.41 Colt

[B. Lahey]

I have developed the weirdest interest in this round... Am I alone, or are there others out there who own / shoot / covet / load for this cartridge?

Several years ago I ran across a fellow looking to sell his old Colt. The gunshop was not interested, so I flagged him down in the parking lot. It was a second generation DA, something like a civilian New Army and Navy in .41. I gave it the checkout and it was the picture of mechanical health, but it was externally ugly. I passed, although I probably could have bought it for $50 or less. I would have wanted to shoot it, and I had never seen ammo for sale anywhere...

But of course this last summer I saw two original boxes of ammo on a gunshow table, and I've been kicking myself for not buying the gun all over again.

 

[shurshot]

I shot a skunk with an old Colt double action .41 LC (Army model, I think), a couple years ago. The gun belonged to a family friend. A big old slug, described by Elmer Keith years ago as "a good Man stopper". It's no .41 Mag, but it will do the job!

 

[Mike Irwin]

I always thought it would be neat to have a Smith J frame in .41 colt.

 

[B. Lahey]

Heh, a J frame in .41 Colt would be nifty.

Found this article, interesting reading:
http://harryo.sixshootercommunity.org/

And I even found some new-production ammo for sale:
http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produ...mmo-41-colt?osCsid=3h28quca07lo6p7sqj95c7hjn2

 

[Shotgun693]

Brass is available from several sources. Cast bullets or molds are fairly easy to get. The .41 is actually a .387 caliber, an unsized cast .38/.357 bullet might work if cast kinda soft. It was available in the Single Action Colt starting in about 1877. The original load was about as powerful as a .38 Spl. I have seen Cowboy Shooters using original guns in .41 at matches but not many nor very often.

 

[Mike Irwin]

.41 Colt originally was loaded with heel-base bullets of .401 diameter.

That was changed probably in the 1880s or 1890s to the bullet we see today.

 

[Quincunx]

I actually carry my 1916 Colt Army Special on occasion. I've only ever used hollow-based smokeless loads. I can be reasonably accurate with it out to 30-50 feet or so, but it's strictly minute-of-beach-ball much beyond that.