S&W Model 41

[dh1633pm]

My dad is getting older, 90 next month. I visited on Tuesday and he said he wanted to transfer his pistols to me. Took care of that today. Most interesting was his model 41. Comes with two top ends. One with fixed and another scoped. Who has one of these and what advice would one have for a newbie. It’s setup for a righty. I shoot rifles right hand cause that’s how he taught me. Pistols either hand. Thanks.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Excellent pistol! Can't say I have any advice on it aside from shoot it and enjoy it. I have the drywall hanger thingies which I use as snap caps to de-cock it when I am done shooting it.

Mine has run well and been really enjoyable, hope your experience is the same!

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

Fantastic! Kudoo's to your dad for passing it on. USE ONLY match ammo in it. I found that mine does take a bit more service / cleaning more often than my Ruger mk's. Every bit as accurate as its class brethren of the times. (High Standard, Colt, Browning medalist, etc) If you don't know how much your father or you have shot it. Go ahead and get a new return spring. They are what 8-12 bucks now (?) It will pay dividends on reliability. A rue classic, but you already know that. Old mags can need a bit of fitting if they show problem feeding. Mags since what 1990 I haven't heard a bad word about. (Talking maybe the lips need a pinch or spread tune. Or the mag body has a narrowing that needs small expansion). Work horse for sure. Congrats great pistol. Extra grips and or changing to lefty not a problem. Many choices. Many great scores were shot with the 41 and CCI Green Tag back in the day. CCI SV has been the practice fodder by many for years. Match pistol get a lot more rounds down them than recreations / hunting guns so watch for extraction issues. (They may never appear) and of course never dry fire without taking good measures to protect the chamber face. (Good quality snap caps or a used case: but just once) Be Well and good fortune.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

My M41 experience wasnt great. It was gorgeous, the quality was obvious and felt great in the hand.

Unfortunately, mine never ran right. Dont think it ever made it through a full magazine without a jam. I tried new springs, magazines, buffer, extractor, and many different brands of ammo- nothing helped.

On top of that, the top rib and sights would attempt to skin my knuckles alive every time I tried to pull the slide back when the hammer was down.

One thing I discovered is the older M41 magazines are compatible with those for the M422- but NOT the M2206. They changed the follower on the later guns and it will interfere with the slide stop on vintage examples. I assume there was a point in M41 production where they also switched to the new follower so beware of this as a possible issue.

I really, really wanted to like my M41, but it just wasn't in the cards.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

If looks could kill ...

 

[George Dickel]

I have one that I use in bullseye matches. There are a number of shooters in the club that shoot a 41. I really like it, better than the Mark III I used before. S&W recommends the use of only standard velocity ammo, high velocity can crack the frame with continuous use. The trigger is very nice and is adjustable. Congratulations on the pistol.

 

[George Dickel]

My M41 experience wasnt great. It was gorgeous, the quality was obvious and felt great in the hand.

Unfortunately, mine never ran right. Dont think it ever made it through a full magazine without a jam. I tried new springs, magazines, buffer, extractor, and many different brands of ammo- nothing helped.

On top of that, the top rib and sights would attempt to skin my knuckles alive every time I tried to pull the slide back when the hammer was down.

One thing I discovered is the older M41 magazines are compatible with those for the M422- but NOT the M2206. They changed the follower on the later guns and it will interfere with the slide stop on vintage examples. I assume there was a point in M41 production where they also switched to the new follower so beware of this as a possible issue.

I really, really wanted to like my M41, but it just wasn't in the cards.

I bought mine new about a year ago and had the same issues you mentioned. Tried different ammo and it made no difference. I sometimes couldn't make it through one magazine without a jam or stove pipe. I had read on-line that this was a common problem with the newer guns. I was ready to send it on down the road, but a number of fellow shooters that had the same problem told me to have the store's gunsmith polish the chamber. He polished it and I haven't had one problem with it since, functions flawlessly.

 

[Jim Watson]

Mine from the 1970s is reliable and accurate. I shoot CCI Standard Velocity.

My main use for it is a local club shoot allowing two hands, so I have contemplated cutting the rear extension of the slide stop lever off so it doesn't hit me when it lifts on the last shot. I would probably buy a spare for the purpose so as to preserve originality for my heirs.

Re magazines.
Pre-AWB, those 41/422 magazines could be had to hold a Tactical TWELVE shots!

 

[bangswitch]

When the gun was manufactured will probably have some bearing on its performance. Seems like I read a lot about newer (since mid-90's) having more issues with quality and function. Ammo makes a difference, and cleanliness. The extractor gathers a lot of schmutz from shooting and if it gets dirty enough will start having extraction and feeding issues. Low-powered ammo will also create feeding and ejection issues, something in the 1250-1500 fps range seems to work best in mine. Federal seems to work best overall, and Remington Yellow Jackets work well too. But cleanliness is best, I clean mine after every range session, and I'll shoot as much as 150 rounds in a session, although it could probably go twice that before needing a good cleaning. Mine was made in 1985.

 

[.38 Special]

Here's mine, set up for Bullseye competition, quite a few years ago.



The iron sights are as good as any made, and I really enjoy using them as well. As others have pointed out, standard velocity ammunition is a good plan. I haven't always had great luck with CCI rimfire ammunition, but their "Standard Velocity" has always worked well in this gun. For competition I used RWS R50 - which was nearly MOA - or Eley Tenex, which was almost as good. I can't hold nearly that well though - even the CCI stuff outshoots me by quite a bit - so never could decide if the high-end stuff was worth the money. I'd avoid the stuff sold in milk cartons, at any rate.

For my money, the 41 is one of the best handgun "teachers" you can get.

 

[InTheField]

My dad is getting older, 90 next month. I visited on Tuesday and he said he wanted to transfer his pistols to me. Took care of that today. Most interesting was his model 41. Comes with two top ends. One with fixed and another scoped. Who has one of these and what advice would one have for a newbie. It’s setup for a righty. I shoot rifles right hand cause that’s how he taught me. Pistols either hand. Thanks.

View attachment 1159278

My 41 was shipped in 1980 and is one of my favorites. It, along with my SW 17 and 18, are my favorite .22 'paper punchers.' My 41 has also been quite a successful rabbit bagger. As you can see, I have three barrels. The 5 inch light-weight field barrel (on top in photo) changes the total character of the 41, making it a great plinker and beginner gun. I also changed the grips to a more recent edition because the original one had wood grain that was totally 'bland.'

I shoot mine with cci standards. I, like a lot of other 41 users, find a small drop of oil on the top round in the first magazine of the day makes the gun totally reliable for extended shooting. You have a great handgun, there. Enjoy!

 

[DM~]

You want some good advice, learn to shoot from whatever side your dominant eye is on!

DM