Why a .41mag?

[Mgderf]

I had a half hour to kill the other day so I decided to wander through one of our local gun shops.
Perusing the ammo offerings, I noticed a box of .41magnum ammo on the shelf.
It was a 50 round box. I didn't think to look at the brand, and I couldn't read the details on the box, grains...

What I did notice was the $71 price tag!
Really? $71 for 50 rounds?
Why would anyone use this round over say a .44mag?

 

[SSGSAD]

Just to be different ..... SOME loads, are "more powerful" than a .44 Mag.....

I bought my Ruger BH, B4 ammo went sky high .....

I also reload .....

I want to get a lever action, to match my single action .....

I "need", a .357, and a .41, and a .45 Colt .....

 

[Disposable Heart]

I don't know alot of folks that have them, other than a few people that impulse bought a Blackhawk in it. But, it is a great cartridge (having been one of the people that impulse bought one ). If you hand load, it's almost cheaper to buy virgin brass and components, rather than blasting up a box of lukewarm factory junk.

To me, it was like the .257 Roberts Improved Mauser my dad and I loaded for when I was a kid: It doesn't do anything particularly better than other, more common rounds like .308, .243, etc... but it just feels good to shoot and will do a good job if needed. Same with .41: Shot great, but I couldn't justify it in the end when I had .357s and .44s. It was a niche cartridge that just didn't pan out with law enforcement or hunters. Has great BC compared to .44 in terms of 100 and 150 yard shooting that I did, but not enough to justify it over .44 Mangle-um.

 

[Mgderf]

Just to be different ..... SOME loads, are "more powerful" than a .44 Mag.....

I bought my Ruger BH, B4 ammo went sky high .....

I also reload .....

I want to get a lever action, to match my single action .....

I "need", a .357, and a .41, and a .45 Colt .....

I would guess that unless you were independently wealthy, you would have to reload just to be able to afford it.
This is one big reason I STILL don't have a .50BMG.

Even though I load, I don't think I could afford to feed it.

 

[HoughMade]

Back in '64, it was thought that the .357 mag wasn't quite enough for medium sized game (whitetail and larger) and the .44 Mag, while plenty of medicine for the game, was, maybe, more powerful than necessary with more recoil than necessary. Into that perceived gap came the .41 Mag.

Also, remember that when this round was developed, there were not good jacketed hollow points. For defensive (law enforcement) use, the .357 had the potential, but without the bullets we now take for granted, it punched a hole, but was not the terminal "stopper" we think of today. A larger hole seemed like a good idea and the .44 mag, once again, was considered to have too much recoil for law enforcement use.

...all problems solved by a good .44 Special, but heck, the .41 Mag is a good deer round and a stopper, but in this day and age with the plethora of factory loadings we have, the .357 Mag is the best "stopper" out there and for hunting, the .44 Mag can be had at any recoil level you want. At this point, the .41 Mag is for people who just want a .41 Mag.

 

[M67]

I like the 41 mag cartridge, very versatile and has plenty of power behind it with the right load. A 41 mag was my first handgun.

I half ass collect 657s when I find deals on them. Ever since Smith discontinued them some of them go for......dayum.

There's been a 2" 657 at the past couple 1500s but I just can't seem to shell out the $1200 asking price

 

[dusterboy49]

I carried a Model 57 4" S&W when I was a Deputy Sheriff in Nevada in the early 80's.
There was plenty of ammo for it then including 180 gr. Silver Tips.
There was also 210 gr. jacketed flat nose which could punch a hole through and through two car doors as well as 210 gr. jacketed hollow points.
Gun had a lot of recoil, not too many could handle it.

 

[BugI02]

Back in '64, it was thought that the .357 mag wasn't quite enough for medium sized game (whitetail and larger) and the .44 Mag, while plenty of medicine for the game, was, maybe, more powerful than necessary with more recoil than necessary. Into that perceived gap came the .41 Mag.

Also, remember that when this round was developed, there were not good jacketed hollow points. For defensive (law enforcement) use, the .357 had the potential, but without the bullets we now take for granted, it punched a hole, but was not the terminal "stopper" we think of today. A larger hole seemed like a good idea and the .44 mag, once again, was considered to have too much recoil for law enforcement use.

...all problems solved by a good .44 Special, but heck, the .41 Mag is a good deer round and a stopper, but in this day and age with the plethora of factory loadings we have, the .357 Mag is the best "stopper" out there and for hunting, the .44 Mag can be had at any recoil level you want. At this point, the .41 Mag is for people who just want a .41 Mag.

You are right, Hough. IIRC the original idea behind commercializing the round was for LE use, as bullets of the day were cast lead or wadcutters and the 357 exhibited problems with overpenetration. Many police departments thought the next step up, the 44mag to be overkill and the guns chambering it to be too big and bulky. S&W mostly just adapted N-frame revolvers to the new round so this wasn't a help with that problem, either. The only people I know who have them are collectors of varying degrees of seriousness. Much like its little brother, 41AE, 41mag seems to be an evolutionary dead end

 

[in625shooter]

41 Magnum is one of the most under rated calibers of all time. There is no reason it shouldn't have been a more popular police cartridge. When I lived in Montana the 41 Mag was very popular as a hunting and truck gun. Would love to get the 4.2 inch Ruger redhawk they just reintroduced in 41 Mag.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

It suffers from the same issue as the 16g in today's world in the respect that ammunition choices of heavy for caliber/light for caliber squeezed out the gap it once occupied, and did so from both sides. Even from the get go, it was something of the .357 Sig of it's day. It did what it said it would, was a good cartridge, but more established players in the caliber market never let it get enough market share to really snowball into a big success.

 

[Hookeye]

.41 mag is the middle child.
Not a bad athlete or scholar, does his chores OK too.

A boring kid, that appears to wear a husky size, but is more probably a slim.

Buy a .44 mag and a .357, skip the .41

Most do.

I didn't buy all the gunwriter praise of the .41 mag when I was a kid and my dad's buds bought them, brought them to the range.
Still don't.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

.I didn't buy all the gunwriter praise of the .41 mag when I was a kid ....

Wait, the gun media used to over hype new guns/cartridges/calibers? Sure glad they've toned that down.

 

[Hookeye]

Some of the buds wanted to claim "as powerful as .44 mag".
Dreamers.
Then they said same thrill, just less powder and lead (save $).
Uh, I thought that's what .357 was for.

I have nothing against the .41 mag, pops had some, I shot 'em.
But then I have nothing to praise the .41 mag about either.

It's just different. And if that justifies a purchase, so be it.

It isn't a .44 mag and it will never be. Kinda tired of hearing (a few tims a year) in the gun shop travels, of how freakin' powerful it is.
But then, I don't think the .44 mag to be all that.
My pref there is 265 gr or less bullets full throttle.

The 300's turn that into another beast, and I don't care for that.

 

[Hookeye]

LOL, I loved my dad's buds and associates regurgitating the gunwriter articles at the range.
They had $ and bought the "latest and greatest" all the time.
Comical.
Gotta say, they too had fun with it, even if they were being played.
Hell, they were out shooting! And even if musguided in some aspects, that's still a whole lotta fun

 

[Hookeye]

I don't see a "why" with the .41 mag.
I also don't see a "why not".............it's just different.
And that is certainly good enough reason for a purchase.
That doesn't make it anything other than what it is.

 

[Hookeye]

LOL, sometimes I think about a Ruger SBH .357 max.
Just because.

 

[BugI02]

But have you never dreamed of a Jericho 941 with both barrels?

 

[Hookeye]

Never bought into the .41 Action Express either.

 

[Mgderf]

I already have, and have had for some time, both .357mag and .44mags.
I always thought of the .41mag as a niche round. Never really gave it any thought, until I saw $71.00 p/50rnds!

 

[6mm Shoot]

I like guns, all sorts of guns, revolvers, pistols, rifles and shotguns, I like them all.

I was at a gun shop that I have dealt with for years when he got in a 50 AE. It is one big hand gun. As I looked it over he said. You don't want that thing. I asked why? It cost about $2.50 to $3.00 every time you pull the trigger was his answer. I thought about that for abut a second and put the gun back down on the counter. He put the 50 back in the case and pulled out a 41 mag and handed it to me.

Now this is a good gun. He said as he handed me the revolver. I looked the gun over and handed it back. It had no appeal to me. It was a nice gun and had a great trigger. It just had no place in my collection. I had 357 mag and I had 44mag. I saw no need for something between the two. After handing him back the 41 he put it back in the case and came up with the 44 mag 8 3/8 that I had ordered. Before I got out the door I spotted a S&W 22 mag in the used gun case that I had to check out. That place is hell on my bank account.

The 50 AE is one big handgun. Forget what it cost to shoot. At some point you have to say if it takes this much power to take something down it may be time to go to a rifle.

The 41 mag I look at as if I want something lighter than the 44 I will use the 357 and by the way it isn't that much lighter than the 44 if any at all. Now if I didn't have a 44 or a 357 and was just going to have one revolver I could see it being a 41 mag. I look at the 41 of being for a one gun man.