.44 SPL vs. .41 Mag

[JoelSteinbach]

What you really need is both

 

[Taildragger-J3]

Never had a .41, but just got a .44 Special and LOVE it. It gets my vote every time

 

[CraigC]

Also...Keith's 18 grains of 2400/250 LSWC .44 Special load was developed with older lots of 2400. Alliant's 2400 is a little quicker. Observe all due caution, and believe that it's hotter than it once was.

Actually it was 18.5gr 2400 but that was in balloonhead brass. Reduced to 17.5gr in solid head brass and most recommend no more than 17.0gr with modern Alliant powder. Read up on the new Ruger .44Spl's in an article by Brian Pearce in Handloader last June.

I'd limit it to 1,000 fps or so in a mid-framed Ruger.

Hell, the .45Colt New Vaquero (same frame size) can be pushed to over 1000fps with 250-260gr cast bullets. Dave Scovill likes to load his Colt .45 SAA's to 1100fps with the RCBS 270SAA (his design) and copious amounts of 2400.

 

[Gryffydd]

Hell, the .45Colt New Vaquero (same frame size) can be pushed to over 1000fps with 250-260gr cast bullets.

Don't forget that if the .45 Colt uses about 30% less pressure for any given gr@fps combo than the .44 Mag the difference will be even bigger when it's the .44 Special.

 

[CraigC]

Don't forget that if the .45 Colt uses about 30% less pressure for any given gr@fps combo than the .44 Mag the difference will be even bigger when it's the .44 Special.

I'm sorry but the .45Colt vs. .44Mag logic cannot be applied to the mid-frame .44Spl's. The .44Spl holds the strength and safety advantage in these guns. The guns don't have the strength to meet, let alone exceed, .44Spl performance levels when chambered in .45Colt. The .44Spl is a much more efficient cartridge in these particular platforms.

 

[floridaboy]

I once had a Ruger Blackhawk in .41 Mag., it was nice. I still have the S&W .44 Special. I always will. There really isn't that much difference in the real world. The .44 throws fatter, heavier slugs. The .41 is faster. Both will do about any reasonable thing you ask. If you shoot it well, it will serve you well.

 

[captain awesome]

I would not buy a magnum revolver to shoot special cartridges from as I hate cleaning the carbon ring from the chambers that builds up from doing so. Also as I stated from the begining the whole reason for me thinking about the .44 Special is that it is more efficient with powder consumption.

You know, I don't get it. When every body starts talking about the carbon ring, that's where I am lost. Why may I ask would anyone who hand loads shoot cal "x" special through a magnum? you can down load the magnum and make it the same OAL as the special round and have essentially the exact same round only through a magnum case. No carbon ring to deal with, no more accuracy issues than you would have with the special round....and it's the same powder charge so it's just as "efficient" if I am wrong at all about that, please someone correct me, but that's what make sense to me.

 

[RidgwayCO]

Capt'n, to get the same velocity in the "X" Special using the same bullet in the magnum brass, you're going to have to up the powder load some. No, it won't be a lot, and it certainly isn't going to break the bank, but it also isn't as efficient as using the Special brass. You'll also probably have more unfilled space in the magnum case, which doesn't contribute anything to accuracy. Now if you're using Trail Boss, you can still fill the magnum case to the bottom of the bullet and get a nice soft load, but again at a cost of a few more tenths of a grain of powder.

For those of us who love the .44 Special, no explanation is needed. For those who don't, no explanation will be sufficient...

 

[JShirley]

.41 or .44

re .41: pretty sure Silvertips are available, and I know you can get 210 SWC @ 800 fps from GA Arms.

 

[420Stainless]

I had saved up to order a .44 Special Blackhawk when my local dealer put out a 6" Model 57 no-dash which overwhelmed me by its beauty. I really enjoy shooting it, although I haven't put any Magnum loads through it yet. Since I bought it I haven't found any jacketed bullets for it. Rather than go on backorder, I got some 215 grain "Trooper" semi-wadcutters from Missouri Bullet and been loading with Unique.

Now I think if I buy a Blackhawk, it may be the .41 Mag. instead of the .44 Special.

 

[Oceans]

A big benefit of the .41 magnum that is often overlooked, is the fact that in most Smith&Wesson examples at least, the bore diameter matches the cylinder throats .410. That is very conducive to really good accuracy. My 44. Magnum original model 29 6 1/2 barrel has a bore diameter of .429 and cylinder throats of .431. My New 629-6 has a bore of .429 and throats of .428. The 45 colt caliber revolvers seem to be the worst offenders, especially the Ruger variants, they have bore diameters and throats differing considerably. If you have a bore diameter of .452 and a cylinder throat of .457, you will in all probability have to get a new cylinder. For this reason, I am a big believer in the Smith & Wesson model 57 in 41 magnum those throats match the bore, I bet Tuner will back me up on that: I had a beautiful one, but a shop traded me a Browning Citiori 20 gauge for it, and I had a safe full of .44s, 357s, and .45 Colts. I would like to get one again, one of these days, but the my money is not what it once was lol.