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The Other Magnum. Loads for the .41 Magnum

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The Other Magnum. Loads for the .41 Magnum J ~-..l.)r r .___ r r I' r~ '__ r I' ~'--J_r ~' ~ I_ r,l ___r I' r~'_"" I ~ Handloader 221 Brian Pearce n the past two decades, several articles have appeared that pre­ dicted or at least indicated the .41 I Remington Magnum cartridge was headed for obsolescence. I don't claim to be able to predict the future, but it looks as though the .41 is going to be with us for years to come, as new sixguns continue to appear; and sales, while not huge, remain steady. With so many good big-bore revolver The.41 M agnum (center) fills the gap between the .357 Magnum (left) and the .44 Magnum (right). cartridges, such as the .44 Special, .44 Magnum and .45 Colt, we may ask Even though Bill obviously thought highly of the .357 where does the .41 Magnum fit in and Magnum for combat, he admitted it was "a little short hy do dedicated fans swear by it? on shocking power" and that a cartridge of larger cal­ iber with a heavier bullet would be a better option. He carried and experimented with a Smith & Wesson In 1963 at the annual NRA meettingsJ Model 29 .44 Magnum with a 4-inch barrel as a duty Elmer Keith and Bill Jordan discussed gun. While he loved the power, he was concerned that the possibility of a new cartridge in fast follow-up shots would be too slow, due to the heavy recoil, should the need arise to shoot more than .40 or .41 caliber. one target who was shooting back! In 1963 at the annualNRA meetings, Elmer Keith and Just like its big brother the .44 Magnum, the .41 Mag­ Bill Jordan discussed the possibility of a new car­ num was introduced as a joint effort between Reming­ tridge in .40 or .41 caliber specifically for law enforce­ ton and Smith & Wesson in 1964, but it was really the ment. Bill's original idea was a cartridge that would brainchild of the late Bill Jordan. Bill obtained exten­ drive a 200-grain bullet at something around 1,200 fps sive combat experience during World War II, then from a 4-inch barrel. (This sort of sounds like the after the war served in various factions of law en­ highly regarded lOmm, but in a revolver.) Elmer natu­ forcement including the U.S. Border Patrol during a rally agreed with Bill that the police needed a more time when "things were rough along the river." powerful handgun and took the bull by the horns; Bill's extreme skill (speed and accuracy) with the both men headed to the Remington booth and com­ combat handgun brought him considerable notoriety. mitted the company to make the ammunition, if Smith When he mapped out. the details of what he consid­ & Wesson and Ruger would build the guns. Obviously ered the "ideal law enforcement officer's handgun," Elmer and Bill were equally successful at Smith & & Wesson not only listened but also responded Wesson and Ruger booths. (I would have enjoyed bringing out his exact design in 1955 as the "Model watching these two colorful characters march into 19 Combat Magnum." This gun evolved into the Model booths and with great determination request a new 66, one of the most popular revolvers ever with law cartridge and gun! And who in their right mind would enforcement and sportsmen alike. have had the nerve to deny their request?) To prevent February-March 2003 www.handloadermagazine.com 29 . ~... 41 REM. MAG. f1.!.Gn sll.. '1EAn p. HOU..O.... POINl Outdoorsmen took M V,' SiloPZ the new ammunition from being the .41 Magnum FEDERAL chambered in an ancient Colt SAA afield and found it chambered in .41, which was really was very effective a .40 caliber, they recommended on deer, black bear the new cartridge have a groove HEAVY 4 ' MAG and even elk. diameter of .410 inch. A, .. _ 1\'''' ,.. , I believe Bill (and possibly Elmer) had imagined a lighter handgun than the Model 29, possi­ BUFFJlLD BDRrfifr bly a midsized frame like the Smith On the oth-er hand, in­ & Wesson L-Frame, which would­ terest in handgun hunting n't appear until the early 1980s. was on the rise, and out­ And Bill wanted a cartridge that is doorsmen took the .41 best described as a ".41 Special," Magnum afield and fOWld rather than a "Magnum." At any Several factory loads were fired to compare it was very effective on rate when the new gun appeared with handloads. deer, black bear and even as the Model 57 in 1964, it was elk as long as the right built on the big N-Frame, exter­ (SWC) at 1,050 fps, although this bullets were used. What appealed nally the same size as the Model latter load actually produced about to many was that it had a signifi­ 29 . Worst of all it weighed more 950 fps from a 4-inch barrel and cant power edge over the popular due to the smaller diameter bore the former load about 1,350 fps .357 Magnum but didn't kick as and chambers, which would limit from the same length barrel. The hard as the .44 Magnum. During appeal for police officers who car­ soft swaged lead bullet was void of the 1970s, when .44 Magnums were ried a duty weapon daily. The S&W a gas check, which unfortunately really difficult to find (thanks to Model 58 soon followed with fixed gave the .41 Magnum a reputation Clint Eastwood), many purchased service-type sights and an attrac­ for leading barrels. .41 Magnwns and after using them tive price tag in hopes that police a few years found they were effec­ While a few police departments departments would be enticed into tive as a general-purpose handgun. adopted this gun/cartridge combi­ upgrading their cunent service re­ nation, its acceptance among law Some have claimed the .41 offers volvers. Ruger brought out its sin­ enforcement was limited due just as much power as the .44 Mag­ gle-action Blackhawk .41 Magnum mostly to the heavy guns and fac­ num, which is something I must in that same year. tory loads that were less than take issue with. While I have taken The .41 Magnum cartridge case ideal, as the high velocity load big (and small) game with both was slightly (.005 inch) longer than kicl<ed too much and the reduced cartridges, in fairness I must admit the .44 Magnum and required bul­ load leaded. Had the ammunition my hunting experiences with the lets that were a mere .019 inch been closer to what Bill Jordan de­ .44 Magnunl is many times that of smaller in diameter at .410 inch. sired (200-grain slugs at 1,200 fps) the .41. Nonetheless the .44 uses Early factory loads were adver­ and the gun on a smaller frame and a bullet that weighs about 15 per­ tised to drive a 210-grain jacketed lighter, its acceptance among law cent more and is of larger caliber softpoint (JSP) bullet at 1,500 fps enforcement might have been with more frontal area, which sim­ or a 210-grain lead semiwadcutter much different. ply translates into a larger wound Left, the.41 Magnum is more versatile if handloaded with cast and jacketed bullets. Below, cast bullets should be sized to .410 inch. 30 www.hand/oadermagazine.com Handloader 221 channel and greater ability to de­ liver shock and to break heavy bones. Some ambitious advocates of the .41 Magnum claim the 210-grain bullet offers a flatter trajectory and higher velocity than a comparable designed 240-grain .44 Magnum bullet. This may be true, but it is so slight that it is unimportant in the real world of hunting or kicking around in the hills with an iron­ sighted or even a scoped sixgun. Left, the throats of this Ruger For example the Remington cata­ Blackhawk .41 Magnum measure log lists factory loaded .41 Mag­ .4105 inch, nearly perfect for the num 21O-grain JSP bullets at 1,300 Hornady .41 O-inch jacketed bullet. fps and .44 Magnum 240-grain JSP Above, the Hornady bullet fits bullets at 1,180 fps - both from a 4- snugly in the throats. inch vented barrel. (The .41 bullet straight. Besides this cartridge has has a sectional density of .178, plenty of merit on its own. bly shoot better. Keep in mind that while the .44's SD is .186, which .44 revolvers produced dming this The .41 Magnum has always had also gives the .44 a slight BC edge.) era commonly had throats that a reputation of offering superb ac­ In clocking various brands of am­ were .003 to .005 inch larger than curacy. In working with several munition in both calibers in guns groove (or bullet) diameter. Today Smith & Wesson and Ruger re­ with similar barrel lengths, the dif­ this picture has changed as most volvers and recently with the Free­ ference is not much with the .41 manufacturers produce guns with dom Arms Model 1997, in almost actually clocking around 50 or 60 tighter throats for increased accu­ every instance they have been fps faster. With the .44's better BC, racy. the difference in drop at 100 yards tack-drivers. The cartridge is no is around X inch, with the .41 hav­ more accurate than any other mod­ There is a good selection of jack­ ing a slight edge. ern revolver cartridge; the re­ eted expanding bullets for hand­ volvers are largely responsible for loading the .41 Magnum, ranging The above is not presented to dis­ this reputation.
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