WB
I can tell some really love the .41 Special
Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 08:21

The .41 Special IS a neat idea and a good working round. I'm all for it. Why hasn't some mainstream comany jumped on it?! However, I personally feel Pop Eimer had it right the first time. Ditto for George Herter and his .401 that predated the .41 Magnum a couple years. The .41 seems too close to the .44 Mag., which is actually a .43. That is what makes the .45 so good. But history is what it is. Ignored a .41 Special, eclipsed the .40 Magnum by whatever industry injustice.

Today some miss out the fact the .40 and 10mm are such good revolver rounds. Folks GIVE me .40 S&W brass, lots of it. 10mm brass commands at least double the street price. It’s an old Indian trick to long seat the 10mm bullets in .40 cases and load full house 10mm ammo. The bullet shave never given me an issue pulling in recoil, there is still plenty inside the case for neck tension. Some are perplexed at my liking the .41 S&W for a wheelgun. Maybe it just does not sound sexy. I remember the origins of the .400 cal. with the struggle and rise. The .38-40 was never really what I’d call popular, but they have made it a very long time, as an alternative to the .44-40 or .45 Colt. They are still bargains as people turn up their nose for the more romantic calibers. I never really understood this myself as folks shot Indians, bears, moose, deer, antelope, gangsters, all with the .38 WCF to absolutely no fanfare. Maybe it’s because Keith and Askins totally ignored it.

In the Single Action you must make a choice. The headspace on the case mouth and length is mandated. So what’s it going to be, .40 S&W or 10mm? The DA revolvers are a special delight. You can have a long chamber, even 10mm mag. (1.25” case), as the headspace is dependent on the rim holding “clips”. Clip whatever length case you desire, .40, 10mm, 10mm mag., and bang away. An L-frame (which they DID make) would/should be the berries. But they didn’t make it long. Ruger, S&W, and Taurus still make .400 cal. revolvers. Too often overlooked. I have a custom 6-shot GP100 that is fantastic. The cylinder is thin at the bolt cuts, but more than enough for full 10mm loads, ditto the frame at the barrel threads.

(Before you ask, testing 1880's era type shot loads)

I have four .400 cal. SA handguns. An original .401 Herters, custom Reeder .38-40, custom Reeder with .40 cylinder for my .401 GNR, and a really trick Reeder single-five in .40 S&W. The Herters will do anything a .41 Magnum can, with the right bullet. The .38-40 can be pushed to crazy levels if one desired. My little .40 S&W is still a sweetheart and can do anything a “.41 Special” could manage. Think of it as a little shorter .400 Special rimless. Maybe the name has held it back.

Looking back at some old notes I see I ran a charge of 8.5 gs. Longshot with a standard primer and a 155 gr. bullet in .40 S&W specs. Velocity was 1337 fps from the 6.5” Reeder Custom. Switching to 10mm OAL specs., again in the same .40 S&W cases, but a 180 gr. bullet I got 1267 fps. I feel confident a cast 200 gr. would run about 1200 fps backing off ½ grain on the powder charge. That is plenty! If you need chest beating vibrato stay with the mainstream, if you are interested in cost savvy performance, give the .400 a look.