Smith and Wesson Model 41 Review

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    Trapper Jim

    Master
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    22   0   0
    Dec 18, 2012
    2,676
    77
    Arcadia
    I remember the first time I went to the elevator to buy feed for the horses. The old man, crustier then than I am now, asked if I wanted good oats or oats that had been used once. The good oats cost more.

    The model Smith and Wesson Model 41 Model 41 | Smith & Wesson (smith-wesson.com) is a premium .22 pistol. My first bullseye gun was a High Standard. It shot better than I could hold it but I put my first 41 on layaway as that was a lot of money (whatever it was) for a young man working night shift for Dean Foods in Rochester. When I got enough money to break this out, I thought my scores would go right to Master. Wrong. This gun was tight and had all the precision one could want but getting it to run in a Bullseye match NRA Competitive Shooting Programs|Precision Pistol Competitions by State proved to be a little work. I don’t believe in alibis. A rule I wish Bullseye, now called NRA Precision Pistol, would have never had but that is the game, like it or not.

    Of all the reasons to be into guns, military, police, retail, collectors, smithing, defense or hunting, shooting in the organized shooting sports is the only one that exposes, monitors, improves, and maintains your skill set. Like it or not. NRA Precision Pistol will learn you sight picture, trigger management and follow through. After reaching your best skill set in this game, then all one has to do is add a good presentation and you will be better equipped to adapt to all the other reasons for having a gun.

    If you happen to be short on ammo, a very good exercise self test exists with the 22 pistol. Go to a range, indoor or outdoor, hang a NRA B8 or B16 target NRA B8 Target (Printable for FREE) - Targets4Free at 25 yards. Take 1 box (50 rounds) of .22 ammo. Optics or not. Shoot ten rounds in 10 minutes strong handed only. One box of ammo will give you 5 strings and take less than hour at the range. If you can not average 65 or higher on each target, then you probably do not have to renew your S.W.A.T magazine subscription. Just saying. This exercise cost very little and gives you the most value out of 1 box of 22’s. The target can be read Diagnostic Target ⋆ A Girl and A Gun to help you with your skills. Did your gun work all 50 times? Can you call the shot on the target without looking through a scope? Yes, this is boring. But if you want to expose and self test yourself, you will have a benchmark from which to start. If you can’t do it with a .22 handgun then you sure as H ain’t gonna do it with any other caliber. The first step to loosing weight is to weigh yourself, the rest depends on you.

    Accuracy is primarily co dependent on sight picture, trigger management and follow through. It is not uncommon that my buddies and I shoot our handguns at 100 yard steel offhand all the time, including my model 36. Ringing the gong at this distance reduces the number of rounds wasted per target hit like the typical mag dump or hosefest so common these days.

    It was a perfect morning at the outdoor range today. A little overcast which is great for a sight picture, metallic or dot, and the not much breeze. When I set these targets up, I loaded 4 magazines with 5 rounds each and did not take the whole ten minutes for each ten round string. I, of course had no malfunctions. Growing up shooting any .22 fodder we could buy cheap, I had my favorites but in the last 20 years, CCI SV Standard Velocity (cci-ammunition.com) works good for me. I do not shoot anything less than a 40 grain bullet in .22LR but occasionally shoot CCI Shorts CB (cci-ammunition.com) in my revolvers and lever action guns.

    I have played with many custom exotic 22 pistols and this American made pistol sets the bar for accuracy and price. I do like my Buckmark Browning Buckmark Review (ingunowners.com) as well but for serious work this is the one I turn to. A little later on I added a Clark Custom Clark Custom Guns | Established 1950 | Princeton Louisiana barrel so I could switch to optics faster if I wanted. I have been doing business with the Clark family forever. The people at Clark Custom bleed guns. All three generations.

    This Clark barrel is a tiny bit more accurate than the factory barrel but not by much. I outfitted my Clark barrel with a Matchdot II. Matchdot II (ultradotusa.com) This trigger breaks clean and crisp at about 2 ½ lbs. The break down is very simple on this gun. Drop the magazine, lock back the bolt, confirm empty chamber, pull down on trigger guard, remove the bolt and recoil spring. Take off the grips.

    Speaking of grips, I have a set of Herrett National Target National Adjustable Target Gun Stock (herrettstocks.com) along with a field set H41 Checkered Gun Stock (herrettstocks.com) . The originals also feel good from the factory. One might notice that on all my handgun grips, the screws match the frame. If it is a blued gun, then the grip screws are blued to match. If it is a stainless or nickel gun, then the grip screws are stainless or nickel. It is just the right way to finish things.

    Smith spared no expense in the sights and millwork on this gun. Everything is solid steel. Grooves in the front strap and a flattened and serrated slide top uninterrupted like so many cheesy after cuts that are done now after the sight cuts have already been done. The Pachmayr shooting box, not sure if they still make them or not, makes this handy for shooting Precision Pistol Matches. Mine has held up well for my lifetime in and out of the weather, going from bench to bench, getting bumped around in hotel rooms and such. It holds 4 guns that allow me to shoot a 2700 if I want to and carry a Distinguished Revolver as well.


    Getting up the money for this premium .22 pistol back in the day took a little work to muster up the money, but in experience, fun, countless matches, small game and vermin, and good as this gun was, is and will be forever, now them are some good oats.

    Good Shooting.

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