.41 AE...

[Rob Pincus]

Comments, experiences ?

I have a Jericho 941 that I may have fired 1 mag full of .41 through. In fact, there are 34 rounds left in the original box of UZI ammo that came in the case.

Is this the .40S&W that never got off the ground?

According to the reloading data I have, the round seems to be not far behind the 10mmAuto in velocity for any given wieght of bullet.

------------------
-Essayons

 

[Rosco Benson]

The .41AE was/is an interesting exercise. It features a true .41 caliber bullet in a case which has a rebated, 9mm-sized casehead. This permits many 9mm weapons to be converted to .41AE with just the substitution of a .41AE barrel and magazine (a somewhat heavier recoil spring is a good idea too).

My friend, Rick Miller, has a .41AE "kit" in his P-35. In order to permit the .41AE to function, he had to slightly shorten the ejector and knock the sharp corners off of the portions of the frame which abut either side of the barrel's feed ramp. These slight modifications pose no problems with switching the pistol back to its original 9mm chambering. The pistol works just fine with the bigger cartridge. I have heard that the rebated casehead and stubby cartridge configuration results in marginal feed reliability in some weapons, but it is not the case in any of the three P-35's that I have seen in action with .41AE kits installed.

Ammo availability is, of course, an issue. You can't expect to find it at K-Mart. Obviously IMI loads it and, if I recall correctly, Speer does too.

Rosco

 

[ShadedDude]

I havent shot it, but a while back I went through the data for it and liked it. Seems a bit under 10mm, but with the popularity of the 40 S&W round it go no press, and the unavailibility of ammo for it is bad. As a round I liked what I saw and wouldnt mind playing with it.

I had a .41 mag and liked it, so I seriously thought about getting the AE so I could use the same bullets in it. .40 S&W won out though.

------------------

Mouse Assassins inc.

 

[Kodiac]

Like a lot of other good calibers it faded...
Probably only because there was not enough guns made for it... That would have forced the big makers to roll some as well.



------------------
Kodiac
Kenetic Defense Institute
kodiac@hotbot.com

 

[bald1]

Rosco,

I've been looking for a 41AE conversion kit for my P-35s for years. Closest I came was at a local gun show 2 years ago. Fella just sold the last of 4 he had <sigh>. Any idea where I can find one, or would I be better off simply ordering a Bar-Sto barrel and a heavier recoil spring?

I had a Taurus 41AE on order when they dumped their project. S&W did a heavy handed pressure job on a lot of manufacturers to go with their 40S&W over the 41AE. The fact that the 40S&W required a new frame appealled to the greed factor too. I have my 45ACP equipped with a 400Cor-Bon conversion and would like one of my nines set up for 41AE which gives about 10% better ballistic performance than the 40S&W too.

-=[Bob]=-

 

[Rosco Benson]

Bob; I don't know where you would find a .41AE kit for the P-35 these days. You might want to put out the word via the "wanted" forums here and elsewhere. If you do decide to go the route of getting a Bar-Sto barrel, you will still need magazines. I am unsure if the .40S&W P-35 mags will work for .41AE. I know that the 9mm mags won't.

Rosco

 

[bald1]

Rosco,

You're right...I'd forgotten the mags as in the early days of the 41AE folks I knew simply reformed the lips of 9mm magazines. Lots of trial and error there.

I'll make a wanted post....thanks!

-=[Bob]=-

 

[bald1]

Rosco,

Turns out Olympic Arms is discounting its P35 stuff including a match 41AE barrel for $50 or a complete kit with Wolff spring set and 2 hi cap 41AE mags for $120.

I've been searching for brass though with no luck. Cole Dist imports IMI stuff but says its not handling 41AE currently. Starline doesn't make it. Checking Wiedners but haven't got an answer yet.....

Where does your friend get his brass?

-=[Bob]=-

 

[Rob Pincus]

Someone said that Georgia Arms was selling loaded ammo, butI haven't actually looked into myself.

------------------
-Essayons

 

[NJW]

I have a Tanfoglio "IPSC ultra" in .41 AE that I put a Briley 9mm barrel in so I could shoot 9mm out of it also. I picked up a conversion kit for the Hi-power that was made by IMI. There was a compnay selling the conversion barrel, spring and 4 hi cap mags for $150 (I think).
I also stocked up on loaded ammo and brass quite a few years ago so I have what I need for the little I shoot it. I still have 300 rds of factory IMI ammo loaded with the 200 gr fmj bullet. Since I also load the caliber I usually just make reloads and sabe the factory stuff. I have found good loads with 185 gr SWC lead bullets intended for the 41 mag and I also still have some 170 gr SWC's that were made by CP bullets specifically for the AE. There are also quite a few molds available to make bullets for the AE if you are a caster.

NJW in AZ

 

[Exiled And Addicted]

If you converted your 9mm pistol to .41AE, couldn't you just use .40s&w mags if the gun maker has a "sister" .40s&w model, rather than messing with the feed lips of 9mms mags? For example, convert a Glock 17 to .41AE, then could you use Glock 22 mags? Also, you would have three guns in one, with just one more barrel purchase, if someone would come out with a ".357 AE" cartridge- .41AE necked down to .355 - should be virtually identical ballistics to .357sig. RCBS or someone would probably make you a set of dies...

 

[Daniel Watters]

Exiled: Action Arms beat you to the punch on that one...it was called the 9mm Action Express. They didn't market the 9mm AE because once it was fired out of a converted UZI, the case looked like a roll crimped .41AE. That would be great for factory ammo sales, but pretty annoying for reloaders.

 

[Cheapo]

Are the case dimensions on .41 AE close enough to smash 'em into a .40 S&W rebated by just resizing?

A one-time trim job wouldn't be too much trouble.

Since .40 bullets are so much more available, this has me thinking along some probably impractical lines... Lathe-turning .40 S&Ws could be somewhat automated, couldn't it?

Too bad .41 AE brass is so scarce.

 

[bald1]

After rooting around a bit I find that in addition to scarce although available 41AE brass, bullets are problematic. All the jacketed bullets have cannalures for revolver loading and only Sierra offers a 170 gr. Everyone else is heavier. Yes there are cast bullets available but I thought I'd stay with commercial jacketed for this post.

So what you have is one load in 41AE and that a 170 which can be set to run at 1150 fps for 499 ft lbs of ME to 1215 fps and 557 ft-lbs (which matches the IMI factory load). Compare that to the best 40 S&W factory load which sports a 165 gr JHP at 1150 fps for 485 ft-lbs. This is the old 10% "better" factor when comparing the 2 calibers.

I'm still debating investing in a Olympic arms BHP conversion kit and dies to go 41AE.... Mmmmmmmm

-=[Bob]=-

[This message has been edited by bald1 (edited May 18, 1999).]

 

[Daniel Watters]

bald1: While it isn't lighter, Speer used to have a .410" 180gr Gold Dot (#4404) for the .41AE. If I remember correctly, it was not cannelured.

I notice the bullet and the .41AE aren't mentioned in the new 13th Edition Speer Loading Manual...they were featured in the 12th Ed, with the bullet making a cameo appearance in the .41 Magnum data. (Personally, I loved to use it for .41 Magnum loads.)

 

[WESHOOT2]

IMI offers cases (Widener's), CCI offers the 4404, 40 S&W mags almost always work, and the 41AE ammo I make (and sell) gives 1020+fps from my 4.5" EAA. Screw the 40.
If you really want a 41AE, buy a 9X19 Witness, a BarSto barrel, and some 40S&W mags. My mags hold 9 in 41. 4.1g WSL, 210gLSWC, makes Major, REAL accurate.