Tell me about

[white eagle]

the 41 mag. I am rite on the edge of buying one and want to know more about it. Everyone compares it to the 44 mag but I am interested in the opinions of people who use this seemingly overlooked cartridge. What bullet weights work best this is to be used as a target hole puncher and hunting round. How does it do for big game like elk and black bear does it have the driving force like the 44 mag?
thanks in advance

[contender1]

The .41 mag is the quiet underdog that serious handgunners truly enjoy. It is very, very capable of handgun hunting big game. I have a special gun I want to bag an elk with,, and on my last hunt,, that gun was my primary,, and as my back-up, I had packed along my Ruger .41 Mag SA revolver.
I also live in WNC,, where we get some black bears often that go over 500 lbs. Never undergunned when carrying a .41 mag for them either.

I cast my own bullets, (of course,) and I powder coat mine. My personal preferences are for a heavy for caliber, (over what factory offerings are,) in most of my handguns. I use MP Molds casting (2) different bullets for my .41 mags. A MP413-640 & a MP41-265TS. I most often shoot the MP413-640 bullet.

You can load them up or down,, but in general,, I like to run mine in the 1100 fps range. No elk, deer or bear will be a match for that if I place a proper shot.

Recoil. I find the .41 to be quite comfortable to shoot. The .44 mag is a little snappier in my hands.

So in short,, if I were to be hunting,, and faced with a world record elk, or a 700+ lb black bear,, I would NOT question my choice of caliber. In fact,, I'd rejoice in using it on such a fine animal.

[contender1]

I forgot to add a little tidbit.

Another serious fan of the .41 mag is a member here. sixshot. If he sees this thread,, he'll chime in. He's taken several head of big game with a .41 Mag. I even managed to get a .41 mag Ruger OM from his collection several years ago. And if my memory is correct,, on his last safari to Africa,, he took just handguns,, and he carried a .45 Colt & a .41 Mag. Africa has tougher animals than many of our elk & bear.

[Ed K]

I'm not one who can contribute as having never owned one but am watching this thread. It is not uncommon for a cartridge to be given a status of performing out of proportion and the 41 seems to be one of those. So from that perspective in particular it will be interesting to consider the input from various contributors.

[white eagle]

Now that you mention it I kinda remeber that Dick did use the 41 mag and liked the cartridge

[TNsailorman]

I am amused by people who claim the .41 is too small of a caliber for certain animals but will champion the .44 magnum as a heavy hitter. Fact is the .44 magnum is a .43 caliber (.429 to be exact) and generates basically the same performance given velocity, bullet weight, barrel length, etc. being the same for both. I have found over the years the .41 magnum to shoot slightly flatter than the .44 magnum, not much but just a tad. I admit that I have far more experience with the .41 than the .44. I have owned the .41 magnum since it first came available locally in the mid 60's and I gave up my .44 magnum in the trade. I have never regretted the swap out. Nothing wrong with the .44 magnum I had except it was one of the Ruger Dragoon models and I never cottoned to it. The rear trigger guard banged my knuckles on every shot. The .41 magnum will handle anything on the North American continent except for maybe a grizzly and I don't expect to ever face one. I think it would do in a grizzly also but I am not about to take on any grizzly voluntarily with anything smaller that a .30-06 with a 180 or heavier bullet or a 12 gauge 3" with heavy slugs just to find out. The only drawback I see on the .41 magnum is the sometimes scarcity of reloading components or factory ammo. my experience anyway, james

[El Bibliotecario]

I got rid of my .41 because of its performance was too similar to the .44 to justify reloading an additional cartridge. For a cartridge in between 44 and 357 I found the 10mm (in a revolver) far more suitable. Given the tired cliche about if one only had one gun, the 41 could be a good choice.

[Pereira]

The 41 is a favorite of mine and was the cartridge that push me into reloading many years ago.
My first was a Ruger BH with the 6.5" barrel. Took a nice fat doe quite some years ago with a 210 swc at about 25 yds.
She fell right there, back in early 2017 when Henry introduced one I jumped on one.
Never killed anything with it as when I've carried nothing has presented it's self.
Couple years ago I picked up an Accurate mold that drops a 270+ gr WFN.
That thing wacks the big gong in the back yard at 50 with serious authority.
I also have a Henry in 44 and a pair of Rugers that don't see the light near as much as the 41's.
And I have taken a Buck with each of the pistols. I'd part with the 44's before the 41's.
Yes components can be a little harder to acquire than the 44 but I don't worry as I have quite a supply of brass and two molds and a decent amount of lead. Even the 270's are manageable in the BH, hoping this upcoming season the Henry scores with the heavy boolit.

RP

[Texas by God]

For me it was as simple as I liked the 4-5/8” Blackhawk more than the 7-1/2” Super Blackhawk- I had both.
I kept the .41 and never saw anything in Texas that needed more than a 210gr @1400 fps!
It’s a great cartridge.


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[jaydub in wi]

I have a 6.5" ruger blackhawk. Used a 250 WFN boolit to take a hog about 10 years ago. I seem to remember a post from member rugerfan taking a grizzly bear with his 41. The 41 is one of my favorite cartridges

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[mack2]

I Have never met anyone with 41 mag experience that didn't like them. I started with a Marlin 94 in 41 mag then added a OM Blackhawk 4.75 (4 digit serial number), as of now this is my favorite wheel gun light points well and shoots well or I shoot it well. 210gr Hornady XTP work well but I prefer an Accurate molds 41-225A WFN at 1200 fps. I like 2400 and accurate no9. S&W 57 with a 6" barrel was very nice also probably should have kept that one.
I do think the 41 has a bit less recoil than the 44 but just seems to shoot better easier to me and will take a White Tail with ease. It is mostly a hand loaders gun as factory ammo is scarce and pricy.

[shooting on a shoestring]

I own 41’s and 44’s.
In my experience that 0.019” difference in diameter is not enough difference to matter in terms of performance.
The 44 has many more choices for guns, configurations of guns, factory ammo and everyone talks about 44 Magnum.
The 41’s are odd in that when I come across used ones they are either priced cheap because they are slow sellers, or priced high because they’re rare!
Since you’re on this board I’ll figure you’re a caster and load your own ammunition.
So I’d advise to choose the gun based on the gun and not the caliber. If you like the gun you’re looking at, buy it, load it, enjoy it. It won’t matter if it’s a 41 or 44….until you try to sell it.

[white eagle]

I have had 44 mags and am rid of them
I still have a 44 special Blackhawk Bisley that will go in my box with me
yes I have never bought factory ammo in more years than I care to admit
looking at a mold from Tom yep I bought a S&W 57 with 6" barrel

[shooting on a shoestring]

Yippee!
Good for you!
Love to see a pic.

While you’re on Tom’s site, check out 41-179E. That’s one I had him do to suit my 3-screw short barrel 41 Ruger. It was shooting high with the rear sight bottomed out. The 179gr boolit brought the point of impact down to where I wanted it. I like lots of meplat for lots of splat. It also works well in my 4” 657 driven fast enough to expand, it’s a wicked felon flattener. The 179 also keeps the recoil down to happy old man level.

[G W Wade]

Started out with a SBH back in the early 70's. Loved the gun. Hunted, plinked and shot IHMSA . Carried in a Bianchi crossdraw but needed suspenders to make it work. Somewhere the 41's started appearing. 1st a BH 6 1/2, followed by SW 58, then a T/C and then another BH 4 5/8. Really liked the smaller size of the BH over the SBH. Never felt under gunned with the 41. There is a posting dedicated to 41 lovers here if you know how to find it. I just wait for it to pop up . Another plus is I find /or given componets at really great prices often enough I don't have to worry about keeping the feed. Sadly though the SW and T/C barrel went do the road for some stupid reason. GW

[TNsailorman]

Congratulations White Eagle, I have a Model 57 with a 6" barrel and it is here to stay. I can't imagine ever letting it go. I think you will be joining a small select group of .41 lovers. james

[white eagle]

yes it sure looks like it and what I have been readiing here and elsewhere I don't know what took me so long.
I have all the supplimentals ordered I have brass, mold and sizing die on the way. I got the 41-220J from Tom
https://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet...bullet=41-220J,

[HWooldridge]

Like others, I've had both 41 and 44's and can't see much practical difference in the two. I'm considering stepping away from the 41 altogether and will be offering my old model, 3-screw Blackhawk for sale at some point in the future. Already sold my S&W 57's (I had several) so the Ruger is the last one.

I have absolutely no complaints with the 41 mag and owned the model 57's for over 40 years - but it's just too similar to the 44 mag and I don't want to keep managing another set of brass and projectiles.

[tigweldit]

My love affair with the .41 mag started in 1970 with an old model Blackhawk. Since then I have added a model 57, a 58 and a Desert Eagle. I have nothing against the .44 mag, I just like the .41 better. Hunting from Alaska to Illinois, the .41 has always performed well as long as I did my part.

[rintinglen]

Back around 1977, the Dirty Harry event was still in full cry, with Model 29's selling for nearly double list, if you could find one at all. I came across a Model 57 nickeled in a 6 1/2 inch version. It was only about 10% over list and I bought it. But there was a catch--I couldn't find ammo anywhere. In those days, you could not just jump on Ammoseek and order what you want. You had to get it from an FFL, courtesy of the GCA 68. And even your local FFL had a hard time finding it. When you did get some, it was 12.99 dollars a box, or more: half again what you could buy 357's for. It was even more than the 44 mag ammo which Kmart was selling for just about 2.00 a box cheaper. And the 44 could be found without having to order. After about 6 months I sold my M-57 and made about ten bucks--Carters inflation drove prices up like crazy.

I eventually bought a Ruger Red Hawk and have 44'd ever since. Now there was one gun that made a lot of sense to me, and that was the Ruger 4 5/8 Blackhawk. Marginally Lighter, and much handier than the 7.5 inch barreled 44's, as well as cheaper than the 5 inch Redhawk, for the man who wanted a good hunting gun, it was a pretty good choice.

If you want something different from what the rest of the boys at the range are shooting, and you can afford to buy what you want when you find it. There's nothing wrong with the 41 Magnum. It's just about equal to a 44 magnum in all meaningful ways, save in availability.