As far as efficiency goes, the .41mag beats the .44 mag. Why? For most jobs, the .41 mag can kill like a .44 mag. However, the .41 mag uses less lead and less gunpowder to get the same killing job done. For reloaders, the .41 mag. makes a lot of sense.
https://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/loading-the-forgotten-41/138378
"The final question everyone asks is, "What's it good for?" Anything you can do with a .44 Magnum can be, with proper load and bullet selection, done with the .41. Handgun hunters like it, and it has a following among silhouette shooters. Obviously it could be used for defense, and it's a fun plinker so I guess the real answer is, 'Anything you'd like.'"
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".41 Remington Magnum (The Perfect Revolver Cartridge?)"
https://skyaboveus.com/hunting-shooting/41-Remington-Magnum-The-Perfect-Revolver-Cartridge
"LJ Bonham is a semi-subsistence hunter, hunting magazine editor, and firearms enthusiast who lives in the Rocky Mountains.
"The .41 Remington Magnum is the best revolver cartridge. Period. A bold statement given there are so many other good, useful revolver rounds out there. The truth is, when all factors are weighed- lethality, accuracy, recoil, and versatility- nothing eclipses the .41 Rem. Mag.
"By the early 1960s, Keith believed he had erred with the .44, and he wanted to redress the issue. In his opinion, he should have made an intermediate round first: more powerful than the .357 but less than the .44. Keith still felt police officers were not well served by either the .357 or the .44 Magnums. The .357 over penetrated human targets with the bullets available at the time, and the big, bad .44, which he intended for hunting, had far too much recoil for the average officer.
"Keith collaborated with his good friend and lawman, Skeeter Skelton, to find a 'Holy Grail' police cartridge. After some deliberation, the duo decided on a .41 caliber, 200 grain bullet propelled at 900 feet per second at the muzzle. Keith, an avid hunter, also wanted a second power level—a 210 grain bullet driven at 1300 - 1400 fps.
"Skelton later stated he and Keith roped executives from both Smith & Wesson and Remington into a discussion about their ideas at a gun industry convention in 1963. Remington agreed to develop the proposed round if S&W would build the guns to chamber it.
"Much to Keith’s dismay, Remington dropped the low pressure, law enforcement-focused load and introduced the full-power version (210 grains at 1250 fps.) in 1964. Smith and Wesson also let Keith down when they refused to chamber their medium-sized K-Frame revolvers for the round and instead introduced the large, N-Frame Model 57 with a six or eight-inch barrel and adjustable sights. To appeal to the law enforcement market, the Massachusetts-based gun concern also offered the Model 58: a four-inch barreled Model 57 with fixed sights.
"If so many shooters didn’t want the .41, why is it the best revolver cartridge ever made? The .41 Remington Magnum does what its rivals do, but does it better in many ways.
"When standard factory ammo is considered, the .41 delivers 25 percent more energy than the .357 Magnum with a wider, heavier bullet. This means it hits a target harder, makes a wider wound cavity, and, all things equal, will penetrate as deep or deeper than Keith’s first magnum. All this with the same recoil as a medium-framed .357 when the .41 is fired from a large-framed revolver.
"It is true the .44 Remington Magnum produces more energy than the .41 if standard factory loads are compared (800 ft-lbs. vs. 700 ft-lbs.). The other truth is the terminal effect on either an animal or human doesn’t change much between those two numbers. A deer hit with a .41 and then a .44 is hard-pressed to tell the difference. They make similar wound channels to similar depths. If the results are the same, why put up with the .44’s much heavier recoil?
"When it comes to self-defense use, the .41 Magnum is far superior to the .44 Magnum. The .41 will do everything to an assailant the .44 will do, and it is the only big-bore magnum most shooters can manage with a one hand hold on the gun. This is more important than many people think. While a two-handed hold is the modern, preferred method, many times it is necessary to shoot one-handed. Your off hand might have to hold a flashlight, baton, etc. You might need it to hold your attacker or push them away from you. The .41 allows quicker, more accurate follow-up shots either one or two-handed than the .44 ever will.
"The .41’s virtues have given it a renaissance in the last few years. Shooters have rediscovered it and there are more loads, from more ammo companies, available than ever before. Hand-loaders have known for decades the .41 will keep pace with the .44. The .44, however, does pull ahead when the heaviest bullets (300 grain and up) are used. For a dual purpose, hunting/self-defense gun, the .41 is far superior to the .44 in most respects. Dirty Harry’s favorite is best reserved for hunting where it can do what Elmer Keith envisioned in 1955."
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