First, get the current, "Handloader" and read Brian Pearce's article on the .41 Magnum.
Secondly, if you aren't worried about ammo availibility and cost, the .41 will reportedly endure somewhat better than an M29/629, because it has more metal in it because of the smaller holes in bbl. and chambers. Before S&W made the .44 Mags with the "endurance package", .41's were said to last better with full loads. I think it was because the .41 is at the limit of endurance that the N-frame will take without excessive wear.
My next gun in this class will be a M629 .44, though, because they DO now have the endurance features, I won't use full loads a lot, and because .41 ammo is harder to find, more limited in selection, and MAY penetrate less deeply in really large animals, in case I ever had to shoot a big bear or angry elk.
Frankly, either gun will probably do anything that a person really ought to be doing with a sidearm. If you need more than a .41 Magnum, you probably really should be carrying a rifle.
If you see a really clean used .41 at a good price, my advice is to buy it.
And you should read Pearce's article.
Lone Star
Secondly, if you aren't worried about ammo availibility and cost, the .41 will reportedly endure somewhat better than an M29/629, because it has more metal in it because of the smaller holes in bbl. and chambers. Before S&W made the .44 Mags with the "endurance package", .41's were said to last better with full loads. I think it was because the .41 is at the limit of endurance that the N-frame will take without excessive wear.
My next gun in this class will be a M629 .44, though, because they DO now have the endurance features, I won't use full loads a lot, and because .41 ammo is harder to find, more limited in selection, and MAY penetrate less deeply in really large animals, in case I ever had to shoot a big bear or angry elk.
Frankly, either gun will probably do anything that a person really ought to be doing with a sidearm. If you need more than a .41 Magnum, you probably really should be carrying a rifle.
If you see a really clean used .41 at a good price, my advice is to buy it.
And you should read Pearce's article.
Lone Star