Model 41 S&W collector's site?.....

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ApacheCoTodd

ApacheCoTodd

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Just scored my first Model 41 in DECADES and was trying to find a collector's or information site devoted to Model 41s...
No joy so far.
Does anyone have a favorite Model 41 site?

I'll be sending off for a S&W letter tomorrow but I see they offer both a; "Letter of Authenticity" AND a "Historical Letter" request.

What I really want to know is if they are able to tell me to whom this was shipped as I am intrigued by the "Olympic" nature of the configuration and the "U.S." marking.

Which letter is more likely to offer this information?


regards, Todd.


IMG_0995.JPG IMG_0996.JPG
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Cool, I just got my first 41 today.:)

Im also intrigued about the US marking, were these ever used by an official Govt. Team?
Click to expand...


Also intrigued. There have been a lot of Military Teams, the Navy, the Air Force, the Army, the USMC, but since the 60's military support for the shooting sports has declined. Especially after the USSR fell. So you would expect a lot of US property marked pistols have been made for military teams. I have not seen a US marked M41, but I have not been looking for one. At the All Guard try outs, the guys next to me were shooting these US property Rugers:

NsMmbMU.jpg

CSbC15p.jpg

Might have found a US property marked M41 if I were rude enough to examine more than just the weapons around me. However, to find a US property marked pistol outside of the military is most unusual. These pistols are assigned to the hand receipt holder and he had to account for them at the end of every match. And, because they are Government Property, they get destroyed rather than sold to the civilian market. That is usually in the Contract with the firearms company. You can imagine S&W, Ruger, etc, having their own pistols sold back to the public at a discount, how that would cut into their current sales.
 
We had a couple-few suppressed, NOT-rebuildable, Rugers in the battalion arms room in 3rd battalion of 5th SFG(A) when I was in.
They would clog up around 300 rounds or so and then had to be soaked in parts-cleaning solution, then blasted with brake cleaner and compressed air to get them quieted down again.
Dirty, nasty little beasts but I loved them. Our Hi Standards were rebuildable but a pain as they used dozens of precisely cut bits of window-screen material.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Cool, I just got my first 41 today.:)

Im also intrigued about the US marking, were these ever used by an official Govt. Team?
Click to expand...

Seems almost all the Services had 41s shipped to them. I reckon many passed through the old DCM program. These and Hi Standards could be seen on bases and on shooting teams fairly regularly.

Todd.
 
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Todd,

in the 60's I was happily playing with toyguns and airguns but I know that the five inch barrel rule came on early. Muzzle devices were allowed on .22 short rapied fire pistols and the duel target was changed to a p.c. "rapid fire" target in the late 80s, I think.

While the FN Medalist had been popular here, the FN Medalist International 150 (150mm barrel) had been the equivalent in Europe and had been made from 1969 on. Though UIT / ISSF is largely influenced by European shooters, it was the NRA rules that triggered them to get started.
 
PzGren said:
Trust me to know that very well, yet, my comment was about the olympic nature of the gun.
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I do see a lot of people using European pistols in local bullseye matches. Some of those guns can take wts, but I have never seen them so set up. i think European events you were referring specify 153 mm max length of the barrel. Just doing a quick mental calculation puts it at about 6 inches.
 
As I'm reading the current ISSF rules it satisfies 50 meter pistol as there are currently no restrictions and satisfies both the box size and barrel length for 25 meter where the weight allows.

Of course, the table is a bit odd to read.


Todd.
 
That barrel is to long for the 1970s International Shooting Union (ISU) rules. Its not a free pistol.
ApacheCoTodd said:
"Olympic" nature of the configuration
Click to expand...
Not when i was competing. Its a Bullseye pistol.

Bullseye Pistol- The military shooters were supplied free guns and all the ammo they wanted, for practice. This is back in the day when surplus 45 acp ball ammo was sold for $3 for 50 rounds.

I competed in ISU & Bullseye back in the 70s.

ISU Types-
Free-Pistol
Rapid-Fire Pistol
Center-Fire Pistol
Air-Pistol
Standard-Pistol -edit added. Had to dig out my old scores.

Its a little different today. ISSF.

1977 Photo 20191103_204755.jpg

List of guns used http://www.wwmcmillan.info/firearms_Menu.html
 
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NIGHTLORD40K said:
So, were M41 ever used in the Olympics?
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Yes. If it fit in the box. In the 1970s men fired International Standard Pistol matches, a 5.5 barrel could be used by the rules. The OP long barrel would not fit the box in 1970 to 1981, when i shot competion at the local level. But could be used as a Free Pistol, loaded as a single shot.

Back then i had in 22 rim fires, 3 Rugers , one was vented for Rapid Fire., 3 High Standards, one with 22 short kit, M41 5.5" bbl. and a modified T/C Contender for Free Pistol. A Feinwerkbau air pistol. Center fire S&W M28 in 6".

20191104_093517.jpg 20191104_094427.jpg
 
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