.41 Magnum
Introduced in 1964 in the Smith & Wesson
Model 57 revolver, the .41 Magnum was originally conceived as the ideal cartridge
for law enforcement use. Two factory loadings were developed by Remington,
one for general police duty, the other for use by state troopers who needed
more power and greater penetration. The police load consisted of a 210 grain
lead bullet at 1150 fps while the high velocity load featured a jacketed
soft point bullet of the same weight at 1500 fps.
In law enforcement circles, the .41 Magnum proved to be less than successful,
but as hunting cartridges designed by a major manufacturer to be used in
revolvers go, it is second only in power and popularity to
.44 Magnum.
In addition to the Smith & Wesson revolver, the .41 Magnum chambering
is available in the Ruger Blackhawk and Redhawk, and in the Desert Eagle
gas operated autoloader.
As a big game cartridge, the .41 Magnum has always played second fiddle to
the slightly more powerful
.44 Magnum,
but when both are used on deer size game, the difference in their performance
is not great enough to write home about. This probably does not hold true
when larger game, such as moose and elk at woods ranges, is on the agenda
which is a moot point since only a few hunters use revolvers on game that
size.
A number of excellent jacketed and cast bullets weighing from 170 to 210
grains are available for the .41 Magnum. Full throttle hunting loads call
for the use of H110, but for plinking and paper punching with reduced velocity
loads, HS6 and
HS7 are the correct
propellants.
Source: Hodgdon Data Manual, 26th Edition
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