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Most Needed Revolver Wildcat?

Loading the .41 Special

 

 

The seed that grew into my latest wildcat was planted several years ago with an article on the .41 Magnum revolver cartridge.  The author bemoaned the fact that the round, as excellent as it is, is virtually moribund.  Then came an incisive comment: ”Part of the reason the .41 has never been very popular is that there has never been a ‘Special’ version for it.”   Apparently, more than one experimenter since then has rectified that oversight.  Today, articles about the wildcat .41 Special have appeared in several different publications and interest in this well-balanced loading is blooming. 

The .41 Magnum is unique among magnum revolver cartridges in that it was developed from the start as a magnum only.  The .357 and .44 Magnums came into existence by lengthening the shorter, less powerful .38 and .44 Specials.  Both were created to provide vastly increased power in their respective bore diameters.  Cases were lengthened both to hold additional powder and to prevent the more powerful rounds from being chambered in revolvers designed for low-pressure cartridges. 

But the .41 is unique.  Its case was created from scratch as a magnum. No existing revolvers were chambered for a shorter, lower powered version.  No existing brass was modified.   The only reduced-power factory load came in full-length magnum cases.  Even that load churned up some 1050 fps.  That’s still too powerful for many needs, including routine practice. 

So why wasn’t a .41 Special developed?  Shooters still fire many times more .38 Special cartridges than .357 Magnum, even from their magnum revolvers.  Fans abound for the .44 Special as well as its magnum.   Both magnum cartridges are truly great rounds.  So why are the “Special” versions so darned popular?  The simple answer is that the shorter, less powerful versions of magnum cartridges are more pleasant to shoot, easier on firearms, are often more accurate, and are more ballistically efficient at lower velocities.  Less recoil, better accuracy and more shootable are three pretty powerful reasons for popularity.  

OK, but why not simply load reduced charges in the longer case?  Because that approach doesn’t often work out as well as we’d hope.  Small charges in large cases have been suspected to cause extreme pressures and even burst firearms.  No one has definitively explained the phenomenon yet as far as I’m aware, but it has happened.  It’s also quite easy to get double or even triple charges into a case.  At best, such reduced loads often prove inconsistent, giving wide velocity variations and less-than-stellar accuracy.  For the “middle magnum” the remedy is obvious: the .41 Special.

 For this project, I reasoned that the whole point of the cartridge is to provide an alternate round for owners of .41 Magnum revolvers.  So I simply borrowed a .41 Magnum Ruger Blackhawk from a shooting buddy and started load development. 

(Later, I had another idea, but we’ll get to that.)

 

Note: All loads used Federal cases trimmed to 1.15", Federal 150 primers, and Oregon Trail 215-grain lead semi-wadcutter bullets.  Average of ten-shot groups shot from padded rest at 25 yards over Oehler 35 chronograph.  Ruger Blackhawk .41 Magnum revolver with 4 5/8-inch barrel and iron sights.  All loads shown were safe in the test firearm.  Reduce all loads by one full grain to start and monitor pressure signs

Load Data

The Moribund Magnum (center) began as a magnum and never had an earlier Special version as did the .357 (left) or .44 (right) Magnums. 

Author used these components.  Powders shown give excellent light, medium and heavy loads.

Author’s .41 Special consistently shoots ten-shot groups like this at 25 yards.  Squares are one-inch.

A Clements in a Nitzel.  Author’s custom Ruger rides in this high-ride crossdraw for hunting duties.  Great guns deserve great leather.

After full conversion by Clements, author’s gun shows none of the former stamped lettering except for the serial number.

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Just Trim and Load

Mechanically, this is one of the easiest wildcats of all to form.  Simply trim .41 Magnum cases back to ‘Special” length.  But before I trimmed a single case, I researched the prospective round as thoroughly as possible.  This was surprisingly difficult despite the fact that my reference shelves fairly sag with reloading books and yearly publications (my loving wife says I’m annual retentive).  I found not a word on the .41 Special.  But I did learn that the long-dead .41 Long Colt was once a popular round.  Its ballistics were close to what I had in mind and it was known as a mild, accurate cartridge that hit harder than its paper ballistics would lead one to believe.  What doomed the .41 Long Colt wasn’t its performance but its outside-lubricated heel style bullet.

I also found that .41 Magnum cases, components and reloading dies are plentiful.  In fact they are sometimes the only items left on the shelf after .357, .44 and .45 shooters have been on buying sprees.  Although those supplies include a wide variety of excellent jacketed bullets, I decided to restrict my tests to cast bullets.  I load all .38 Specials with cast lead bullets and all .357 magnums with jacketed.  I treat my .44s likewise. The Specials see most use as practice rounds, casual field loads and general purpose loads where cast bullets are at their best.  Only where magnum power and bullet expansion are needed do I select jacketed bullets.

To keep the variables as few as possible, I selected 215-grain SWC plain based Laser-Cast™ bullets from Oregon Trail as my main bullet.  This extremely well-crafted bullet is a Keith-style design with a wide driving band, one lube groove and a sharp shoulder above the crimp groove.  Cast of a secret mixture of alloys, including silver, they are harder than your mother-in-law’s stare.  RCBS carbide dies, Federal cases and Federal 150 primers got the nod in those departments.  

After trimming 50 new cases to 1.15", the same as both .38 and .44 Specials, I was ready to start loading.  For powder charges, I used published starting load recipes for the .44 Special with 240-grain cast bullets, but reduced by a half grain.  Although case capacity of the .44 is slightly greater than the .41 Special, I reasoned that reducing published starting loads and using lighter bullets would compensate.   I selected pistol powders from Accurate, Alliant, Hodgdon, IMR and Winchester.  In all, I have developed loads using 14 different powders, and have plans for others as time permits.  Why so many?  Because I have yet to find a bad load combination for the .41 Special!  You read that right.  EVERYTHING I’ve tried is good - and some are great.

A Special Range Session

OK, you don’t believe that.  I wouldn’t have, either.  So let me describe my first range session.  I took five batches of handloads (10 rounds each) using five different powders, along with boxes of Federal factory 210-grain jacketed hollowpoints and Remington 210-grain lead semi-wadcutter midrange ammunition to the range.  I fired several groups of both factory loads to establish baseline accuracy, velocity and case expansion parameters.  All groups are ten shots at 25 yards from a padded rest.  The Federal magnum load shot 2.75 inch groups at 1325 fps with a standard deviation of 19.  Pretty good, as I’ve come to expect from Federal.  The Remington mid-range load shot a 3.5 inch average at 1018 fps with an SD of 20.  The Remington load was very dirty and left a goodly amount of barrel leading.  Not a load I’d be thrilled with as my only alternative to full magnum power. 

Then, after cleaning the gun, I started shooting Specials.  The very first ten-shot group ran 2.75 inches, the same as the factory magnum load.  My Oehler 35 chronograph said that the velocity averaged 784 with an SD of 11.  Very mild recoil and very clean.  Hot dog!  The next load clustered into a snug 2.5 inches with a velocity/SD of 918/6.  That’s a standard deviation of six!  For those of you not statistically fluent, that’s just short of incredible.  Other loads that same day (just educated guesses at loading data, mind you) ran 2.75/821/11, 2.60/882/19 and 2.35/1016/7.  Every load was pleasant to shoot, with minimal recoil and muzzle blast.  Every group centered just above the point of aim.  Was I happy?  Is Bill Gates well off?

Back at the loading bench, my micrometer would tell me that the Remington midrange and Federal magnum loads expanded cases to 0.4340 and 0.4355 inches respectively, measured just ahead of the case web.  My Special loads ranged from 0.4340 to 0.4352, meaning that I’d achieved my goal of a lower velocity cartridge with less than factory case expansion.  Indeed, the group dimensions and standard deviation numbers said that I’d equaled or bettered both factory loads in consistency.   In 35 years of reloading, no project has ever met my expectations as well on the first firing.  None.

The only hitch so far had been with the loading dies.  The excellent RCBS carbide dies were perfectly finished and did their usual superb job.  The seating/crimp die was machined for the full-length Magnum, however, so my shorter rounds couldn’t be crimped.  Instead, I belled cases as little as possible and simply seated the bullets so that the case mouth came to the middle of the bullet crimp groove without crimping.  I tested every round to make sure that any slight remaining case bell wouldn’t hinder chambering.   If a round wouldn’t chamber, I rolled it on a hard surface while pressing down on the case mouth with the flat edge of a tool shank.  I soon had a machinist friend grind an eighth inch off the bottom of the crimp die.  That eliminated the problem, and I can now load and crimp either Special or Magnum cases.  I am told that Hornady dies, and perhaps others, will crimp .41 Specials without modification.

Powder Particulars

Full details are in the accompanying load data chart, but I’ll summarize my powder choices here.  Let me say again that I have yet to find a truly poor load combination.  All of the listed powders produced ten-shot groups of three inches or less with extremely low velocity standard deviations.  For the lightest loads, from 750 to 900 fps, the Special thrives on any of the fast burning powders: Accurate Nitro 100, AA2 or Solo 1000; Alliant Bullseye, Green Dot or Red Dot; Hodgdon Clays; IMR 700X; or Winchester 231 all fit the bill.  For loads from 900 to 1050 fps, the medium speed pistol powders come into their own.  Good ones include Accurate Solo 1250 or AA5, Alliant Unique, Blue Dot or their new American Select.  Or try Hodgdon Universal Clays.  I have no doubts that old standbys like IMR SR 7625, 4756 or PB would be great.  Newer pistol and shotgun propellants like Winchester’s Super Target and Super Field or any of the new high performance powders like Alliant Power Pistol or Winchester Action Pistol would likely be good as well.  I can’t wait to try them all.  If you’d like to experiment with any of these in the .41 Special, I’d suggest you consult published load data for the .44 Special with 240 grain lead bullets.  Reduce the lowest listed start load for a selected powder by half a grain.  Use standard strength primers only.  This procedure has so far proven safe for me when used in the .41 Special with 215 grain lead bullets.  Of course, as in all wildcat cartridges, the results you get from your gun with your components and your loads can be quite different.  So use due caution and pay strict attention to all pressure signs. 

 I didn’t try for velocities much above 1000 fps, because that’s what the magnum version is for.  That being the case, I have no intention of working with slow-burning powders like Accurate AA9, Alliant 2400, or Winchester 296.  My philosophy has always been to let a cartridge do what it does best and not try to push it into performance levels outside its abilities.  When I need more gusto, I reach for a bigger round.  But for much of what I do with a revolver, the .41 Special works perfectly.

It works so perfectly that I reconsidered my original limitation of working only with a .41 Magnum Blackhawk.  When the time came to return the borrowed Ruger used in this project, I was broken hearted.  I’d found a wonderful new round but had no gun to shoot it in.  I began a search for a .41 of my own.  But for weeks and weeks, none appeared at the gun store where I then worked.  Murphy’s Law applies:  When you find the gun, you won’t have money; when you have money, you can’t find the gun!

Goin’ Custom

 One day, a man came in to sell a wrecked gun.  It was a very early Ruger flattop in .357 Magnum.  The gun had been in a holster rig and had fallen out of a truck.  The belt had somehow caught on something, leaving the gun to drag and bounce down a rocky mountain road.  You can imagine the damage.  It was worse.

 The grips were gone, the grip frame had been ground almost completely away, the rear sight blade was broken off, and there were major rock dings all over the frame and cylinder.  Like I said – a wreck.  The storeowner said no thanks.  Naturally, I bought it.

 My first thoughts were simply to restore it as best I could.  After all, dirt-cheap flattops don’t fall off trucks every day.  Suddenly, a thunderclap hit me. I could have a dedicated .41 Special!  With fervor only another gunophile would understand, I pawed through ads of parts suppliers and custom gunsmiths.  I called and wrote letters.  In the end, I purchased a brass bird’s head grip frame and synthetic ivory grips from Qualité Pistol and Revolver, then shipped the gun to Clements Custom Guns.  I included rather broad instructions and followed up with several phone calls to discuss the project with Clement.  I opted for his full conversion and accuracy treatment.

 When he got it, Clement agreed that the gun was pretty sorry, but that he was confident he could make me happy.  I didn’t know that Mississippians were inclined to British understatement.  Boy, did he make me happy.  When the gun came back, I was stunned.  This COULDN’T be the same gun I sent off.  The only thing the same was the serial number.  The photo shows how handsome the gun is, but what doesn’t show is the quality of Clement’s work.

 In his full treatment, Clement recuts both frame and barrel threads, fits the new barrel, line bores the cylinder, installs an oversize base pin with heavy duty catch spring, cuts an 11-degree forcing cone, faces the cylinder and sets the gap at less than .003”, retimes the gun so that there is no bolt drag, tunes the trigger to a ice-crisp 2.5 pound pull, smooths the action, installs a post front sight, removes all original lettering from the frame, polishes and blues.  The result is a gun with no endshake, almost no discernible cylinder play when locked, a bolt that drops into the locking cuts precisely on time, a butter smooth action with a trigger as good as can be had, and a gun that just plain causes jaws to drop when people handle it.  Keep in mind – this gun has had the transfer bar conversion!  The factory transfer bar conversion makes a gun far safer, but hardly results in a gun with a smooth action and a crisp trigger.  After Clement worked his magic, this one is as smooth as can be despite the transfer bar conversion.

 As other gun writers often say, a custom gun deserves a custom holster.  I chose a very practical and exquisitely constructed rig by the talented Dave Nitzel.  It’s a high-ride rig he calls the Crossdraw Hunter.  I prefer untooled leather, and this one perfectly suits the gun with its oil-tanned elegance.   In the field it rides just inside a half-zipped jacket, out of the way and protected but instantly ready even if I’m scrunched up under a sagebrush calling coyotes.  It rides comfortably even when I’m seated in my truck, too. A truly great field rig.  It suits my custom Clements. (I can’t in all conscience continue to call this gun a Ruger.  I dote on Ruger revolvers, but this one goes so far beyond them that it no longer should be called anything but a Clements.)

 Finally, does it SHOOT!  Any group with more than one ragged hole is caused by the jerk on the trigger.  Misses must be attributed to evil spirits or space/time warps.  I have been forced to start wearing glasses merely to have a plausible excuse for my mediocre marksmanship.  No doubt about it, this is one very Special .41.

So, What’s the Future?

Perhaps the time has finally come to commercialize such a round.   Both .41 Magnum brass and reloading dies are regular items and can be effortlessly modified to Special length.  (I hope RCBS and Starline are reading this!)  No additional guns need be made.  There is already a good selection of proper bullets.  Factory ammo could be produced in no time.  I don’t know what the potential market is for such ammo, nor do I know that its availability would resuscitate the .41 Magnum.  All I know is that the .41 Special is a very accurate, extremely consistent, delightfully pleasant round to shoot.  It fills a real need.  As a wildcat, it’s easy to form, requires only a simple modification to your existing loading dies, and no new components.   If you’re a .41 Magnum owner, it’s a round that you should try.   Finally, the .41 really is Special.

(Published in Gun Digest 2002)

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