41 Mag reloading

[Elric]

Well, time to refill some empty 41 Mag cases... I had deprimed them with a Harvey Deprimer, and other than needing to break the edge on the primer decapping rod (seemed to catch inside the spent primers every once in awhile), it is certainly more comfortable to use than a Pope style decapper...

I had cleaned out the primer pockets, and they were low pressure loads, so there's a bit of black smudgeing on the case... Not enough to bother me, but I checked the fit with a Berry's 210gr plated bullet, it goes in with finger pressure... Oops. Tumbling now. Got to size the last 1/4 inch so theres enough neck tension to hold the bullet...

Lusting after an RCBS wet tumbler. I see Lyman has one, but I hear that when you open it, Chairman Xi jumps out and waves the red flag..... Horrid Fright has a wet tumbler, but I don't want the Red Menace near my reloads.

Anyways, when the tumbling's done, I can reprime them with my 21st Century hand priming tool (only flaw is the Lee XR square primer tray...). Fill with 8.5gr Unique, stuff a 210 Berry's plated bullet on it, and check to see if it chambers.

Why Unique? 10 pounds....

 

[KeithB]

One of my favorite calibers to load and shoot. What are you shooting them in? Favorite loads?

 

[Elric]

Well, the .41 Mag does double duty in an S&W 657 and in an MGM 23" T/C barrel. I initially thought of punching the .41 Mag out to .414 SM but it is such a purty barrel, I think a 21" bull or taper 414 is in the future.

If I had to do it again, I would have gone with the 414 to begin with, but the question of brass availability came up. MGM uses nitriding, so the barrel is a beautiful near-black. Very tough finish, I might add. Plus drilling and tapping for a front sight base...

Might as well use iron sights and shoot lead...

A 16" 414 SM will push a 210gr XTP out at 2,000fps... But that is quite lively in a synthetic stock. Not "hurt me, beat me" kinda stuff, but that short carbine wants to twist on sandbags when you fire... Offhand it shouldn't be much of a problem.

 

[fiver]

I like 8.5grs of unique in my 41's too.
I even shoot it under the wad cutter but it's sure accurate at my handgun distances.

 

[JonB]

I'm putting 7.5gr of red dot under a 196gr WC.


I recently acquired this NOS Lyman 410426, it's suppose to be about 240gr.
I think I'll start by trying a little slower powder for this one, like Blue Dot ???

a

 

[Elric]

I recently acquired this NOS Lyman 410426, it's suppose to be about 240gr. I think I'll start by trying a little slower powder for this one, like Blue Dot ???View attachment 3678 a

I'd like a 410426 as well. However, I do have an RCBS 41-260-FN plain base... Casts at .410, just run er through the sizer to lube it....

Alliant does NOT suggest using Blue Dot for the .41 Mag!!!

 

[fiver]

I wouldn't either.

I have a couple of lbs of longshot sitting here for the speed demons.
up to this point 2400 has done the heavy lifting.

 

[Elric]

I have a couple of lbs of longshot sitting here for the speed demons. up to this point 2400 has done the heavy lifting.

Lil' Gun? 1680? H110? H296?

 

[Rick]

N-110

 

[fiver]

either of the 110's would be a pretty good choice.
1680 is just a touch too slow.
I have some H-110 here but mostly use it in the 357 maximum and let 2400 handle everything else.
the super-mags do very, very well with 1680.
but IMO the 41 seems to want something a hair faster than H-110 and just a bit slower than 2400 for the best balance.

 

[Rick]

The best long range revolver groups I've ever fired was in a 41 with N-110 and 220 gr bullet. A plus is that N-110 is a stick powder and can if desired be reduced with much better than results than reducing H-110. 1680 will even work fairly well in a 357 mag albeit with somewhat reduced velocity.

 

[JonB]

Elric (and others),
Thanks for the heads up and the advice.
I guess I'll try 2400.

I had to wonder why Alliant gives the warning on BD with 41 mag?
Felix offered some insight.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...g-from-Alliant&p=370874&viewfull=1#post370874

 

[358156 hp]

My infernal .41 mag Redhawk only liked one load, much to my disgust. It was the 23.0 gr. of AA5744 under a 210 Hornady XTP. Everything else gave patterns instead of groups. The 5744 load was perfect, and I only discovered the load by accident.

I finally sold it off, out of frustration. Of course I want it back now.

 

[fiver]

my Black hawk initially would only shoot that XTP on top of 2400.
then I got that wad cutter mold from lyman and it changed things for sure.
I even got it where it will shoot the 610 mold at lower [41 special type] speeds without applying gas checks.

 

[358156 hp]

I was really bummed. I really liked the 41 mag, and feel for my purposes its a better cartridge than the 357 or 44 mag. However this particular Redhawk soured my viewpoint on two points. First of all, it was horribly finicky, as already mentioned. The second issue was the weight of the guns vs the performance level. My 44 & 45 Colt Redhawks were actually lighter than the 41. When money got tight, the 41 was the first to go. Now I'm looking at going a different direction for mid-bore nirvana. I've seen GP100s converted to 10mm, using moonclips. and I think that's the way to go for me. The original cylinder & barrel can be rebored, and I'm currently looking for a beater stainless GP that's cheap enough to cut up. This would be my winter project, if I find an appropriate donor gun.

 

[fiver]

smith and W put out a revolver in 10 and/or 40 that uses moon clips.
my buddy has one and I keep trying to convince him he doesn't need it anymore.

I think the 41 is a bit deceiving, your expecting the recoil of the 44 and when you don't get it you think your being cheated in some way.
the results down range, and the trajectory show a different story.

 

[Ian]

True Blue has worked very well for me in .357 and .44 when I wanted loads in the 80-90% power range.

 

[KeithB]

Ruger is offering the GP100 in .44 Special. Not a .41 or 10mm but darned nice anyway. Wish I could afford one!

 

[fiver]

they also offer their hunter model in 41.
I have the hunter Bisley and really like it, I keep looking for one in 45 colt but only seem to find them in 44 mag.
I have a couple of Dan Wesson's in 44 already.

 

[358156 hp]

Yeah, I'm just not a single-action fan (no pun intended). The GP100 is probably our best option as a true middle sized DA frame. I really don't like five shot cylinders, but do accept that we can only go so far with some platforms.