41 mag revolver

41 Mag Revolver - In this week's Wheelgun Wednesday we take a look at a seemingly ordinary pistol, but it's very ordinary. The revolver we're talking about is the Smith & Wesson Model 57 .41 Magnum, and the model we're going to examine in detail is a 1984. There isn't a whole lot of love for the forgotten .41 Magnum, but we'll cover how it came to be. What attracted me to buying one for myself about ten years ago.

Most people are familiar with the .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum as they are still popular today in the handgun world. A once-forgotten cartridge is the .41 Magnum, which was born through a unique partnership between Remington and Smith & Wesson. In "Lyman's 50th Edition Reloading Guide" they detail how the .41 Remington Magnum cartridge was born:

41 Mag Revolver

Remington and Smith & Wesson introduced the .41 Magnum in the Model 57 revolver in 1964. Factory cartridges are available in two performance levels. The first is full power loaded with 210 grain soft jacket bullets and the second is "police" loaded with 210 grain half tile cut bullets. However, the police market has not fully developed this cartridge. The civilian market is better, but not the biggest. Pistol hunting is the most sought after field for the 41 Magnum. Hunters have found it to be just as effective as the 44 Magnum, but with a slightly flatter bore.

Is The .357 Magnum The Most Versatile Handgun?

So while the Smith & Wesson Model 57 may not be the most popular or sought-after pistol among collectors, it is a pistol known for being the #1 revolver in .41 Remington Magnum. The pistol in my collection came out 20 years after it was released at a gun store in Minnesota called Burger Bros. It sounds like a great place for milkshakes and cheeseburgers, but it was at one point the most popular gun shop in Minnesota (but that's a story for another day).

Most of us are familiar with the plastic cases that come with Smith & Wesson pistols today. Back then your wheelie came in a blue cardboard box with metal corners for reinforcement. I'm a 33 year old revolver fan, but maybe some of you remember or have the same box (or remember to reload it with ammo packed the same way, but smaller). In that cardboard box, I still have the original owner's manual (not the full manual; simpler back then). Here are the details listed in the original 1984 box booklet:

It was fun for me to read the booklet just to remember the terms and verbs used in the past. Holds the exact same stock...bullet count is the long way of saying cylinder capacity...and of course they go on to describe the grooves and sights on the side of the barrel (for those who don't know why they even Modern pistols for those who are there).

So, another question is why? Why does this cartridge even exist? Why? ...Lymann does a great job of explaining its origins and how it was a misnomer when it tried to conquer the police market in the 1960s. I also heard another story from an elderly man who had a pistol collection much larger than mine. Take it with a grain of salt, but I found it interesting.

Revolver .41 Mag 210 Jhp Atr041mag

The collector told me that in the early 1960s, the .357 Magnum was popular in recreational games for the speed it could carry and the versatility to shoot a .38 special load. Then there's the .44 Magnum, which plows like a pickup truck and kicks like a mule. There needs to be a middle ground. So, .41 Magnum comes in evenly. You have the flat spirit of a .357 Magnum and the strength of a .44 Magnum. Then, with a wink, a smile, and a lower voice, he said, "The .41 Magnum is a gentleman's bullet."

Is this the thought process behind Remington and Smith & Wesson attacking the brain with .41 Magnum? So, is the Smith & Wesson Model 57 usable for life? The world may not know it, but if there's anyone in this world who loves .41 Magnums more than I do, it's the old collector who told me the story.

Due to the popularity of the .41 Magnum bullet in the world today, it is one of the rarest cartridges you will find in a gun store. Plus you can still reload your own ammo, or find bargains at your local gun show like I do from time to time, and this one isn't a bad find. This round might not be the same as the 9mm round you might want to shoot for a year in its case, but I can see a place for a primary cartridge nickname for its questionable accuracy, power, and fun to shoot.

I've used over 200 short-range rounds and successfully hunted wild boars. In contrast, I tried the 10mm a few years later and it was a knockdown kill that required 3 well-placed rounds to bring down a wild boar instead of one. This pistol walks and talks like a 586, but takes aim and scouts like a Dirty Harry.

Dan Wesson 41 Magnum

While the chances of a clean, used pistol like this one dwindling every day, you can relive this ancient magic with a brand new release from Smith & Wesson. As part of the Smith & Wesson Classics line, they made this pistol all the good old fashioned. A new MSRP is currently set at $1,018.

My love for handguns did not stem from what handgun manufacturers make today. Instead, it started with this old dog. Learn about their history, find out what they were used for, and see how things were done well back then. Now I appreciate both the new and the old, but something as odd as a Model 57 makes me happy. What do you readers think? Is this too far in left field? Do you own a .41 Magnum yourself? Would you like to get one? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.

We are dedicated to finding, researching and recommending the best products. We earn commissions from purchases you make using retail links in our product reviews. Learn more about how it works. To use a big caliber pistol, you need to handle it, and you need to keep practicing. The old adage "use it or lose it" certainly applies to ammo, especially pistol ammo. Police practices vary widely around the world, and in jurisdictions where police live, they only use firearms once a year and often don't practice multiple times. So we've seen some trends happening. In areas where police have limited live fire training, people tend to arm them with the lowest caliber they can be expected to work, which usually means 9mm Parabellum, but also includes .380 Auto (9mm short //Corto) and .32 Auto. For this behavior, the number of cartridges held by the problem pistol increases significantly. Therefore, the braking force is lower and the number of wheels is higher. Such thinking certainly makes an already dangerous situation even more dangerous. If an officer needs to fire multiple rounds, the risk to the officer is increased, as is the risk to bystanders who may be hit by a bullet that misses its intended target or by fragments that bounce off a hard surface. Bullet fragments that can sever vital blood vessels in innocent people are a very unfortunate outcome.

The .41 Remington Magnum was originally designed and marketed as a police cartridge that provided the shooter with a disposable gas outlet. (Photo courtesy of ar15.com).

Sold* Smith Wesson 657 .41 Mag Stainless *gorgeous Double Action Revolver!*

In the US, where "gun culture" is more developed than most other parts of the world, it was realized even as early as the 20's that the police needed more stopping power than a standard .38 Smith & Wesson or .38 Special could provide. This led to the development of the 38/44 cartridge in the Smith & Wesson N Frame pistol, which in turn led to the development of the .357 Magnum, thanks to Smith & Wesson designers Phil Sharpe and Colonel Douglas B. Wesson goes back to 1935.

The .357 Magnum ended up being a huge success, in part because it allowed for the milder, less polite .38 Special.

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