.41 mag duel purpose ?

[Highway41]

I've been a 41 fan for a long time but only recently started reloading for it again over the last few years. As my BBS 20" arrived on the day I left to go visit my brand new grandson, he was born on Valentine's day, I haven't had a chance to spend much time with the BBS much less shoot it yet.

That said my favorite 'plinking' load is 8gr of Unique under any 215gr LSWC. Honestly 8gr of Unique under any weight 41 bullet is pretty standard and is the loading Elmer Keith said duplicated the original 41 police load. For more serious work I've settled on 18gr of 2400 under a 210gr XTP. The 2400 load isn't the max listed but is more comfortable to shoot. I haven't settled on a load for the 170gr sierra bullets yet.

I have a spreadsheet I compiled with over 500 different 41 Magnum loads if anyone wants a copy send me a pm with your email. Most of the loads are from manuals old and new but there's also a lot from magazine articles and other sources I've found to be reliable.

[BigAl52]

Highway41 the swc feed ok in the Henry?

[Highway41]

Highway41 the swc feed ok in the Henry?

Got home a few hours ago and finally got a chance to really look over my 41 BBS. If you are on this forum you know already, it is an awesome rifle.

Anyway. I had made up several dummy rounds of my Keith bullets and spent several minutes cycling them through the action. As long as I operated the lever with authority there were no feeding issues at all. An even better discovery was that none of the bullets were shaved, dented, misformed or otherwise damaged by repeated cycling through the action. FYI all my lead is sized to 412 using NOEs push through sizer and lubed with 45/45/10.

If everything goes as planned I'll be able to get to the range next weekend and will have a better report after that.

[BigAl52]

I have the Steel in 41 and I am waiting for the brass in the carbine to come out. I just havent tried swc in mine yet. I do know that I used some of the 220 Missouri cast bullets and I think they will work but the ones I have are to long and just dont cycle right. I havent shot mine as much as I should have but what I have done with it I like alot. Al

[DAVIDF]

Hey all, new member here and really enjoying this site so far! I have a question for those with some experience with the .41 out of both wheel guns and rifles. Now that I have a .41 BBsteel and a S&W 657 I would like to have a round that would work equally well out of both if possible. It's been a long time since I reloaded but plan on gearing up for it and I don't have any supplies yet so was hoping to get some suggestions on powder, bullet and primer choices that would make a nice round for both. I have saved brass for years so I'm good to go there but if I'm going to shoot both I just can't afford the cost of .41 factory ammo. If you are used to reloading this round I would love your comments on what has worked for you. Dave

Dave,

I don't reload or own any .41's. But I do for .44s. I have a Big Boy in .44 Mag and a couple of Ruger Super Blackhawks in .44 Mag. In trying to find a load that is good in both, the first step is to find a load the rifle likes. The revolver will most likely do well with that load. XTP's seem to work really well in both when you find the correct powder charge. But, those are expensive for plinking. Some of the plated bullets can work well in both rifle and revolver. I have had good luck with accuracy with X-treme plated bullets and prices are good when they have sales, like today at 15% off and free shipping. They aren't designed for high velocity, so if using in both rifle and revolver, you will need to use lighter loads to get good accuracy. If you are going to use cast lead bullets, ask Henry what the groove diameter is and try a bullet .001 over. Or try to measure the groove diameter with a round fishing weight. There are numerous posts on the web explaining how, including at Beartooth Bullets website. I have ordered some hard cast from Penn Bullets since they size to order. My Big Boy barrel has a .431 groove diameter, so I need a lead bullet sized at .432 which is rather hard to find. I'll be letting everyone know my results once I receive the bullets. My first load with them will be a light load of Alliant Red Dot that should push the 200gr cast bullet at about 1250fps out of the rifle and about 1000fps out of my 4 5/8" revolver.

The good thing with your rifle is the barrel's faster twist rate. It should accommodate various weight bullets at fairly slow to faster velocities.

[Usafa71]

Awaiting my BBS in 41 mag, but have loaded a lot for several Ruger Blackhawks, and a Marlin 1894 FG. With factory loads, you will see about 300-400 fps increase in velocity between a 4"-6" pistol and the rifle. Factory loads were giving me 1700-1800 fps in the Marlin, but I never chronographed the revolver. But hitting a deer with a 215-240 gr bullet from a 41 mag(or a 44 mag or 45 Colt) traveling 1200-1400 fps will penetrate through a deer, and leave a more than adequate blood trail. So if you can find a load in the 1000-1200 fps range in the revolver that shoots adequately in the rifle, you are done. Just don't need max rifle velocity from a hard case bullet( or jacketed pistol bullet) to bring home a deer.

Will post again when I have the BBS - thinking of a range report comparing the two lever actions!

[JEBar]

Usafa71 ....

welcome to our community, looking forward to your observations of both the Henry and Marlin .... once your Henry 41 arrives please go to our How Many ? thread (link below) and add it to our community total


http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 109#p40109

[CT_Shooter]

Awaiting my BBS in 41 mag...

Welcome to the forum from CT. I look forward to reading about your new Henry and your other adventures on the range and in the field.