S&W model 41

[chrt396]

I just purchased a NEW S&W Model 41 (22 cal.) I don't know WHY I bought it, except I had a hankering for a quality .22....so I bought it! I do have a question though.

For all of you that may own one of these...what ammo can you successfuly shoot out of this thing without jamming? I've tried Wolf match ammo, Aquila match ammo & CCI standard velocity. The ONLY ammo that doesnt jam at least three or 4 times per 10 rd. magazine is the CCI Standard velocity. I have 2-3 thousand rounds of high velocity stuff..but I have not used it on the 41 cuz' I've heard that it isnt good for that particuliar pistol. I have 2 bricks of Wolf match ammo, 3 bricks of Aquila match ammo...and they jam horribly.

Did I buy a picky pistol? If I did..that stinks! All this ammo and I can't shoot it in the best .22 pistol I own. Heck...I have a Ruger Mk1 that ALL it will shoot is CCI Mini Mags. The other HV ammo won't cycle the bolt.

Any advice or reccomendations would be greatly appreciated. I've only run about 200 rounds through the gun, so maybe there is a break in period for it...but DaNg! It's only a 22!!

 

[1hobie]

I bought a 41 to shoot Bullseye many years ago and nothing but trouble with match ammo. Gil Hebard was my go to guy and we tried a variety of things, including sending it back to S&W. Still ran like poo. It would FTE in the middle of a match.
So, I traded it back to Gil for another 41. SSDD. I got totally fed up and bought a Clark modified Ruger MK II. It works flawlessly and is every bit as accurate. I gave the 41 to my wife, put a heavier spring and recoil buffer in it and she shoots regular ammo through as fast as she can pull the trigger.
Try getting a Wolfe spring pack with different weights. Put a recoil buffer in it and shoot regular ammo through it.
Hobie

 

[uncle_dave]

When my buddy and I were shooting in a local league we had good luck with CCI Blazer bulk ammo with our 41s

 

[Walkalong]

I have shot Win 555 bulk, Fed bulk, and Fed Auto Match bulk in mine with no problems.

 

[rcmodel]

I have shot just about every kind of .22LR they have made in the last 40 years in my old one.

And I can't recall it ever missing a beat.

It just plain works every shot, no matter what you feed it.

And that's what they are supposed to do.

rc

 

[bhk]

I believe the factory tests them with CCI standard.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I use cci standard and federal auto match in my 2 41's but they have been known to digest a few rounds of pretty much everything else. It sounds like yours is just picky. Maybe it needs to break in a bit.

 

[jfrey]

My FIL has a 41 and all he shoots in it is CCI standard velocity ammo. It runs that ammo very well. Tried other brands of target ammo and most of them jammed.

 

[ephraimf]

I've been using CCI SV exclusively in my model 41, but now I can't find any on the shelves.

I only have 700 rounds left. I guess I'll have to go back to shooting .45 ACP, but it costs at least 10X as much.:banghead:

 

[Bongo Boy]

I also just recently bought one. Although it's about a 1997 model, I don't believe it was ever fired. So, my first trip to the range was similar to your experience.

I cleaned and lubed the magazines (all new), and cleaned the gun a few times. During the cleaning a lot of discoloration came off on the rags, indicating a bit of residue all over the important contacting parts. After doing this and flushing the gun with lube, manual cycling felt much freer and shooting improved dramatically.

After blowing about 500 rds through it so far, I can definitely feel the difference in cycling behavior, and I now have far fewer problems. Still, I get misfires, failure to eject, failure to extract, failure to lock back on the last round and failure to cock even when it appears to have fully cycled and there's a round in the chamber. And this is an improvement over when I first got it.

I've fired mostly Federal Auto Match, but also some Aguila (standard velocity). It has the original spring as far as I know.

What tells me it was never fired is that the top rear surface of the slide where it meets the underside back end of the barrel was 100% blue when I got it, and after 500 rds is now about 70% blue. That tells me the gun never had even 50 rds through it (or it would have shown bluing wear in this area).

So...all I can say is lube it a lot, clean it a lot, and shoot it a lot. My experience so far indicates that they are simply put together tight and really do have to wear in before they operate 100%. I now am going through as much as 2 magazines at a stretch with no problems, whereas when I started shooting it, I was having about 2 malfunctions per magazine. SO, there's hope.

At least they're pretty...



While everyone and his brother swears CCI SV is the Holy Grail of getting these things to operate, mine will learn to function on the ammo I have, and like it, or I'll just sell it. I found 5,000 rds of CCI SV a couple of weeks ago at guntrader, paid a freaking fortune for it, and that load joins 10,000 rds of Aguila, Federal and Colt (Aguila). My plan is to cycle the gun using the Federal and Aguila until I see consistently smooth operation, then start 'treating' it to the CCI in small doses. I'm not enthusiastic about adding aftermarket parts to get the thing to work, at least not yet. I figure 5,000 rounds at least will be needed, and in my case of a gun that sat in a safe for 15 years, several good brutal cleanings, before it's fair to say it's ready to behave.

I bought mine fully expecting it would malfunction like crazy--rightly or wrongly, I believe the Model 41 is legendary for fussiness. I also think few shooters see them through their break-in phase. I could be wrong.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

My shooting partner has two 41s and multiple barrels. His give him trouble more times than not. They sure are beautiful, but not worth the hassle I have witnessed....FWIW, his are two different vintages. One he bought new a few years ago. The other is a much older cocking indicator model.

 

[tipoc]

I've never had a significant problem with mine. Feeds and shoots a wide variety of ammo well.

You say they "jam" but what is it that happens exactly? Is it a failure to feed? failure to extract? A bit more info might be helpful.

tipoc

 

[md2lgyk]

I've never had a significant problem with mine. Feeds and shoots a wide variety of ammo well.

Then you are the exception. In my club .22 league matches, I have gone an entire season without an alibi using my MkII. Several others with Model 41s can't get through a single match without one. Were I to consider a high-end .22 target pistol, I'd opt for a Hammerli instead of a 41.

 

[Iron Sight]

Bought mine new June 2010. There was a break in period. Most reliable with CCI Mini Mags and they were recommended per phone call to S&W. Prefer Standard Velocity as I seem to shoot them better in several 22's that I have. Mostly about 95% reliable with standard velocity.

Its a keeper for me.

 

[tipoc]

Then you are the exception.

If you read through the statements fellas have made above in this thread you see that several people mention that their guns have run well also. They have also sold a good many of these guns over the years and they are prized by many of their owners. So I can't see where my 41s are an exception.

It might be useful to know exactly what the "jamming" that the op speaks about consists of. What exactly is happening with his gun?

tipoc

 

[Furncliff]

My take:
A new semi auto anything is going to need some break in period.
The 41 seems to be ammo finicky, but a lot of this can be the fault of the recoil springs. Buy a set (of 3) recoil springs from Wolf Gun Springs.

#13170 Recoil Calibration Pak... $18.79

The springs can easily be changed at the range, allowing you to experiment with the the three springs and the ammo you have at hand.

My 41 is older (70's) and I notice a big change in how well the pistol functions based on which ammo and spring combination are being used.

Mine tends to like CCI SV (not that I can find any to shoot in it :banghead

I have several Hi Standard pistols, and I thought they were good, but I really really like my 41. Stick with it. Good luck.

 

[md2lgyk]

It might be useful to know exactly what the "jamming" that the op speaks about consists of. What exactly is happening with his gun?

From my observation of those who shoot 41s, it's typically a failure to extract.

 

[243winxb]

Smith & Wesson M41

Trouble with both, S&W -Ruger? Sounds like dry guns to me. Use some oil. If oil dont help, make adjustment to the magazines. My very old M41 only worked dirty. Factory or i , could not fix. Sold it.

 

[tipoc]

From my observation of those who shoot 41s, it's typically a failure to extract.

That's a typical problem of many 22s. If they are gonna have a problem that isn't mag related it's likely to be with extraction. I have a Ruger Mark II that after 50 rounds will fail to extract about any ammo I put in it. The chamber there is rough and any build up makes extraction harder.

With some ammo one of my 41s will do the same. Some guns can be picky on what ammo they like. You stick with what they shoot best.

But the OP hasn't said anything about his specific jams yet so I don't know.

tipoc

 

[Constrictor]

mine runs like a fine tuned watch on cci standard velocity ammo. 12k rounds so far since i bought my 41 new in 2011. order case quantities and shoot bullseye.

 

[Onmilo]

My 41 Likes CCI and Federal ammo, it chokes on Remington, Eley, and most Winchester except for Winchester standard and Super X solids which are all but impossible to find anymore.

 

[toivo]

Bongo Boy, what kind of mount is that Burris attached to?