Tell me about the .41 magnum

Hodgdon site data is kind of useless for comparing 'em. They used a 10.125" barrel for the .41 and an 8.275" for the .44. Hard to get close with the recoil pages either. No like bullet or revolver weights. Closest is a 2.75 lb. vs a 3 lb. revolver. A 210 grain .41 at 1300 FPS recoil with 15.6 ft-lbs of energy. A 200 grain .44 at 1326 FPS(really slow for a .44. Start load speeds.) recoils with 11.9 ft-lbs.
Your Bulldog is a .44 Special and weighs 19 ounces. Put some Pachmayr's on it. Helps a lot. Doesn't really compare though.
"...have to get it online..." Your local gun shop can order it for you. Hornady loads a 210 grain XTP that should be ok. Only a 20 round box though. Midway has it on sale at $17.79 per 20.
And order as much brass as you can. Even if you're not reloading now. Odd stuff tends to disappear from everywhere by times.

IME, the .41 loaded to capacity is much closer to a .44 than a .357 in terms of recoil. But that's precisely why (at least in part) the original law enforcement loads for it were backed off a bit from the hunting rounds. You can still find ammo at various places along the power spectrum... but it's more of a handloader's cartridge. It's easy to load for, and once you are rolling your own, it can be whatever you want it to be.

I carried a model 58 for 13 years as a LEO. It got me through some serious social encounters and enabled me to go home at the end of the shift.

I also used it a couple of times while hunting. I never had to shoot anything more than once, that includes a 1970 Ford Bronco, but that's another story.
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With original magna grips, it was a beast. With the pair of grips I built for it, it was quite manageable.

Just posting to subscribe-- I've been having thoughts about .41 and would be delighted to know more about the cartridge.

The .41 Magnum us closer in power to the .44 Magnum than the .357 Magnum and shoots a heavier bullet than the .357 too. Felt recoil is usually less than the .44 Magnum but if course that depends on the shooter and the gun being shot.

The .41 Magnum has a cult following and it's a good cartridge. It would have been much more popular if it hadn't been developed around the same time law enforcement was changing over to semi-autos and abandoning revolvers.

ArchAngelCD the .41 magnum came out in 1964, a good 20 years before the change to semi-auto started.

The 41 mag is a great round capable of doing anything the 44 mag can do with the exception of some very heavy bullets.
A great hand loaders round as is the 44 mag IMO, I have both.
Reasons to choose the 41 over the 44, none other than just because you want one.

Answer: Meh. Go with hot 44 Special out of a 44mMagnum or mid-range 44Magnum.

I'm with Tomrkba. The .44 Special is a fine cartridge and can be used in the .44 Magnum.
If you want magnum power just load it up with the Magnum cartridge. The .44 and the .41
aren't that far apart in recoil as far as I can tell. I had both and sold the .41 now I have a
few .44 magnums which I mostly shoot .44 Specials out of.
Zeke

Walkalong

If I were in the market for a .41 magnum, that Ruger Redhawk would be a great one to get (and I already had a S&W Model 57 and Model 58).

drunkenpoacher said:

Reasons to choose the 41 over the 44, none other than just because you want one.

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Yep. No itch to be scratched owning a 41 mag. Other than finding a specific gun that you like that happens to be chambered in that round.

Hi...
The .41 Mag is an excellent cartridge that is powerful, accurate and can be used for both hunting and self defense.
I have several and it's true potential across the power spectrum is only truly found by hand loading.
I have worked up a couple of different loads with both jacketed and cast lead bullets that go from mild to full power with excellent accuracy.
FWIW, I own handguns in many different calibers and the .41Mag may well be my favorite. I have been shooting the .41Mag for 30-35 years and would never be without one.
I like it better than the .357Mag because of increased power and better than the .44Mag because the revolvers are generally a bit lighter in weight. Recoil is no more objectionable than any other Magnum handgun cartridge and they are all easily managed.
For those who think magnums kick too much...my son began shooting the .41 and .44 Magnums when he was just 12 years old. He had been shooting handguns regularly since he was about 8 years old and had two or three years experience with full power .357Magnums by the time he began shooting the bigger magnums. Didn't bother him a bit to transition to the .41 and .44Magnums.

375supermag said:

I like it better than the .357Mag because of increased power and better than the .44Mag because the revolvers are generally a bit lighter in weight.

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Really? Sorry to call you out but that is entirely ridiculous. The weight diffence between a same model .44 and .41 is not noticeable. People really try to justify. 41 mags. There reaching. Its an absolutely excellent cartridge. But it does nothing special over rounds being compared to it

I just bought a nearly-new-condition Redhawk .41 with the 7.5" barrel...it sat for about 6 months on a police-equipment dealer's rack with a $600.00 price tag because no one wanted it due to the caliber. I offered $375.00 and it came home with me (after California's asinine 10-day wait!).

I bought 1,000 Starline cases, dies, and bullets for it because finding .41 on the shelf is pretty tough at times. I've loaded about 450 so far using Missouri Bullet Co. 210 and 225 gr bullets and upper-mid range charges of Unique powder.

So far I love the thing, I just wish I could get out more often to fire it. (It will be shot Veterans day weekend, I'll be sure of that.)

I used a Mod 57 Smith 41Mag for hunting and IHMSA silhouette matches for years. Why did I choose it over a 44Mag? Basically, because in similar size guns it could do what a 44Mag does(ok 95%), with a bit less recoil. What really set it apart though, was it's ballistic performance on those 200yd. RAM targets. At that range, due to higher BC bullets, it actually carried more FP of energy than the 44Mag. did. Puts the RAMs down harder for sure.! Today, though, I just carry a 44Mag.

Walkalong said:

That's about it.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/41-mag-association.599046/

Get some.
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That's a sweet looking Ruger 41 Magnum,wish it was mine. What does one price tag look like?

megatronrules said:

I have a blued charter arms bulldog from the 80's and a new stainless mag pug in 357 that my EDC I love them both.

Both have been great shooters so I'm wanting one in 41 magnum now... I just want a 41 magnum revolver. If that doesn't sound odd? Thanks for any info on this guy's.

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I think I may want one, too. You're not alone.

Mn Fats said:

Really? Sorry to call you out but that is entirely ridiculous. The weight diffence between a same model .44 and .41 is not noticeable. People really try to justify. 41 mags. There reaching. Its an absolutely excellent cartridge. But it does nothing special over rounds being compared to it

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I own a few .44Magnum revolvers, a Virginian Dragoon, a S&W 29, a Dan Wesson and a Super Blackhawk.
I own a few .41 Magnums, a S&W 57 and two BlackHawks.
Every .44 weighs more than the .41s...the closest in weight is the M29 but it's got a full length lug with an 8-3/8" barrel while the M57 has a 5-1/2" barrel with a partial length lug. I suppose if I had a SBH in.41 the weight would be comparable to the same gun in .44 but I have never seen one. Same with the Virginian Dragon and Dan Wesson, if I ever come across one of either of those I will happily buy it.

bearman49709 said:

ArchAngelCD the .41 magnum came out in 1964, a good 20 years before the change to semi-auto started.

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I think it was development of the 41 Special that was overshadowed by 40 S&W coming into LE orders.

Walkalong said:

That's about it.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/41-mag-association.599046/

Get some.
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That's a beauty, but I see that Ruger no longer offers either .45 Colt or .41 Magnum in the 5.5" barrel model. Mine is .45 Colt. The 4.2" model loses its visual appeal and some balance with the shorter barrel. There is a 2.75" barrel model too, which probably isn't much fun to either shoot or look at.