OT- Is the .41 Mag fading away?

[336A]

I just noticed that S&W no longer has the M57 in they're line up. I hope that this is not a sign of things to come, as the .41 magnum is by far my very favorite handgun cartridge. I hope that someone else will pick up the slack and produce a quality DA 6 shot .41 mag.

[Griff]

I don't know... but, it seems to me that the 41Mag has been fading since its introduction. Bracketed by excellent cartridges and w/o a "Special" it doesn't have an appeal to the "average" enthusiast. JMHO.

[t.r.]

41 MAG ammo is neither widely available nor low cost to the buyer. These facts have diminished interest in this cartridge.

When Marlin introduced their deluxe 41 MAG carbine, I assumed some great hunting reviews would follow. Perhaps you've read these articles where the writer hunts exotic animals such as axis deer or fallow deer during off season to produce legitimate bullet performance reviews for the would-be whitetail deer hunter. Yet nothing like this appeared (that I know about). Whether you agree with exotics hunting is not the point. I feel that these type of articles stimulate interest in a certain rifle or cartridge + present factual bullet performance for anyone to see.

The 41 MAG appears to be fading (in part) due to zero coverage by the popular hunting magazines. Unfair but true.

TR

[Ray Newman]

The S&W discontinued the M57 in 1993; the M58 in 1969/70. There was a limited run of mountain guns in 2005.

The Ruger Blackhawk is still available in .41 & I wish Ruger would re-introduce the Redhawk in .41. I haven’t seen one @ the gun shows in quite a few years. I’ve seen a few S&W M57’s, but they command & seem to fetch a premium price.

Myself, I like the .41, esp. in my Marlin. I think it is a much better rifle cartridge than revolver. I also have a Blackhawk in .41, but the grip just isn’t right for my hands.

IMO, the .41 has developed a loyal, albeit small, following. Despite constant rumors of its demise, it manages to hang on & has turned into something of a “for reloaders only” cartridge. As other posters said, probably the lack of commercially readily available cartridges is the reason for low interest. For some inexplicable reason -- @ least in my mind -- the .44 Magnum is king of the hill. Seems that most of the .44 Magnum shooters that I know & seen bought a .44 revolver just to have the most powerful, but then find they can’t shoot it very well & later cost about the cost of the ammo --both .44 Magnum & .44 Special.

[Comal Forge]

I have a 4" M57 that I bought new in 1982. I reload so have a ".41 Special" load of 8.0 grs WW231 and a 210 cast bullet that I shoot most of the time but can crank it up with a 220 JSP with WW296 if the need arises. This revolver has slowly migrated into a spot as my home defense weapon since it's very handy and doesn't recoil much with these light loads. It's accounted for lots of coons and skunks over the years and I'd have to say it's one of my favorites to carry and shoot. Elmer liked his 4" M29 and I can see why with the .41 - very portable yet plenty powerful.

However, I have to agree with the other comments that the .41 Mag is a reloader's cartridge. There just isn't much available in factory offerings. Sad but true that it is slowly leaving the stage...

[6pt-sika]

Hmmmm , like many others I have it may very well be fading from sight !

I however have a pair of Marlin's and a Ruger Blackhawk for the 41 and about 400 pieces of brass , so I'm in good shape for a good long while !

[oldmax]

Last week I picked up a S&W Mdl 57 -6 inch at a good price, Target Hammer/Trigger and an action job. It shoots GREAT !!!,
I also have a Taurus Ti in 41 mag, 24 oz's, Not to bad to shoot, Fairly accurate , Kinda..

I love the 41 Mag, MO, The 41 Mag is a Great round,
Of course I reload....

?? Was the Win Trapper ever made in a 41 Mag ????

[El Chivo]

I noticed available 41 mag bullets seem light for the caliber, wouldn't that make them poor performers at long range? Low BC and all that?

Curious about reports from users.

As for not knowing why the .44 Magnum is a popular cartridge, you can't be serious:

[Don McDowell]

I really like the 41, and wouldn't give my little blackhawk up fer luv ner money. But I gotta say its probably neither fish nor fowl..
One of the big selling points was supposedly less recoil than a 44 , my hand can't tell the difference, and especially when you start stoking that 41 up with 260 ish grain bullets at full throttle.
It takes a large frame gun so its no more concealable than a 44 or 45, and it's weight isn't any less noticeable on the belt.
Couple all that with a very limited number of reload components and even smaller choice in factory loads, and it's future seems doubtful

[meanc]

I've shot the 41mag with factory loads and it did have considerably less kick than 44mag factory ammo.

I've no doubt that it would make a good hunting/defense cartridge just as the 45colt easily does, but when it comes to the 44mag, there's just more readily available factory/hunting ammo for the regular joe.

[stretch]

I agree with previous posters that it has probably been fading since it's
inception. IMHO, it's a terrific, and very much under-rated cartridge. With
7.0 gr. of 231 pushing a 210 gr. LSWC, it's very accurate, easy enough
on the hands to shoot all day, and has PLENTY of power for a self-defense
round. Stoke it up with 240 gr. or better hard cast lead bullet, and I'd take on
anything here in Maine with it - including moose.

On the down side, components are not as available as they might be, and
factory ammo is ridiculously priced.

I need to find one of those Marlins in 41 Mag - it might even be better
than the 35 Remington at woods ranges! Maybe......

I'm also a fan of the 10mm cartridge, which is powerful enough for
deer, black bear, or bi-pedal social work at closer ranges, but which
also has the same downside as the 41 Mag. Lighter bullets for the
10mm are more common, as the 40 S&W uses the lighter weights.
200 gr. or better are hard to come by.

[Crazy Horse]

I love the 41 magnum! I have a S&W 6" model 57, a 4 5/8 Ruger blackhawk and my favorite is my Acusport Ruger ss bisley with a 5 1/2" barrel. I also have the Cowboy limited Marlin in 41 mag. I shoot the bisley the most and I like the Hornady 210 gr xtp the best in it.

[Noah Zark]

The mainstream gun media and the gun hacks have never made the 41 Magnum a priority for the infomercial articles they write (sorry, Terry, present company excepted). Back in the day, the .41 Magnum was introduced as a more powerful alternative to the 357 Magnum for law enforcement agencies which thought the 44 Magnum to be too excessive. But the 357 was ubiquitous, and hundreds of agencies already had invested in revolvers for that chambering. The .41 always lived in the shadow of the .44 thanks to popularity of the latter being driven by the Eastwood movies and the general "more is better" American mindset (hence the S&W 500, the Big Mac, the 44 oz fountain soda, the Ford F350, and XXXX sweatsuits, but I digress). Revolvers as LE weapons eventually succumbed to the "wondernine" phenomena of the 80s and never regained market share.

All that said, the .41 Magnum remains quite popular among collectors and shooters who reload. Over at the S&W Forum the S&W Models 57 and 58 are hot topics, and new acquisitions are reported regularly. Marlin .41 Magnum 1894s do not sit long on shelves in my area. In the past year, I've personally seen two .41 Marlins, one at a shop and the other at a show. Both moved within a few weeks at most. Cost of 41 Magnum ammo is largely irrelevant to 41 fans when reload, and most people that own 41 Magnum weapons do reload. Initial purchase of loaded ammo or brass is a bit steep, but once purchased the cost of shooting is not significantly different than that of the 45 Colt, 44 Special, or 44 Magnum.

Concluding, IMO the .41 Magnum is quite popular with a small niche group of enthusiasts. Unfortunately, that group is too small to be of economic significance to firearm manufacturers.

Noah

[GANJIRO]

The Taurus Tracker in 41 mag is still available and going strong, and I always though it's compact, and relatively light weight 5 shot frame would make it a terrific hiking companion.

http://www.taurususa.com/products/produ ... y=Revolver

[Rod WMG]

At the risk of being lynched from the nearest tree, I have to offer a dissenting opinion.

The only .41 I've shot was my BIL's 4" Smith some years ago. I was far less than impressed. All he had was factory ammo; I don't recall what now. It was as loud and kicked just as much as my .44 mags, I thought. And it wasn't accurate for me.

I've never wanted a .41 mag after that experience.

[homefront]

Here's my Blackhawk (after I reshaped the grips). It is by far my favorite caliber to shoot and load for, and it's every bit as accurate as I can shoot. Less recoil than my .44 mag Super Blackhawk (not that I think the .44 is bad), and is just a pleasure even with full power loads. I find that using AA #7 makes full house loads a little more comfortable. It very accurate in my Marlin, too, and 75 yard target practice with open sights easily keeps me inside 3". I know I could cut that way down with a scope. People just don't know what they're missing with the .41 mag.

[Hillbilly]

I always figured it was too big or too little. And .41 mag just dont sound as sexy as .44 magnum.

In my opinion it was a LE flop only because it would have had to replace SO many .38's and .357's that were already in service at the time. For the N frame weight it would seem to me that not many guys would trade a D frame Colt or K frame SW for the .41M .

And only a few years later the 'wonder-nines" started taking over the market. And just a few years after that we started seeing good fighting autos in 10mm and .40 SW.

So , the .41 is not so much fading... just a victim of bad timing and possibly being a solution to a problem of limited scope.

Jeff

[ACK450]

To me, proof that the pen had been mightier over the years in the gun press than just about anything else lies in the fact that I've taken a few Mule Deer with both the 44 mag and the .41 mag and I have never seen a lick of difference between the two in how they kill deer.
I have, however, noticed slightly quicker kills with the 45 colt. These were all handloads with both jacketed and cast bullets in all three calibers.
I like the .41 and still have a couple of them which I still shoot and enjoy, and I shure would hate to see the round fade completely away.
Just to many years of good memories and good shooting with the worthless little .41 mag I guess.
ACK

[RSY]

And, yet, the 10mm Auto is starting to see something of a resurgence. Go figure.

I believe it was on "Guntalk" that some caller was recently asking about revolvers that shot the 10mm Auto, and I thought to myself, "Yeah, it's the good ol' .41 Mag., you knucklehead!"

Scott

[Tumbleweeds]

S&W haven't dropped the .41, they just dropped the blued models. The 657 is alive and well.

[Hobie]

I have a 16" .41 Magnum Contender barrel. 22.5 gr. L'ilGun pushes the 210 gr. jacketed XTP at 1800+ fps. That's every bit as good some .35 Remington factory ammo I had. I think it shoots pretty flat to 150 yards (the furthest I've shot at targets with it) and it is accurate. It was not my FIRST choice though, that was a .35 Remington which can push 200 at 2200 fps and has better sectional density as well as a better ballistic coefficient. It was also more conventional than the .41 Magnum...

[6pt-sika]

S&W haven't dropped the .41, they just dropped the blued models. The 657 is alive and well.

I dunno , I just looked through S&W's entire page and I couldn't find the model 657 in there anywhere !

Bummer cause I had thoughts of getting one ordered . Had one a few years ago and like a DA I traded it off , even had a Leupold 2x on top

[marlin shooter]

I bought these set of marlin's so I could get the .41. My result's have mirrored Hobie's with the 210 grn xtp and LIL GUN. (He's the reason I tried LIL GUN in my .41 Thank's Hobie) I almost bought a 1894 FG but don't really like the pistol grip on the 1894's. I will find a older 1894 sometime. MY .41 seem's to kick a little less then my .44 and give's more then my .357 so what's not to like?

Karl

[Tycer]

And, yet, the 10mm Auto is starting to see something of a resurgence. Go figure.

I believe it was on "Guntalk" that some caller was recently asking about revolvers that shot the 10mm Auto, and I thought to myself, "Yeah, it's the good ol' .41 Mag., you knucklehead!"

Scott

It was on Guntalk. I had the same thought.

[Tumbleweeds]

S&W haven't dropped the .41, they just dropped the blued models. The 657 is alive and well.

I dunno , I just looked through S&W's entire page and I couldn't find the model 657 in there anywhere !

Bummer cause I had thoughts of getting one ordered . Had one a few years ago and like a DA I traded it off , even had a Leupold 2x on top

Guess I'd better run down to the shop where I saw one in the display case and grab it then, and quit just thinking about it! Maybe I can get a discount because it's discontinued

[oldmax]

I have been shooting my new / Used Mdl 57,
Nice....
Best trigger I have ever squeezed.
41 Mag ain't dead for me...But my right hand has a little dead spot,
It's got a little bite ..

[jengel]

I can't find a .41 mag on the S&W Website either. That sucks. I really like my Liberty model 4 5/8" Blackhawk though. When the Ruger rep stopped by a couple of days ago, I expressed desire for more .41 mag stuff, especially a 77/41. That would be the cat's pajamas...