 13 years ago are still available to me, but like Felix advised, there is still much question and debate about current applications. I have most of the old manuals for using these powders but as the older powders are replaced it doesn't seem probable I'll be able to use the same data.

If someone could guide me to a web address or source of info on former/current burn rates for powders with the same number designations I'd sure appreciate it...

Thanks!

TC

[Larry Gibson]

My "lite" load for my .41 Ruger Bisley is the Lee TL410-175-TC over 5 gr bullseye for 925 fps (7 1/2" barrel). The Lee TL410-210-SWC over 6 gr of Bullseye is soon to be my "lite" load (simple matter of a 2 vs 6 cavity mould).

felix

Perhaps if this weather clears I'll get to the range and pressure test those .44 Mag loads with Blue Dot this week.

Larry Gibson

[Newtire]

I have had great success with bevel based boolits that were powder coated. It’s a whole different ball game.

[black mamba]

For lighter (800-900 fps) loads I use Berry's 210 plated FP seated to just crimp over the ogive at 1.510" OAL. 5.5 gr of 700X or TiteGroup gives about 850 fps with great accuracy. Of course, the case fill is so much better with 700x that I doubt I'll buy any more TiteGroup. This same load you could substitute Red Dot or American Select at 5.5 gr, or 6.0 gr of Green Dot, 231, or Vihtavuori N320.
For a bit hotter field load I too like the bevel-based coated 215 gr SWC over 8.5 gr of Longshot or Herco for about 1000 -1050 fps, depending on barrel length.

[Good Cheer]

#41026 works well for me with light loads of Unique.

Loading the NEI 185 grain round nose.

Would love to have the Ideal/Lyman #410214.

[wbbh]

210 grain plated bullets over 7.1 grains of TightGroup. This load is fantastic in my S&W Model 57 and shoot very well good in a Henry lever action.

[Texas by God]

5grs of Bullseye or 6 grs of Unique have been good for me for years Lately I'm using Acc.#2(6 grs) because 2lbs of it were given to me.
Mostly under the Lee 210 TLSWC, coated or lubed.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[Cary Gunn]

Gents,

My Blackhawk 6-1/2" shoots gently and pleasantly with 6.5 grains of Green Dot and the Lyman 220-grain semi-wadcutter. It's a great plinking load.

Since a damaged right hand forced me to abandon full-house big-game loads (heavy charges of H110 and the Lyman slug or 210-grain J-word pills) several years back, I've resorted to a much lighter recoiling load of 7.8 grains of Unique with the same cast bullet in hope of using it as a "fall back" whitetail load.

The Unique load groups under 4 inches for me from benched sandbags at 100 yards, so it's plenty accurate for brush-country deer. Unfortunately, I've yet to plant one in venison to see how well the load works in actual practice. If and when I do, it will be at a range much shorter than the 100-yard bench work.

Happy trails,

-- Cary Gunn --

[Charliemac]

I have 183 gr WC mold from Arsenal. I cast them with 20:1 and shoot them with 5gr of titegroup. They're pleasant and accurate. I think next time around I'll try to find the lower end of the powder charge weight.

[RJM52]

Cary...it should work... Dick killed a doe at 88 yards with a Ruger BH 4 5/8" using 8.0 grains of Unique with one of his 230 grain Keith HPs...