Monac
Member
Back when I was shooting IHMSA, it was thought that .41 Magnum was within the durability of an N Smith and the .44 Magnum would beat one up. It didn't mine, but I was not shooting full house loads. I just stared in amazement as Elgin Gates got the Freedom Arms guns banned because they cost too much!
There were several .40-.41 wildcats out there from such innovators as Pop Eimer. I believe he used a .401 WSL case cut to revolver length.
Too bad Herters never got the announced double action .401 Powermag on the market.
And if you want to go automatic, there were the 9.8mm Colt and the 9.65mm Grand Browning.
I have an oddball Herters double action revolver that is N-frame sized. Mine is in 357 Magnum. The sights on it resemble those of the single action Herters Powermag, and it is marked Germany. I have only found a few references to it, in the annual guidebooks like Guns Illustrated or Gun Digest, for the year 1969 only, IIRC. It never occurred to me they might have planned a .401 version of it, but it is certainly big enough.
It seems very much like an early production gun - it has a wonky pull-forward cylinder release, the some of cartridge case rims don't clear the frame for ejection unless you have the cylinder turned just right, and I have seen pictures of two different hammer spring setups for it. One has a long flat spring powering the hammer directly (mine has that), and the other has a short but strong coil spring powering the short limb of an L-shaped lever, with the long limb driving the hammer. Weird.
I think it must have just been entering production when the Gun Control Act of 1968 ended Herters mail-order gun business. The maker is not marked on the gun anywhere I could find, but it was probably whoever was making the SA Powermags.
Here is link to some pictures (not of mine): http://www.ponyexpressfirearms.com/...er-mag-double-action-revolver-mfg-1960s-used/
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