41 Magnum Opinions?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Doc, Doc, Doc.......


You have a very good point.

This is why I skipped over that "in between" caliber, the .44

With this a a bookend to the .41mags, what more does a person need?

100_0476.gif

S&W 25-5, worked over by one of the greats of old school gunsmithing, Austin Behlert.

I actually prefer this one to the 41mags, just don't tell anyone.

bob
 
Any More Hunting Experiences With The 41 Mag?

I want to bag a deer with mine this coming hunting season and there is a possiblity of a hog hunt. I think it will be perfect for my hunting situation around the house between the hog farms and the sub-divisions!
 
Hunting

As I recall, but I could be wrong, Dick Metcalf, the gun writer from the west central Illinois area, (and one-time PASA Park official) likes the .41 to hunt with. Might find him and ask him, if he is not already a member of this forum.

The Doc is out now. :cool:
 
Bob R's bobbed grip

Interesting look there to your .45 long barrel there, Bob R. I take it the frame was rounded off? What else was done to it (besides the hammer jeweling)

The Doc is out now. :cool:
 
San Antonio PD adopted the M58 about 1974, and sold them off as surplus in the 80's, and I bought one of those surplused sixguns about '84, and used it as my duty pistol through much of the rest of the 80's. In spite of weighing a bit less than a 4" M629, the .41 full magnum loads beat me up much less than any full magnum load from the 629. When I later owned a .44 Mountain Gun, I noticed that the M58 seemed to weigh less than it, too. I figure the M58 was a Mountain Gun before S&W made designated Mountain Guns, except that the M58 obtained the weight savings my eliminating the barrel rib and underlug instead of tapering the barrel. Mine is not for sale for any sane amount of money. After firing countless rounds, and being loose and a bit out of time, it is resting in the safe until I decide whether to just have it tightened and tuned, or go for a full restoration.
 
Last edited:
I killed a deer last season with my 6" M57-1. I was shooting the Federal castcore loads, those being what was available locally in a hunting round (I have since started to reload, and have a box of 210gr Gold Dots to load for hunting). I had never shot a deer with a pistol, so I got very close to make sure I could get a good shot. I shot once, broadside, at about 25 yards, the deer jumped, ran about 10 yards, and stopped and looked confused so I shot again at about 35 yards. At this point she ran off into the trees. I got down a few minutes later and found her about another 30 yards into the trees.

The shots were about 2" apart, both were clean through, and one of them went right through the heart. There was vastly less damage to the meat than with a rifle - I could sort of just cut out the .41" hole and have only good meat left, as opposed to the bruising and clot that I always end up with when I use a rifle.

I plan to mostly hunt with the revolver from now on, I think. I plan to use the gold dots for deer hunting, but I think if I were after big pigs I'd still use the Federal castcore (hard cast) or similar handload.

On a side note, the revolver is presently at Briley having some work done, mainly just a bit of a trigger smoothing and action cleanup and a polish and reblue (bought it used, and the finish was a bit spotty). Here it is in its pre-prettied up state:

left.jpg
 
Hey Jimmy,
You may want to check out Hornady XTPs as well. They are probably my favorite 200-210gr. jacket bullet for whitetail-sized game. YMMV.
 
I'll check them out - I have shot exclusively Hornady cartridges through deer rifles for years, but don't have any real experience with their handgun bullets/cartridges.
 
RE: XTPs

I "got into them" after seeing how well they did on deer for me in my 10mm (200gr.) and in .357 (the 180gr, not the 158gr.). The other jacketed .357 bullet I like is Nosler's 180gr. Partitian...but they are expensive.
 
FWIW, here's my Deer-getter

6" S&W 657-0 w/ Tung oil finished Morando grips.

:cool:
 

Attachments

  • my657_0_with_Ahrends.JPG
    my657_0_with_Ahrends.JPG
    239.6 KB · Views: 26
  • my657_0_with_Ahrends2.JPG
    my657_0_with_Ahrends2.JPG
    196.6 KB · Views: 12
I think the 41 is A dead end. Bill Jordan had A bad Idea. He should have worked on the 44 spl or the moon clip 45 ACP. The Big N frame S&W is A fine frame for big bore.
The new reissue of the S&W 610 is A great game gun for IDPA. Its the same story with shooting steel targets. The 41 was A game gun.
The 41 was made to be A ideal service revolver round. It was factory loaded to two differant power levels for hunting or shooting people. There were better guns that did the same thing better.
A cut down 4 inch M-25 with full moons would have been better then the
Police model 58 that was offered to law enforcement. Or can we say Model 1917.
 
Personally (IMHO) it's a better match for the N-frame than the 10mm.
I do however agree with several of the positive attributes you point out with regard to the others. To each his own, I guess.

FWIW, in case it matters to you, I became a .41 user after moving back and forth between .357/10mm/.44/.45LC over the last 18-20 years for hunting. After careful consideration of MY needs and what it the .41 had to offer, I chose to consolidate my calibers to .41 mag and .38 spec/.357 mag. in wheelguns. Again, for me, I especially like the .41 in N-frame platforms.

Now, truth be told, I’m not a formal gamer anymore (where the 625 does shine…and the 610 isn’t a slouch) and now shoot mostly to hunt and informal (but frequent) target practice. I have owned 3 different 610s (two 6.5” and one 4”) as well as several other 10mms (1006, 1066, 1086, G-20, G29) and still own & shoot several of these (but I have sold off my 610’s in favor of keeping & shooting .41 Mags in the “.40 cal range”). I do still like my remaining 10mm’s a great deal, but mostly have returned to revolvers and like the .41 better than the 10mm in them. Now, besides .41 and 10mm, I shoot mostly .38/357…but the .41 is my go-to gun for handgun hunting. I guess FOR ME, the move “up” from a K/L frame to an N-frame made me want more than “just” a 10mm round exiting the bore – and the .41 was, for me, the natural choice.
 
The 41 was made to be A ideal service revolver round. It was factory loaded to two differant power levels for hunting or shooting people. There were better guns that did the same thing better.
Click to expand...

Earplug, which caliber did it better than the 41 magnum with factory loads when it was introduced in 1964?

Frankly, I disagree with you almost competely. The 41 magnum far surpasses the 45ACP in power. It is probably more popular today than it has ever been.

I think this is one of those situations where I just choose to disagree and for you, to each his own.
 
657 3"
attachment.php
 
Last edited:
I spent an afternoon shooting and visiting with Bill Jordan. He was pleased to see that I was shooting a S&W model 58.

I had to fire that gun four times in "serious social engagements" during 13 years as an LE.

The gun and cartridge did what it was designed to do.

I have a lot of guns, but that old .41 magnum will never leave my possession as long as I am alive.
 
Last edited:
S&W Model 57,.41 REm. mag.

I bought one from Wal-Mart in early '80s. It was a 4" barrel,beautifully blued with wood grips. Price was $260 so I bought it. It was VERY accurate with 210gr semi-wadcutters until the barrel lead fouled after about 10 rounds. Jacketed ammo cured the problem(after cleaning). Loved the gun,warmed to the caliber,traded it anyway!:(
 
The 41 was made to be A ideal service revolver round. It was factory loaded to two differant power levels for hunting or shooting people.
Click to expand...
You must remember the rural and open highway LEOs of that day had more concerns. Shooting people wasn't a problem but stopping vehicles were. Times were different back then. A powerful handgun was needed and the .45acp just wasn't up to the task. The cartridge wasn't designed with the city LEO in mind, but for the officers who patroled the open and back roads.
 
Majic

Exactly right. I was a HP nearly 40 years ago. That's back when cars were made of metal.The .41 magnum would easily penetrate the body of vehicles and such in rural applications.

I used it to keep a guy busy in a barn about a 100 yds away, until I could get off the bullseye.
Another knocked me down on a traffic stop with a Ford Bronco. I put a round through the tailgate of the vehicle as it fled, and knocked out the radio in the dash.

That got the driver's attention.:uhoh:
 
From that link posted back last summer sometime.....


We get several calls and letters here weekly asking for information and load data for the various .45s on the market.

The toughest and best built by far are the Ruger Blackhawks and Bisleys. These are fine hunting and utility guns and in 4-3/4" barrel length make what could be considered by many the ultimate packing gun.
Click to expand...

Now, there's a man after my heart! :D When you got a .45 Colt Blackhawk, you don't need no stinkin' .44 mag, let alone a .41. :D

I've always liked the .41, though, because it can approach the .44 mag with good handloads and in a lighter standard Blackhawk rather than a superblackhawk. However, I've got a .45 Colt, another caliber I like better than the .44 mag, and really, that's all I need. But, one day I just might get a .41. It's a cool caliber for handloading. .44 is the choice, I guess, if you're too lazy to take up handloading.:neener:
 
In general I agree with all of that.

I think a .41, .44, or .45 Colt will all perform pretty much the same on all the animals anyone would likely plan to take with any of them. Most of the "mine's better than yours" arguments between champions of these three often seem more about the poster's ego and emotional attachment to his pet chambering than anything else. I happen to prefer the .41 since I think it leaves more "meat" in all critical areas in the N-frame platform...but I'd feel perfectly happy hunting with the others. I guess since I already HAVE a .41 mag though, I see no "need" IMHO, to get any of the others - unless I just want to have another toy to feed & load for...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

O
Revolver cylinder lengths needed.
Replies
16
Views
878
Onty
O
G
  • Locked
I messed around in the gun store too long...
Replies
12
Views
1K
gspn
G
brutus51
  • Locked
Getting the hots for a .41 Magnum
2
Replies
48
Views
3K
brutus51
brutus51
C
  • Locked
Non-Fluted Cylinders...
2
Replies
28
Views
4K
Hondo 60
Hondo 60
S
  • Locked
S&W 657, 41 mag
Replies
8
Views
1K
schromf
S
Back
Top