41 magnum, why?

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My guess is that Ruger isn’t selling all that many of their 44 Special GP100. I base that on the volume of used 44 Specials I see on the GB site. I figured the life span of this model may be somewhat limited. That’s why I bought three of them. For the life of me, I would have made the stainless model in 4” barrel configuration rather than 3”. I own two 3” and one 5”. Once these go out of production, mine will be worth more over time. I really hope Ruger will listen to the 41 crowd and follow suit with a five shot GP100. I think the 41 Special idea would sell like hot cakes! Only time will tell!
 
paul105 said:
In my old age, I've become enamored with the shorter barrelled revolvers. My favorite is the S&W M69 with the 2 3/4" barrel .44 Mag (and yes I shoot magnums 3 or 4 times a week). For some reason they just work for me.

Recently I added a couple of .41 Mags - 2.5" Charter Arms Pug (23.0 oz) and a 2.5" Taurus Titanium Tracker (21 oz). These two are for use as pocket guns while walking the dog here in MT (my reason for the 41 Mag). The Taurus's recoil is less vs the CA. The action on the Taurus is very smooth and makes the little gun easy to shoot.

Here are some chrono results from the Charter (haven'et chroned the Taurus yet). Labradar results at the muzzle and 55 deg f (45 deg f for the last two).

180gr Barnes ….… 1,195 fps (21 es)
230gr HSM …….… 1,145 fps (28 es)
230gr Underwood .. 1,263 fps (18 es)
250gr Grizzly …….. 1,169 fps (4 es)
210gr Fed Swift A Frame .. 1,191 fps (1 es)
210gr Grizzly Punch …….. 1,239 fps (20 es)

Grizzly Punch is a bit too long to function reliably in either (I'm working on shortening them by both deep seating and using 41 special brass.

Here are the guns:

View attachment 877221

FWIW,

Paul
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That's a Taurus 415 isn't it?
 
whatnickname said:
Everyone tends to compare the 41 Magnum to the 44 Magnum. That was all the flap when the 41 Magnum was first introduced and, of course, the 44 Magnum came out better...at least on paper anyway. As a practical matter the differences, while there, weren’t all that much more significant. The inventors of the 41 Magnum never intended the 41 to be a better 44 Magnum. Their intent was to make a better 357 Magnum and sell it primarily to the law enforcement community. The 41 Magnum is a way better mousetrap than the 357. Unfortunately the law enforcement community yawned and a few hunters picked it up but most went with the 44 Magnum and never looked back which started the round on the way to semi-obsolesce, save for the efforts of a few die-hard fans that liked it...me included.

My meager income back in the 60s and 70s was such that the 41 Magnum just wasn’t in the cards. The income situation improved. The wife problem...”Why do you need another gun.” Improved (divorced her sorry ass. You reach a point in life where you learn that you can live with sex but not without your damned glasses.) I own four 41 Magnums today...one S&W 657 Hunter Model (only 2000 of those ever produced) and three Rugers...Two Redhawk (5.5” and 7.5”) and one 4&5/8” Blackhawk. The 7.5” Redhawk is scoped and will consistently shoot sub 2” groups at 50 yards. I’m currently lobbying Ruger to bring out a 5 shot GP 100 stainless in 41 Magnum in a 4” and 6” barrel...Would appreciate some supportive e-mails being sent to Ruger to lobby for that project. If they can produce the GP 100 in a 5 shot 10MM, they sure as hell can produce one in 41 Magnum. I’ve asked Lipsey to chime in and got blown off. While I’m on my soapbox I will also put in a plug for the invention of the 41 Special as well. If the 41 Magnum is a better mousetrap than the 357 Magnum, the 41 Special will be one hell of a lot better .38 Special! I like the 41 and will continue to enjoy the round for the balance of my years. Let’s lobby Ruger to give the 41 Magnum it’s rightful place in their lineup.
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You aren't wrong about the better 357 mag thing but it's not 100 percent valid now because no one really seems to make a 357 frame 41 magnum. They just use 44 magnum frames or the gun is also available in 44mag.

I'm pretty sure the closest we can get in the Taurus Tracker, since it's a 5 shot 41mag and a 7 shot 357 mag.....the problem is it's also a 44 mag too.

I'm also setup to reload 44 already so from a realistic standpoint it really just makes sense to do a 44 mag, no matter how much I'm enamored with off beat cartridges
 
Antihero said:
I'm also setup to reload 44 already so from a realistic standpoint it really just makes sense to do a 44 mag, no matter how much I'm enamored with off beat cartridges
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There you go, trying to be reasonable, again. I can think of a bunch of rifle cartridges I shoot that just sticking with the .30-06 or .308 would have made more sense... but what fun is that? Variety is the spice of life...
 
whatnickname said:
My guess is that Ruger isn’t selling all that many of their 44 Special GP100. I base that on the volume of used 44 Specials I see on the GB site. I figured the life span of this model may be somewhat limited. That’s why I bought three of them. For the life of me, I would have made the stainless model in 4” barrel configuration rather than 3”. I own two 3” and one 5”. Once these go out of production, mine will be worth more over time. I really hope Ruger will listen to the 41 crowd and follow suit with a five shot GP100. I think the 41 Special idea would sell like hot cakes! Only time will tell!
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They sold every one they made, as soon as they were made. They were a distributor special and as such, already spoken for. If the distributor orders more, they will make more.
 
Yesterday I was talking to one of my coworkers, who happens to be an extremely attractive woman. I mean the kind of beautiful where you forget what you were talking about the second she walks in the room. She mentions that she carries off the clock, and she packs a 41 magnum.

I almost asked her to marry me right there on the spot, but unfortunately the me too movement ruined that for all of us.
 
I've owned two 41 Mag Blackhawks, a M 57 S&W, and a Mod 58 Smith, all back in the 1970s and early '80s. My opinion is the only reason to own a 41 Mag is the now discontinued Model 58. What a cool gun!

When my M 28 duty gun went south (timing, end shake, carry up) I bought a used M 58 and carried it in my uniform holster until my department authorized the semi auto. And yes, I reloaded for it, even my duty ammo. The Rem "LEO" round with its swaged lead bullet started key-holing by the 6th round. I loaded a 215g cast SWC for about 900 fps. It shot much better and was controllable.

Dave
 
I sold my M 58 so am no longer a member of the "Club" useless to me,
Folks on the SW forums go Ga Ga for them
 
Charlie98 said:
There you go, trying to be reasonable, again. I can think of a bunch of rifle cartridges I shoot that just sticking with the .30-06 or .308 would have made more sense... but what fun is that? Variety is the spice of life...
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You aren't wrong
 
I bought a nice 6" model 57 last year from Gunbroker but when I got it, it had issues that were unacceptable considering what I paid for it. Maybe again some day......

Need to decide what to do with my .41 Blackhawk.
 
All this conversation has me wanting a 5 shot 41 with a 3 inch barrel.

A Special would do great as that is about all the power I want in a gun that size anyway...210's at around 1,000 fps would make a nice carry gun and load.
 
I recall reading Elmer Keith's disappointment with the 41 Magnum. Basically he wanted something that could be packaged in a K frame, push a 200 grain bullet bullet 900 fps, for Police work. That did not happen. In the early 60's it was all about cubic inches and more horsepower, so when the 41 Magnum came out in an N frame, maybe the round was plenty powerful, but the revolver that carried it was also very heavy for every day carry. And then the comparisons, why carry a N frame in something smaller than the 44 Magnum?

For me, if I want less recoil, then I shoot 1000 fps loads in my M629

4oiCm5W.jpg

but what I do most, is shoot 44 Special loads, in 44 Specials:

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882pXl8.jpg

The four inch M624 is still bulky, but the weight is not too bad. I never saw the need for a 41 Magnum and if I were in the minority, there would be a lot more 41 Magnums around.
 
I’ve always wanted a .41... and only when I stumbled on a 7.5” Redhawk languishing unloved for months in a Police-oriented gun store did I find one that sang to me....Plus the guy consigning it really needed the $$ for Attorney’s fees and took my lowball offer! :thumbup:

Now it’s one of my all- time favorites!

Someday, with the grace of God and a winning lottery ticket in hand, a nice 4” 57 or 657 and a Marlin 1894 will grace my safe and my transformation to .41 Jedi will be complete...

Stay safe!
 
I own both, and I reload. If I all I was doing were target shooting, and I didn't reload, I wouldn't own either. :D

I'll add this: virtually nobody would own a 44 mag right now if the movie Dirty Harry hadn't come out in 1971. In that movie, Clint Eastwood actually carried a 41 mag Model 57. So that's why you should get one.

When Dirty Harry came out, the Model 29 wasn't even being produced anymore because there was no demand for it. The movie came out, made it famous, and the rest is history. Below is a link to an American Rifleman article on the topic.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2013/7/23/dirty-harrys-model-29-americas-shooting-star/

I love my Model 29, but if it hadn't been for Dirty Harry coming out when I was 2 years old, I might never even have heard of it. It might have been as obscure at this point in time as the 44 Russian.
 
I've got a .41 Mag and love it, I've had a lot of different cartridges but there's something about the .41 Mag that's hard to put my finger on.

Maybe part of the reason I like it is because it's obscure, I mean it's not exactly popular but should be because it's a great option with a lot of versatility. Power wise, the .44 Mag is more powerful, but not that much more powerful, both are straight walled cases, one shoots a .410" bullet, the other a .429", so there's really not much size difference. The .44 has more bullet variety and more gun options, and if I were to be completely gut level honest with anyone about it, the .44 is probably the more reasonable choice between the two.

The .41 is more efficient, because it has less case capacity it won't eat up as much powder vs. the .44. It does recoil a bit less too and once again, to be completely honest, the .41 Mag will do 99.99% of what the .44 will for the vast majority of people, it's not lacking in power, it's just slightly behind the .44 Mag. As a reloader, comparing a few of the hottest I've fired from both, a 44 Mag 240gr JHP @ ~1650 fps vs. .41 Mag 265gr @ 1550 fps (hardcast 265gr, similar speed with 210gr JHP).
 
Ridgerunner665 said:
All this conversation has me wanting a 5 shot 41 with a 3 inch barrel.

A Special would do great as that is about all the power I want in a gun that size anyway...210's at around 1,000 fps would make a nice carry gun and load.
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I was shooting my 41 Special, 3" GP100, yesterday with a 210 Xtreme plated TCFP and 7.4 gr Power Pistol, a Brian Pearce load, and it hurt the web of my hand badly enough to curtail further shooting without a glove and cause me to go home and reinstall the Hogue Tamer grips I had on a former GP100 .357. They were not really any bigger for concealment than the modified Eagle rosewoods I had been using. They are tacky rubber though.

I will be looking to reducing that load or trying something else with two conclusions...the gun is not to be treated as a macho magnum, and that .41 Magnum in the GP100 would be insane for me and other average guys.
 
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