Favorite Light Load in .41 Magnum?

[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.