I was recently reading about the Taurus 415 and 415T in .41 Magnum. I´ve always had a soft spot for the .41 Mag (owned Ruger Blackhawks and S&W Mod 57s). I´m not sure what the niche is for a 20 oz., ported, snub barreled titanium revolver in this caliber. Sounds like it would make for amazing entertainment on the range...My question is this: Is there a good defense load out there for the .41? I can´t see the old 210 grain Remington JSP working well out of a short barrel. The lighter lead "Police" SWC never had enough velocity to make it significantly better than .45 ACP, 45 Long Colt, .44 Spec., etc.. Shouldn´t 10mm be able to fit the bill better? Or, is there a really lightweight SJHP (maybe around 125-135 grain) that could be cranked up to awsome velocity in .41? Will the .41 case take more pressure and deliver higher velocities than the 10mm is capable of? I am not an experienced reloader but am interested in any opinions out there. The round I am thinking of would equal or better the .357 for one-shot-stop probability and yet still offer good vehicle/vest penetration. I would still like to see S&W or Taurus come out with a 5" heavy barrel stainless duty revolver with fixed low profile night sights...I think I´ll have to pass on the titanium snub for now. Thoughts? Thanx in advance and Seasons greetings!
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Viable.41 Mag Defense Loads?
- Thread starter Chindo18Z
- Start date
Robert the41MagFan
New member
The 41 Magnum cartridge is light-years ahead of 10mm in the power department. Maximum power from a high velocity 10mm is about 650 pounds, a 41 Magnum is about 1100 pounds (these are not commercial ammo). The biggest problem with ALL magnums this they are barrel length dependent. They are mostly made up of slow burning powders that require full barrel length in order to achieve their full potential.
The lightest commercial ammunition available is Winchester Silvertips 185 grain and the performance is POOP, sorry POOR. The best ammunition would be a hand loaded 215 grain lead SWC, work the load to about 500 to 600 pounds of energy. Best commercially available would be PMC 210 grain JHP, they are cheap and will more than do the job. Over penetration would be a major problem
BTW there is no such beast as one shot stopping power. Urban Legend!
Robert
The lightest commercial ammunition available is Winchester Silvertips 185 grain and the performance is POOP, sorry POOR. The best ammunition would be a hand loaded 215 grain lead SWC, work the load to about 500 to 600 pounds of energy. Best commercially available would be PMC 210 grain JHP, they are cheap and will more than do the job. Over penetration would be a major problem
BTW there is no such beast as one shot stopping power. Urban Legend!
Robert
The 41 never made it as a police weapon because it was too powerful even in the police load,requiring more training than most depts could/would afford.
Back when I had a Model 58, I used a handload of a 210 gr soft lead SWC in front of 8 gr of Unique(I think, check a manual) for a soft recoiling but potent load.
Since we're talking about a major caliber, ammo selection is not quite as critical. I'd find a load your weapon liked and stick to it...
Back when I had a Model 58, I used a handload of a 210 gr soft lead SWC in front of 8 gr of Unique(I think, check a manual) for a soft recoiling but potent load.
Since we're talking about a major caliber, ammo selection is not quite as critical. I'd find a load your weapon liked and stick to it...
Now that the rat-bast*rds at Speer canceled their 180g Gold Dot (unbelievably good in the 41AE), and the same rat-bast*rds canceled the Sierra 170g JHC (almost as good in the 41AE) we HAVE NO GOOD DEFENSE LOAD for the 41-bore; we only have bullets that make .410" holes, slow or fast. Damn.
ps I have some 180g GD's saved for loads in my 41AE...
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"All my ammo is factory ammo"
ps I have some 180g GD's saved for loads in my 41AE...
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"All my ammo is factory ammo"
We have an "Enforcer" brand of ammo that has a 210gr. JHP load in 41 magnum. They have always shot well for me and I would think they would be a very effective defense load. They appear to be loaded in new Starline brass and are inexpensive as well. I am paying $14.95 per box of 50. I do dnot know if this line is available across the nation or lust local. I have paid $25.00 for a box of 50 Remington 210 JSP. I have also paid $18.00 for a 20 round box of the Federal 250gr. Castcores. I really think that any 41 magnum load would have to be considered more than adequate for self-defense. As we all know, placement is everything. Stubby
Good points and info from all of you. I kinda thought that .41 Mag could be loaded to out-perform 10mm. What really got me thinking about all this was the concept of a snub .41! Just couldn´t see any advantage to it using any factory ammo I´m aware of...I can just see the fireball at the end of the muzzle and feel the hand spank. But it really got me wondering about a very light weight bullet at very high velocity (135 grain? 1600-1700 fps?). Possible? I can´t wait for the Taurus 454T w/ a 2" barrel! (Just poking fun at Taurus...they make nice guns; I own one)