What do you think of the .41 Remington Magnum?

[American Finn]

I would like to get some of your opinions as to a purchase I made the other day:

I just put on layaway at Smith and Wesson Model 57 .41 Mag Revolver; a brand new handgun part of their "Classic" line.

I paid $800 out the door: did I get a good deal?

And what do you think of the .41 cartridge? Is it a good one for someone looking to carry it as a backup while big game hunting?

 

[Pistol Toter]

The .41 mag will get the job done. $800 is probably about right for a new one.

 

[jaholder1971]

You did fine on the price. That's about $150 less than any of the new classic lines go for around here.

The .41 Mag will do everything a .44 Magnum will except shoot .44 Specials. Don't buy into the .41 vs. .44 static.

 

[Oro]

And what do you think of the .41 cartridge? Is it a good one for someone looking to carry it as a backup while big game hunting?

I think it's a fine cartridge and will do what you want. If you reload for it, you can get it to do plenty of good things.

I was looking for a 657 a few years ago but couldn't find one, so got a 629. I'd love to have a 4" 57 as a fun gun were I to find a nice one cheaply.

Hope you enjoy that.

 

[Thumper5]

Great cartridge. Great gun.

Plinking with the .41 is a blast. 210 gr. lead bullets, 7.5 gr. of
Unique, about 900 FPS. Heckuva defense load too!

 

[publiuss]

The .41 mag. is a great cartridge. i also have .44 mags and .45 colts that i load hot. The .41 will do everything they will do.

 

[ozarkhillbilly]

The .41mag is one of the best handgun rnds ever made. It and the 10mm are 2 of the most versatile rnds ever made great on 2 legged and 4 legged animals.

 

[Iggy]

I carried this Model 58 as a LEO for 13 years. The cartridge did what it was designed to do.


Found my first Model 57 about a year ago after 40 years of looking.





I managed to boogy out the door of a pawn shop with this one last week.. Unfired except at the factory for $520.00

 

[theheadhunter]

heres my .41 also only factory fired

 

[Oro]

I managed to boogy out the door of a pawn shop with this one last week.. Unfired except at the factory for $520.00

I am guessing you "boogied" because they were after you to get the rest of the purchase price?

Seriously, that's an amazingly good deal. I would be all over that!

 

[Virginian]

I think it is a round with a very dedicated following of a minority of shooters. If you have a bunch of guns and just want something different to play with it is fine. If I was starting out, or budget constrained, or didn't handload, I would get a 44 or a 357.

 

[Beagle-zebub]

By all accounts, it'll shoot rings around a .44 magnum.

 

[SaxonPig]

The 41M is slightly less powerful than the 44M but much more so than the 357M. Ammo selection, availability and bullet choices for the 41 are far less than that for the 44 making the 44 more versatile. The 41 is one of those calibers that demands loading your own ammo.

 

[jdh]

Now Keep your eyes open for a Marlin 1894 lever action in 41 to go with it. They make a great combo.

Silvertips are the best Midrange self defence loads you can still find. Carried them as duty loads in the last century and the still get the job done. Not as much blast and recoil as the full power hunting loads.

The 210/215 LSWC bullets at 900-950 fps are a joy to shoot and are more accurate than most people can shoot them.

You will soon come to the conclusion you made a good choice.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

I'd say you did well.

Given the 41 mag is a true 41 mag, and the 44 is really a .430, there isn't that much difference except-

The 41 shoots flatter, and in several tests has shown better penetration than it's bigger brother with hunting loads. And this with less flash, blast, and recoil than the 44 mag to boot.

Myself, I have a few revolvers and after a 10 year search, found an unfired Marlin. It finally got fired last month. Showed signs that it's a very accurate rifle, I've got to test it further now good weather is here.

The only drawback is the lack of ammo choices without hand loading.

 

[Quoheleth]

Out of curiosity, how does:

The 210/215 LSWC bullets at 900-950 fps are a joy to shoot and are more accurate than most people can shoot them.

compare with a 158 grain .357 Magnum (lets use an average - no Buffalo Bore - factory load as base-line) or a 230grain ball .45ACP?

I've always wanted a bigger bore revolver, but I know my small hands can't handle the power of the .44 Mag. I'm not "shopping," just curious.

Thanks,
Q

 

[jdh]

Quoheleth,
That load would be about like shooting 158 gr LSWC 38 Spec in a 357.

Ben Shepherd,
Try the Federal 250 gr Castcore. My Marlin will shoot 5 of them touching at 50 yards with open sights. They penetrate very well.

 

[Gryffydd]

The thing about the .41 is that pretty much all of its cons have to do with the availability of ammo and components rather than characteristics of the round or the guns chambered in it. Check out Hodgdon's loading data for it vs. their data for the .44. In some cases the max velocity for the .41 is better than the .44 given the same bullet weight.

 

[ArmedBear]

It's the .280 Remington of handguns.

It's a great round on the merits, but probably not different enough to get people to swap out their guns, dies, loads, etc. if they're already set up for .44 Magnum.

 

[GoodKat]

If only Dirty Harry used the .41 ...

 

[Hawk]

A better reason to reload can not be found.

Of course, in the time I spent looking without success for a 29 or 629 of agreeable vintage, I picked up three model 57s. The progressive press was pretty much a requirement after that.

 

[outerlimit]

I think the .41 Magnum round kicks ass. As mentioned the 210gr. .41 magnum factory loads will do the same thing the 210gr. .44 magnum factory loads will do. I've always thought there should have been more compact carry revolvers chambered in it, since you can make the gun smaller than a .44 if you really want to.

 

[The Wiry Irishman]

What's the max pressure of .41 mag?

 

[GoodKat]

I've always thought there should have been more compact carry revolvers chambered in it, since you can make the gun smaller than a .44 if you really want to.

S&W makes a night guard in it, but that's about it.

 

[Virginian]

If you like it, fine, but just I do not see how one can rationally say it is "better" than the 44 magnum. That's like saying 5'-5" women are "better" than 5'-6" women. Okay, maybe if you're 5'-5" yourself. Any advantage of "it could be" made in a smaller gun is lost, because it isn't. The only guns for it are retooled 44 sized weapons.
To say the 'only' disadvantage is unavailability of a big selection of factory ammo is a pretty huge disadvantage to me. Ergo, unless you handload, forget it.
It is smaller than the 44. If smaller is better, why is it better than the 357?
I am a 44 Special lover, and I will certainly grant that the 44 special has benefitted tremendously from being usable in 44 magnum guns, and the 44 magnum guns have benefitted from being able to use the Special rounds. I will grant that a lot of the old plusses that helped the 44s along are mostly lost to the 45 Long Colt round in modern guns with modern components, but the fact is, when the 44s were carrying the mail, the guns and components were not there for the 45. The 357 has the 38. The 41 doesn't have those advantages or history.
I don't think it's the 280 Remington of handguns because even the 280 has benefitted from all the bullet development for all the hot, and not so hot, 7MMs, and the 41 never got saddled with name changes, a la 7MM Express.
I am not disputing that the .41 Mag is a fine round, capable of very good accuracy and terminal performance, and no question it is better than the .41 rimfire. I will modify my original assessment to say that is has a vociferous minority of supporters.