Can anyone say anything about 41 mag?

[44 AMP]

Unless you have a gun chambered for the "special" length round, I never saw the point of cutting down magnum brass to "special" length.

If you're worried about getting loads mixed up using all magnum length cases, just color the primer with a Sharpie marker. They make different colors, so you can choose which one stands out most for you.

[TruthTellers]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

I'm sorry, but I just can't accept this opinion at face value. First off, the Blackhawk was quite popular for many years before they introduced any convertible models, so yes, I think the Ruger Blackhawk .45 would have been a popular gun without the ACP cylinder, though the extra cylinder does add to its appeal.

As to the .38/.357 being "established" rounds, sure. .38 Special in 1898, the .357 Magnum in 1935. But then there are the "established" rounds of .45 Colt in 1873, and .45ACP in 1911. I disagree that the .45 Colt was a "dying" round before the Blackhawk chambered it. Numerous SAA clones and original Colts in .45 Colt were sold in large numbers before Ruger chambered the round in the Blackhawk, and the 100 year birthday of the round (1973) reignited popular interest that the New Model Blackhawk .45 was able to take advantage of.

As to the need for a new revolver round to be able to shoot some popular rimless semi auto round, I suppose that might matter to some people, but the .454 Casul, .460 S&W, and the .500 S&W don't seem to need that.

Sure, the .45 Colt was well established, but it wasn't really moving like .32s, .38s, and .357s were before Ruger made the Blackhawk in the caliber and even after Ruger released the Blackhawk in .45 Colt it was not selling compared to the ones in .357.

There's a reason Ruger first did the Blackhawk in .357 and it's because it was just more popular.

But, the focus here is how did the revolvers sell when a convertible cylinder was offered. We can probably take a poll here and ask for those who own a .45 caliber revolver do you have it in .45 Colt, ACP, or both? Then the follow up can be which do you shoot the most?

The answer is going to be .45 ACP because it's popular and less expensive to shoot and that's my point. Sure, the monster big bores like .460 and .500 sell, but they're not selling in the numbers that .38, .357, or even .45 Colts are.

My desire isn't just to see 10mm SuperMagnum revolvers exist, it's to see them succeed and piggybacking off the 35+ years of .40 and 10mm Auto will help with making it as successful as possible and in a matter of years there would probably be more 10mm SuperMagnums sold than .41 Magnums have in the past 25 years.

[Ricklin]

Tho never chambered in a revolver I am a fan of the 9 X 18 cartridge. Often called 9mm Makarov. Early on there were no brass case cartridges available, not to say I don't miss the days of com block surplus.
I learned back then that the case is the same as standard 9mm just 1 mm shorter, Brass cases are available now. I still see a few cases with black magic marker around the primer in my stuff. Bullet diameter is different so it's important to not cross them up.

[44 AMP]

Sure, the .45 Colt was well established, but it wasn't really moving like....

There are always people who claim that a round that isn't in the top couple spots on the new sales list is "dying/dead/obsolescent/moribund,"etc.

Looking only at sales is comparing apples to everything else in the garden, which is hardly a fair way to do it, in my opinion.

There's a reason Ruger first did the Blackhawk in .357 and it's because it was just more popular.

Sure, Ruger wanted his new design to sell, and chambering it in the most popular and common revolver round at the time was simply good business. Note that the next round put into the Blackhawk was the .44 Magnum, when it was brand new, and unknown. Ruger actually got their pistol on the market before S&W did.

But, the focus here is how did the revolvers sell when a convertible cylinder was offered. We can probably take a poll here and ask for those who own a .45 caliber revolver do you have it in .45 Colt, ACP, or both? Then the follow up can be which do you shoot the most?

The answer is going to be .45 ACP because it's popular and less expensive to shoot and that's my point.

I'll happily take your poll, but my answer isn't going to be .45acp.
I will freely admit that when I chose my first Blackhawk .45 my idea was to get something that would let me plink with my .45 auto ammo, and not have to chase the brass in the weeds to find it for reloading. I had a .45 auto pistol at the time, but little experience with SA revolvers and no experience with the .45 Colt round.

The year was 1983, and I bought a brand new Ruger Blackhawk .45 convertible with a 7.5" barrel. My intent was to use it to shoot .45acp ammo, but on the way home with it, I realized that I ought to get at least some .45 Colt ammo for it, so I stopped at another place and bought one box of Winchester 255gr ammo.

When I went to shoot the gun for the first time, I made one "small mistake" that changed my mind completely. The first ammo I shot was .45 Colt. WOW!! !!

The gun roared, bucked in my hands and the muzzle pointed to the sky!!! It was GREAT!!! I was hooked, and one might even say in love! After that shooting .45acp in that gun was just "meh". Over the years since, I've only put a bit over 300rnds of ACP though the gun, but many thousands of .45 Colt rounds. I eventually got a second convertible blackhawk, which has the ACP cylinder in it, and rarely leaves the case, I just don't use it, and half a dozen Vaqueros in different finishes and barrel lengths, ALL of them in .45 Colt only.

And, of all of them, the one I shoot the most is my first one, with the .45 Colt cylinder in it.

For me, its like the .41 Mag is for its fans, it does what I want, I enjoy shooting it, and don't give a rodent's posterior about where it is on the sales list, as long as it IS for sale, (ammo /components) I'm very happy with it.

[TruthTellers]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

There are always people who claim that a round that isn't in the top couple spots on the new sales list is "dying/dead/obsolescent/moribund,"etc.

Looking only at sales is comparing apples to everything else in the garden, which is hardly a fair way to do it, in my opinion.



Sure, Ruger wanted his new design to sell, and chambering it in the most popular and common revolver round at the time was simply good business. Note that the next round put into the Blackhawk was the .44 Magnum, when it was brand new, and unknown. Ruger actually got their pistol on the market before S&W did.



I'll happily take your poll, but my answer isn't going to be .45acp.
I will freely admit that when I chose my first Blackhawk .45 my idea was to get something that would let me plink with my .45 auto ammo, and not have to chase the brass in the weeds to find it for reloading. I had a .45 auto pistol at the time, but little experience with SA revolvers and no experience with the .45 Colt round.

The year was 1983, and I bought a brand new Ruger Blackhawk .45 convertible with a 7.5" barrel. My intent was to use it to shoot .45acp ammo, but on the way home with it, I realized that I ought to get at least some .45 Colt ammo for it, so I stopped at another place and bought one box of Winchester 255gr ammo.

When I went to shoot the gun for the first time, I made one "small mistake" that changed my mind completely. The first ammo I shot was .45 Colt. WOW!! !!

The gun roared, bucked in my hands and the muzzle pointed to the sky!!! It was GREAT!!! I was hooked, and one might even say in love! After that shooting .45acp in that gun was just "meh". Over the years since, I've only put a bit over 300rnds of ACP though the gun, but many thousands of .45 Colt rounds. I eventually got a second convertible blackhawk, which has the ACP cylinder in it, and rarely leaves the case, I just don't use it, and half a dozen Vaqueros in different finishes and barrel lengths, ALL of them in .45 Colt only.

And, of all of them, the one I shoot the most is my first one, with the .45 Colt cylinder in it.

For me, its like the .41 Mag is for its fans, it does what I want, I enjoy shooting it, and don't give a rodent's posterior about where it is on the sales list, as long as it IS for sale, (ammo /components) I'm very happy with it.

The only thing I'll say is since we're both on a gun forum we're not the typical gun owner. The casuals like something they can afford to shoot, but do appreciate more power and what a 10mm SuperMagnum would offer is mild .40 to moderate 10mm Auto to wild 10mm SuperMag that'd exceed .357, but be a bit behind .41 Mag in terms of power.

[gnappi]

In the scheme of things I was late to the .41 having bought my first less then 5 years ago but I've been shooting hot .45 Colt and .44 magnums since the 70's and now I have several .41's from S&W, Freedom arms, as well as Ruger and I now shoot them more than my .44's, .45's and .480.

Why? First off the light bullets last longer feeding the furnace... a bit less pot maintenance, better downrange bullet drop without the punishment of a heavier bullet and I can load them down to powder puff load level for my GF.

Maybe these are minimal reasons but I like shooting the .41 a lot.

As far as expense goes, most any caliber not a .357 or 9mm is not cheap and less available but looking over online sites the price difference is not a big deal between .41 and .44.

The bottom line in cost whether it's .41, .44, .45 Colt, .480/475, .500's etc. they are really cartridges for reloaders and bullet casters.

[Onty]

Originally Posted by Linker

I was just wondering. I am thinking about getting one.

I had or have 357 Magnum, 41 Magnum, 44 Magnum and 45 Colt. Since I am a hunter, predominately on wild boar, in some cases I also carry revolver. IMHO, 41 magnum is the caliber that will do it.

Also, since I like to shoot half scale silhouettes, something about 150 +/- rounds in a single day, I found that nothing cames close to 41 Magnum. OK, my preferred load for range is 220 grains at about 1100-1200 fps, but this is not pipsqueak load by any yardstick. I tried 44-250 at the same velocity from big Redhawk. Well, 50-60 rounds and I was done for the day. I stared felling tingling in my hands. Once I went close to 100 rounds, and got blister between thumb and index finger.

Contrary to 44-250, even 150 rounds of 41-220, no tingling. OK, my 41 Magnum was Bisley, but again, 150 rounds in a same day it's nothing to sneeze at for average shooter like me.

Now, if you want load for serous business, some kind of LBT 41-260/270, full throttle will knock down anything that should be hunted with revolver.

See what Paco Kelly has to say about 41 Magnum:

41 MAGNUM.... (SUNDAY’S CHILD) https://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/41magnum.htm
HEAVY BULLETS IN THE 41 MAGNUM https://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/41heavy.htm

If you need more than that, I would consider 12 gauge with slug, or 375 H&H, and up.

Don't get me wrong, I have now 3 Ruger SA 44 Magnum revolvers, 2 Bisley and 1 SBH, but letting go that 41 Magnum Bisley is the biggest mistake I made. Learn from my mistake; NEVER SELL ANY FIREARM UNTIL YOU FIRST GET WHAT YOU WANT. Now, I am in desperate search of 41 Magnum Bisley with 7.5" barrel, preferably with fluted cylinder, but very few are for sale. If one shows up, it goes very fast. Hope, something will crop up in foreseeable future.

[Name of One Who Uses]

I'm pretty new to the .41 Magnum but have lots of experience with .357's, .44 Special's and 45 Colt's and some with the .44 Magnum. On paper the .41 Magnum is a bit more powerful than the .357 Magnum and a bit less powerful than the .44 Magnum and a heavily handloaded .44 Special. There is no pixie dust involved with .41 caliber bullets, they do about what one would expect them to do. Where I find the .41 Magnum differs from the .44 Magnum and heavy-loaded 45 Colt is it's much easier to shoot and shoot accurately. Offhand I can easily keep 5 rounds on my 12" steel at 50 yds. When I practice a lot the same is possible most of the time even at 75 yds. This makes is quite easy to make shots in the field where most of the opportunities presented will require shooting offhand.
In my experience a .41 caliber bullet doesn't seem to kill quite as quickly as the large calibers but they do work. I've no doubt many people here have seen on other forums my photos of recent kills with my .41's, but for those who haven't-

[Onty]

Just curious, what is the bullet you are using and velocity when hunting with 41 Magnum?

[Drm50]

I had a buddy whose handgun collection was a Ruger STD auto, Ruger BH 357 and H&R 38S&W top brake. He was at a range where he saw a guy shooting a S&W M57/6”. He was all revved up and wanted me to get him one. Took me awhile to convince him that while there was nothing wrong with a 41mg, it was the gun not the cartridge that was clanging a 12” steel at 100yds.
Thats the difference between a Ruger SA and a S&W DA. For one gun guy that doesn’t load 357 or 44 is the better choice.

[glider]

I had a model 57, 6 inch barrel. Also had a model 29 6 inch barrel. Damn little difference in recoil or effectiveness. I don't hunt anymore so I actually have no use for either one. I sold all the 41s and 44s except an Anaconda 6 inch barrel. I kept 1 for now because I have a bunch of 44mag loaded. After I shoot up my ammo I'll sell the Anaconda. Hunting is the only legitimate use for the big magnums IMHO.

[gnappi]

I shot exactly one box of factory ammo and I now reload for it. Yeah for those who do not reload you'll not find .41 in in wal mart but a quick look on gun broker you'll see that the prices between factory .41 and .44 are not spread buy many $$ if any.

.44 AMP, yup, with equal bullet weights, velocities and gun weights in both calibers they will likely whack you the same a bit more or less depending on action and grip frame style.

For a true attention grabber there are smaller framed more easily packed guns like the Freedom Arms 97 in .41 that with full power loads will show you the need for a shooting glove, well at least it did for me :-)

[RickB]

A compact .41 Special would be cool, but a 57 or 58 that's as big as, and even heavier than a similar .44 Magnum? Can't think of anything good to say.