Blackhawk .41mag

[Blacklabman]

I am thinking about buying a Ruger Blackhawk .41mag with a 6 1/2" barrel.

I already own a Ruger SBH .44mag with a 7 1/2" barrel.

I have never owned a .41mag before. To be honest, I am just wanting to try something new. . After 2 wrist surgeries, I thought the .41mag might offer a little less recoil. The revolver would be used for hunting, and maybe some woods carry. Although I prefer a G20 or DA revolver, for a general woods knock around pistol.

I do not reload, so I am stuck with factory loads. Once we have the new house built with "my" workshop I plan on trying it. For now however, reloading is out of the question.

My question is this.
Since I do not reload, and already own a .44mag.... Is the .41mag even worth looking into?

Thanks

 

[Logan5]

Absolutely! It's somewhat pricey, and there's not a huge selection of factory loads, but it's still doable. After all, we have internet ammo vendors now, and it dosen't sound like you're planning to run a massive number of rounds through it.

 

[461]

First off let me say I dearly love the .41Mag, but then I do reload and have available any ammo combination I could want. For a nonreloader the .41, is going to be an expensive and possibly frustrating endeavor, largely depends on how your area is fixed for gunshops with good ammo sections or your willingness to buy ammo online. If you can get the ammo you'll love the .41!

Recoil wise you're only going to see a reduction with light bullet loads or a low powered round, full hunting loads in the higher bullet weights are going to feel just like a .44 as the difference is negligible. A 240gr bullet at 1200fps or so is going to feel exactly the same no matter the launcher.

 

[farscott]

Since I do not reload, and already own a .44mag....

That is the answer. If you do not reload, you will find that .41 Magnum factory ammo is both expensive and hard to find. I would stick with the .44 Magnum and the wide variety of factory ammo available for it. .41 Magnum is really a handloader's round.

I would look into some of .44 Special rounds as they are expensive (and a bit hard to find) but less expensive than a gun. You can also look into some of the midrange .44 Magnum rounds.

 

[tantrix]

That is the answer. If you do not reload, you will find that .41 Magnum factory ammo is both expensive and hard to find. I would stick with the .44 Magnum and the wide variety of factory ammo available for it. .41 Magnum is really a handloader's round.

I would look into some of .44 Special rounds as they are expensive (and a bit hard to find) but less expensive than a gun. You can also look into some of the midrange .44 Magnum rounds.

Pretty much what I was fixing to type right there.

farscott hit the nail on the head. If you don't reload, the .41 is going to eat you up in ammo cost and also drive you crazy if none of you're local shops stock the less popular calibers. You'd probably be better off using .44SPL loads in your SBH for practice rather than buying an entirely new gun in .41 Mag.

Since I do not reload, and already own a .44mag.... Is the .41mag even worth looking into?

My vote is no, not worth it.

 

[Blacklabman]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to heed you advice. At sometime in the future, I may give the .41mag a serious look. However for right now, I will give it a pass.

 

[tantrix]

Check into .44SPL loads and compare the prices, but if your wrists are worse than you described due to the surgeries you might need to look into either selling the .44 Mag or putting it into the safe and taking up the .41 Mag full time if you think the recoil of the .44 is really going to do you more harm than good. I would even go as far as suggesting a large frame .357 that you can practice shooting .38SPL out of then load up hot .357 loads for hunting purposes or woods carry. It isn't too much better but wouldn't beat up your wrists as bad if the gun is heavy enough.

Only you know what you can handle at this point....but make sure you don't keep shooting any caliber that's going to mess your wrists up any more than they already are.

Good luck, and I wish you a speedy recovery on your surgeries.

 

[Blacklabman]

The surgeries came from breaking my wrist BAAAD at work. I can now work and climb poles. Shooting heavy thumping hadgun calibers/loads now, is a different monster.

Shooting the .44mag does hurt. But then again, so does shooting my 10mm's anymore. The .44mag, and 10mm's will just about put me on my knees. I am going to buy a P220 .45ACP for SD/ND. The .45ACP in the P220 does not hurt, and is pleasure to shoot.

I am not about to give up, one of the few things in life(handguns) that I enjoy.
But I am going to have to tone it down for awhile.
This was what made me think of the .41mag for deer hunting. Someone told me the .41mag had 15% less recoil that the .44mag. I might give .357mag another try, in a all steel revolver. I wish Ruger made a 5" GP-100.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[DogBonz]

What do you hunt?

If its deer, a 357 will do the trick if you do your part. even with full house loads my python is east to shoot. A 6" GP100 should suit you well, or a S&W686.

 

[461]

Ruger did make a special run of 5" GP-100's a few years ago, you migh tfind one on the used market. I'll buy th efirst one I see.

 

[22-rimfire]

Everyone talks about 41 mag loads costing more than 44 mag. Bull! They are essentially the same price! Availability is less than 44 mags, but depending on how much you shoot, it probably won't be a problem. In my area, I can buy 41 mag ammo at just about every major gun shop any day of the week. You just can't buy it a Walmart.

I just bought 250 rounds of Miwall lesser powered 41 mag rounds for more casual shooting. GA Arms sells 41 mag ammo all the time. You just have to shop a little.

Get a 41 mag and you will enjoy it. But if the 10mm causes you pain, so will the 41 mag. Recoil is always reported as being 25% less than a similar load of 44 mag.

The 41 mag is my favorite big bore caliber and I don't reload.

 

[Logan5]

Well, I tried to be the bigger person here too, but truthfully, it's a conspiracy. We've already gone through all your local shops and picked out all the .41 magnums while you were distracted. Sorry!

 

[Blacklabman]

I was looking yesterday. Internet warehouse's, have a very good selection of .41mag ammo. I already order all of my 10mm(DT) ammo.
I am going to buy, a padded shooting glove. I e-mailed JT, and he said they were a great help. Night and Day with and without.
I saw a new Ruger BlackHawk .41mag with a 6 1/2" barrel on gunbroker this morning, The price was good, so I went ahead a bought it.
The more I thought about it last night, the more I thought ...why not atleast give it a try.
If I do not like it, I can always sell it. But I will never know, if I do not try.
Thanks again.

 

[22-rimfire]

I wear a shooting glove when I shoot my 480 Ruger SRH. That thing can hurt sometimes if you don't hold the gun right. First time I shot it, I pretty much went home with a bloody hand. Now, I hold it a little low. The gun writers say the recoil is managable. If manageable means that you can only shoot 20 rounds before your nerves give out and you are pulling every shot means "manageable", then yes, it is very manageable. But it is still fun to shoot and I will continue to shoot it!

Anytime you shoot the big boys at the range, you get a lot of attention. They are LOUD and you can't hide the recoil.

If I plan on shooting much of any of the larger bore stuff, I wear a shooting glove. I was skeptical about shooting gloves and was worried about what size to buy. Bought mine at Sportsman's Warehouse where I could try it on and choose. I like them now unless it is real hot and your hands get sweaty.

Back to the 41 magnum. If you buy one, keep your eye on the Miwall ammunition available through Outdoor Marksman and the stuff that Georgia Arms sells. Both load reduced power loadings with GA Arms having a cowboy loading at around 800 fps (may be a tad under powered for me).

I try to buy 41 magnum ammo in 50 round boxes unless it is specialty ammo such as the Federal 250 gr castcore stuff. Yeah, I have a fair amount of the 20 round boxes too. Right now, only Remington sells in 50 round boxes and it has always been at the upper end of the price range for factory loads. PMC ammo was great. I am waiting for them to get their business back in order so I can buy more of their stuff.

I shoot primarily Smith Model 57's although I have a 5.5" Ruger Redhawk in 41 mag. Have not bought one of the Ruger single actions, but every time I handle one, I'm tempted. Eventually I will succumb to the temptation. The hunter model is the one that appeals to me and I would probably scope it since my other 41's have no scopes.

You still know you are shooting a big bore handgun with the 41 mag. Make no mistake.

 

[bobaloo]

Just passing along hearsay, but maybe some of you with experience could confirm or deny it. I've talked to a couple of buddies about my desire to buy a .41, both of them have and shoot both .41 and .44 revolvers. They both told me that they disliked the recoil of the .41 much more than the .44, that it's a much snappier recoil versus a more "pushy" recoil on the .44, like the difference between a .40 and a .45.

Any truth to this?

 

[461]

bob- all depends on the loading. One powder will give a snappy recoil while another will give a solid shove. Comes from the burning rate of the powder, fast burn gives snap, slow burn gives a shove. You can tailor the loads to whatever you like in either round.