I Passed Up A Grail Gun Yesterday

[The Night Rider]

He was an old guy, had to be close to 60.

Excuse me?!?!?

It is when you are 18!

OK I'll give you that one

 

[Rodfac]

Here is one of mine showing the 5" heavy target bbl. (might be 5.5", can't remember) & the rarely seen light weight "Field Barrel". The latter with its red front sight insert gets the most range and field time but is rarely out of the safe truth be told.

The long bbl'd 41 belongs to my #1 son, who left it with me for safe keeping as he didn't have his own safe. I've spent some time with it, alternating it with my shorter model and found it no more accurate, and in fact a bit wobbly with that 2" longer tube. I'd expected to see some improvement in my scores with the longer sight radius...but it just didn't work out.

Alert: Geezer History...Back in the mid-70's, I shot in the Connecticut .22 cal., 50' Bullseye league for a few winters and at that time, the Hi-Standard "Victor" was the top dog among most shooters in the league, even the Colt factory team was using them vs. their target grade Woodsmens. I did fairly well with the Victor, but never really warmed up to the grip angle.

So after a brief range session with a friend's Smith M-41, I was sure the grip angle felt better and would make a difference; the Smith was going to take me up a level in my shooting...

I promptly bought one from Lyman's famous Blue Trail Range Gun Shop and started practicing...Well, it was all for naught, as my scores didn't improve whatsoever and in the end, I kept the 41 & sold off the "Victor" went to another team member for what I had in it.

Over the years, my only gripe about the M-41, at least for casual carry afoot over field and meadow (with the original factory grips), is that the mag release button is just too easy to inadvertently release...it frequently got bumped on the holster for my right handed OWB, 4:00 carry position and I lost not one but two of those pricey Smith mags before I figured out the problem. As I rarely carried it off range, it was years before I took the time to make up a good, workable holster for it.

Mine was and still is 99% reliable, even with Remington .22 plastic box target rounds from back in the day, & even with US Military white box standard vel. stuff. Nowadays, I shoot mostly CCI Standard, & it's 100% or nearly so.

Here are some pics...the 1st with both guns; (mine wearing the field bbl. and my son's with the 7-1/2" tube). The 2nd has another view of the slender, dare I say elegant, field bbl. profile. And the last is my gun with the field bbl. and one of my holsters, rebated to avoid the mag button interference problem. Best regards, Rod

​

 

[Jeff olson]

Variety is the spice of life right? I like the 41. Don't get me wrong. Mine has been very reliable. I just can't shoot it like the victor or the citation. I haven't shot the 422 yet so I'll leave it out. The 89 however, puts everything to shame.

 

[Gary W. Strange]

My grail .22lr pistol has long been the High Standard Victor but I could never find one...plus I was a bit scared off by the need to tune the magazines. For many years, I had to make do with a 6" S&W M-17 and a 4" Colt Diamondback

My fallback was the S&W M-41 which happened to fall into my lap while helping a friend value his aunt's husbands collection after he passed. It was very nice and came with both 5.5" and 7" barrel assemblies. It is a very nice pistol, just not as cool looking as the Victor

View attachment 1151871

I have a 5 1/2” model 41 and like it. In my eye, the neatest looking .22 auto ever made is a High Standard Victor with a 4 1/2” barrel. There is just something about the look of that pistol. The shorter barrel, with the vent rib just sets it off. It has to be right there with the Colt Python. Same with the 4 1/2” Colt match Target. Just a neat looking pistol. The longer barrels are ok but look nothing like the 4 1/2”. S&W made the model 41 with a 5” barrel for a while. Wish they would bring it back or make a 4 1/2” barrel.

High Standard Victor



Colt Match Target Woodsman


Smith & Wesson Model 41

 

[Domino]

That is a really fantastic story. I've fallen in love with firearms under similar circumstances. Mostly old nostalgic guns from times of a bygone era. But it doesn't mean you really need the guns, unless it some sort of bucket list thing I suppose. I remember the first time I fired the M240B in Afghanistan. It had some sort Eclan scope and a bipod. I put a few hundred rounds on enemy positions and the weapon was such a pussy cat in my hands, the bullets just found their way. I would love to own one but it just financially not feasible even for a semi version of the gun.

Point is, some stones are better left unturned. And a gun is only ever as good as the man behind it.