Henry Rifle Forums

I'd like this thread to be a central repository here for all things 41 Mag/Spl

If you are already a FortyOner then you know the excellent characteristics of this great caliber. Reduced recoil as compared to the .429 magnum, outstanding inherent accuracy, conservation of powder as opposed to larger calibers with the same energy level, conservation of lead for casters of at least 10% using standard weight bullets, etc.

I have been a fan of the 41 since the early 80's when I carried a 5.5" Ruger Redhawk on duty as a deputy sheriff in a rural Texas county. Due to very hard times I had to sell off all my guns about 20 years ago and the last one I let go of was my Redhawk. Long story short when life got better a 41 Blackhawk was one of my first guns I picked up. I've been reloading for it again for the last few years and was blessed to receive a 5.5" Redhawk from my girlfriend as a birthday present last year, yes she is an awesome. Earlier this month I sold my 308 rifle to finance a Henry BBS in 41 of course.

Anyway enough rambling about me lets get down to business.

Here is a link to a spreadsheet of 41 loads that I have compiled from both reloading manuals an web sources. There are over 800 loads listed
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4yeP ... TVYa2pjWTA
The spreadsheet is usable on any of the free spreadsheet programs but if you have any problems with it PM me your email address and I'll send the file that way.

All the usual warnings apply to this data and I am not responsible for any damage to your firearm, yourself or others resulting from your use of the data.

As I haven't had a chance to take my BBS to the range yet I don't have a range report yet but I had loaded up dummy rounds to check function. My BH and RH love the 225-230gr Keith style from NOEs mold so I had several of them seated and crimped. The BBS needed me to work the lever with authority but did function okay. The Keith is a long bullet with an OAL of 1.700" to 1.710" and they were all sized to .412". I had to get a jewelers loop out to see what little damage functioning them did to the bullets. There was no damage to the driving band only a little on the meplat. Next I tried to function the BBS with a dummy round with a Ranch Dog 255gr bullet. As cast these actuall weigh out at an average of 263gr seated to 1.585 OAL. The Ranch Dog round would not fully chamber and I did not attempt to force it closed. Examining the round I can clearly see where it began to hit the rifling at 1.460". I dont know if this would still be an issue if the bullets were sized to .411" but will post here the results of any further testing with the Ranch Dog. When I measured the Farthest end of the forward driving band it measured 1.385". So this tells me that the rifling begins somewhere between 1.385" and 1.460".

I slugged the barrel of my BBS and measured it with a quality vernier micrometer and got .4096" and .4100". Right now all my lead is sized to .412" which I think will work well in all my 41s as my BH and RH both slugged out to .4095".

On a side note if you have a 41 wheel gun it is well worth the money to have the cylinder throats reamed to .4125". Both of my Rugers had chambers that the throat measured .409" which meant that the cylinder was undersizing the bullets before they ever got to the forcing cone. Having the cylinder throats reamed shrank my groups from 6"+ at 15 yards to one ragged hole at 15 yards with my pet load of 8.0gr Unique under any 215-230gr cast bullet.

I will post any further findings here and strongly encourage you to share your stories, information and data. Sadly I do not have a chronograph so if you do please share any results you have.

Highway41, thank you for the link. It loaded up fine for me and gives me some options to ponder while I wait for my cast bullets to get here. I'm just getting started with reloading and locally I was able to get some Hornady XTP so that is what I'm starting with. Got 20 made up with 13 grains of AA#7 pushing it and will work it from there. Now if the wind will go down enough to keep the chronograph on the table I can see where they come in at! Dave

Hwy41
Thanks for all the info. I like you love the 41. I have the Steel and as soon as Henry releases the brass carbine I have one on order. I think I recognize you from the Cast Boolits site. I dont hang there much anymore I like it here better. I have a Ruger Blackhawk Freedom Arms and a Smith 657 powerport in 41. I havent touched any of my throats but I dont shoot cast much mostly copper plated. what cast I have shot in the Ruger has shot well. I have some of the Mo Cast 220 grain and when ther gone Im gonna give that Rainer 220 gr RNFP a try. Have you tried it at all? I like you have settled on 2 powders 2400 and unique. Im down on 2400 right now but I just dont shoot the bigger charges enough to buy 8lbs of 2400. I have also tried Universal Clays and it shot well for me. Al

BigAl52 wrote:Hwy41
Thanks for all the info. I like you love the 41. I have the Steel and as soon as Henry releases the brass carbine I have one on order. I think I recognize you from the Cast Boolits site. I dont hang there much anymore I like it here better. I have a Ruger Blackhawk Freedom Arms and a Smith 657 powerport in 41. I havent touched any of my throats but I dont shoot cast much mostly copper plated. what cast I have shot in the Ruger has shot well. I have some of the Mo Cast 220 grain and when ther gone Im gonna give that Rainer 220 gr RNFP a try. Have you tried it at all? I like you have settled on 2 powders 2400 and unique. Im down on 2400 right now but I just dont shoot the bigger charges enough to buy 8lbs of 2400. I have also tried Universal Clays and it shot well for me. Al

Yes sir I'm on castboolits too. I still enjoy it there but mostly use it for the S&S section. I lucked into jugs of 2400 and Unique at the right time when I had enough in the bank to spare a few years ago during the scarce powder years. Someone had ordered them and couldn't pick them up. When I had to go to Austin, TX about a week ago I ran across some Trail Boss, as it is almost impossible to find near home I got 2 of the 9oz bottles to play around with someday. Back in the day I had a huge variety of powders but it just doesn't make sense to me anymore. Nowadays it's 2400 and Unique for 41, HP38 for 45, and True Blue for 9mm. I've also got some Accurate #2 for my short barrel 45acp jhp loads but don't use it much. I enjoyed the days when I used to reload for a dozen pistol calibers but no time for that now.

I saw the Rainier 220 rnfp when I was wandering around the midway site the other day. I don't know why, other than 220gr is close to the true standard weight for 41, but it has always been the weight that's given me the best accuracy. I will have to see if I can squeeze some into the budget soon. I currently have only the Lee tumble lube molds myself and do plan to purchase one quality mold once I figure out what design works best the best on average for my three 41s and still gives the best feeding in the BBS. Buying cast, plated, or jacketed saves a lot of time but I do want to have one good mold, just in case.

dmanwarren wrote:Highway41, thank you for the link. It loaded up fine for me and gives me some options to ponder while I wait for my cast bullets to get here. I'm just getting started with reloading and locally I was able to get some Hornady XTP so that is what I'm starting with. Got 20 made up with 13 grains of AA#7 pushing it and will work it from there. Now if the wind will go down enough to keep the chronograph on the table I can see where they come in at! Dave

I just saw your pm, glad to know that the link works. Be sure to post your results when you get a chance.

Sounds like your weather is similar to mine in the panhandle. Yesterday we had extreme winds and 2 or 3 out of control grass fires that caused several towns to issue evacuation orders.

Thanks for the info, Highway41. I've shot the .41 for about 45 yrs.