I finally got a .41 Magnum.

[Adam Helmer]

I have fired several .41 Magnums in the past and liked the caliber. Finally, a mint condition Ruger SA Blackhawk came my way with a box of factory loads.

I bought a set of dies, some more cases and jacketed bullets and have worked up an accuracy load. I have .357s, .44 magnums and now a .41 and carry it often afield here on the farm. I plan on casting bullets for the .41 like I do for the other handguns on establishment.

Any suggestions on a good cast SWC plain base bullet for the .41M?

Adam

[Gil Martin]

I cast a 210 grain SWC hard lead bullet and propel it with a decent load of IMR4227 and Winchester primers. What length barrel does it have? Good choice. All the best...
Gil

[Dom]

Originally posted by Gil Martin
It's about time you got a 41 Magnum

Yea, that ^

Hey Adam, actually you beat me, 'cause I've got a few but no 41!! Just wanted to second the congratulations, I'll have to get one also one of these days, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

[Adam Helmer]

Gil,

The SA has a 6.5 inch or 7.5 inch barrel, it is in the vault and not handy to measure. It seems the same barrel length as the .44M Superblackhawk, or at least it fits the same holster. Please bring that bullet mould when you visit.

Dom,

Wie geht es Ihnen? Ich habe zu viel zu tun. I plan on hunting PA deer with the .41M this November. Bis bald.

Adam

[GoodOlBoy]

Congrats on the find. I have always been curious about the 41s. I have known some guys who were addicted to them, thats for certain.

GoodOlBoy

[skeet]

I've been lookin for one of the 41's for a while. I happen to have 600 rounds of factory ammo and at least 500 new factrory brass for the 41...but no gun. I've been hesitant to sell the ammo et al because as soon as I did I'd find a gun. I have however been leaning towards a Smith 57 in 4 or 6 inch for no particular reason.

[Dom]

Hallo Adam, mir geht es gut, Danke, und ich wunsch Dir viel Freude mit Deine neue Spielzeug. Ja, ich glaube du hast viel zu viel Zeit als zu viel zu tun!! Just kidding. The older I get seems like the faster the time flies. Doesn't help that I gotta still work for a living, but it keeps me out of trouble and busy, too busy sometimes.

Are you going to scope it? Good luck this November hunting with it, I envy you. I've got a Smith .44 Mag that I'd like to hunt with someday, scoped though (my eyes are not what they used to be), and I'm not the greatest kurzwaffe shooter, though I did manage to move up to the Gold Class in short weapons this year!! We cannot hunt with short weapons here, but we can carry and use them to make the fangschuss, or killing shot.

Bleib gesund, Dom.

[Adam Helmer]

Dom,

I do not plan to put a scope on the SA. I like the looks of a single action too much to install a scope. A good friend had the pistol, new in the the box, and wanted a DA .41M so he parted with the SA for $300.

Yes, I may have too much free time. I am in my 8th year of subbing at the high school level. I am a hospice volunteer and a lay minister, besides being a farmer.

How difficult is it to find a place to shoot and hunt in Deutschland?

Adam

[Dom]

Adam, sounds like you got your hands full! And yes, I agree with you and wouldn't put a scope on that model either, just wouldn't do the Ruger justice.

As far as hunting and shooting over here, it is more detailed than stateside. But like anything, it depends on how much drive you got to see it thru to completion, and what contacts you make. If you sit home all the time, no one is going to be ringing your phone off the hook to go hunting. You better be involved in your local Hunting Club to get known. For the casual shooter or hobby hunter, I get a lot of questions on how they go about it, and 9 out of 10 let it drop. To hunt and shoot you have to be dedicated, but the rewards are fantastic. I take new hunters out all the time and they have a great time. Mostly those who are active in the Club, volunteer their time, and who shoot regularly are who I look for. The other way to hunt over here is have bucks and just book your hunt. This if fine for the hobby hunters, but you don't get out as often. Anyway, like anywhere, the opportunity is there, and you'll get pretty much out of it what you put into it!! Dom.

[Adam Helmer]

Dom,

Thanks for the hunting information. Du bist ein Jaeger, nicht wahr? Bis bald.

Adam

[Tater]

Can I interject with an honest question? What is the big deal with the .41 mag? I've seen many threads on this caliber and even had the chance to buy one but I didn't cuz I didn't see the advantage. Is it power, speed or just a novelty? I'm not trying to be a smart a$$, just asking an honest question.

[BILLY D.]

Tater

I'll take a crack, no pun intended, at your question. After using one for a while, mines a three screw, thats how old it is, I found with the same bullet weights it did every thing the 44 Mag did except for the smaller bullet diameter.

When you step up to the really heavy bullets the 41 loses. You just can't get the real heavyweights. When I hunt deer with a pistol in 44mag, usually a Contender 14" I tend to use 180 or 210 gr bullets. I found in a few seasons of pistol hunting they were the most efficient killers and didn't have the glide path of an anvil.

The only real difference I observed was the velocity from the 41 was about 500fps slower. +or- a few. The last few seasons I have been using the 41 almost exclusively. I really like it. And yes it's scoped. When you are 70+ years you take all the help you can get.

When you compare the 2 calibers and both are the same barrel length and the same bullet weight the difference is almost un-
noticeable except the slightly smaller hole the 41 makes.

Bill

[Dom]

Tater, it's a solid caliber, but the question you're asking is like saying what's the big deal with the .308, as the 30-06 is popular (like the 44M). Just different shoes for different folks and the opportunity to have one ;) Now if you're debating the 357 vs 41, no contest, 41 hands down, JMHO.

Adam, ja, ich bin ein Jaeger, habe die Deutsche Jagdschein vor 15 Jahre gemacht -- machts gut, machts besser!! WH Dom.

[Adam Helmer]

Tater,

I do not understand your question about, ""Not seeing the advantage" of a .41 Magnum. Advantage as compared to what? If you have a .44 Magnum, then a .41M will not fill any real need.

If you have nothing more than a .38 Special or a .45 ACP, then a .41M will give you more handgun for whatever you need a handgun for.

Personally, I have never let "need" stand in the way of adding another gun to my heap. As for this new .41M, I always wanted one and like the way it feels, looks, handles and shoots with my handloads. It just feels good to carry "Enough Gun" afiled.

Adam

[BlkHawk73]

Recently brought home another .41 - my third. This one is another Bisley but unlike the other .41 Bisley, an Acusport model, this one is a shooter. Might just make it to the woods this season.

[moneychanger]

i just used the last of my 220gr lswc i got from wideners,unforunately they do not have any in stock now.
i've also used 210lswc,and 215 gr swc.
as for jacketed, idid load 50 rounds with the xtp over w296
and i have a few 220 jacketed i may try if i have time.

w296 seems to be the powder this blackhawk likes.


i finally got my blackhawk 41 mag shootin to the pointr this is probably the one i will use opening day.i've done a copuple minor things to it and they have paid off.the only bad thing is i got an order of 230 gr leadheads swc today,so now i gotta experiment a little more.

the only sure thing is ,i'm using a handgun opening day, good bet a ruger.dan

[Rev]

Adam, the second hand gun that I ever bought was a Ruger 3 screw .41 mag Blackhawk SN 16XX. That was 45 yrs. ago and I still shoot the same old load.

Mine is 220 hard cast (commercial) LSWC with 18.0 grs. of 2400 in a Rem. or Midway case with either CCI or Fed mag. primers. Around 1300 f/s and near max. in my gun. I don't shoot it much now as I use the .44 mag more often than not.

Still do love that old Ruger Blackhawk. BTW, I bet you've already done a trigger job on it. Those Blackhawk triggers from the factory have always been awful in the ones I've seen.

Rev

[Adam Helmer]

Rev,

We have the same accuracy loads for the .41 Magnum in the Ruger and cast bullets, but I use standard primers. I slick up all my triggers, being an old Armorer and all.

I like to cast all my bullets. I must set up my 2008 casting schedule for pistol, rifle and muzzleloaders. The 2008 elections loom large as I fire up the old Coleman Stove in the tractor shed.

Adam

[Rev]

Originally posted by Adam Helmer
Rev,

We have the same accuracy loads for the .41 Magnum in the Ruger and cast bullets, but I use standard primers. I slick up all my triggers, being an old Armorer and all.

I like to cast all my bullets. I must set up my 2008 casting schedule for pistol, rifle and muzzleloaders. The 2008 elections loom large as I fire up the old Coleman Stove in the tractor shed.

Adam


BUSY, BUSY, BUSY Adam. Farming, seminary, bullet casting, gun smithing, moderating, shooting, hunting. I just don't see how you are able to do it all? I'm just jealous, I suspect.

Rev

[Rocky Raab]

Tater, there's a perfectly good .243 (6mm) and a perfectly good 7-08. So what good is the 260 (6.5mm)?

The answer is, it's just good, period. Needs no other justification.

I shoot 38 Special, 41 Special and 44 Special. Why? Because they're all...well, special!

Each one also picks up in bullet weight where the previous one leaves off, and that's kind of neat. I load them all to 900 fps (no more than 1000) and so the bullet weight scale allows me to select a power level easily and effectively.

[Adam Helmer]

Rev,

LOL! I have my daily assignments and I work harder being retired than I ever worked for the gummint.

Adam