Reeder Custom Guns - I have been blessed with some nice sixguns.

And I am thankful for that. Not only have they helped me have good times .. but along with them I have met some mighty fine people, including quite a few on this Forum.

I have reached a point in my life where I am not working at getting another sixgun or actively looking for one. I don't shoot enough with the ones I have!

BUT ...

There is a sixgun I really would like to have. Not because it is better or more powerful or more accurate. I would just like to have one "because" I would like to have one.

An old Colt Single Action in .41 Long Colt.

Yes. Obsolete. Ammo is hard to make and harder to get any accuracy with. Yes, funky dimensions. I still would like to have one.

And they are around.

I just am too tight to pay what they are going for anymore!

:-|

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It is also said that Luke Short used a .41 Long Colt double action when he killed Jim Courtright in Ft. worth.

Elmer Keith said it was a much better manstopper than the .38 Special. A fairly blunt .40 caliber bullet.

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we built several Vaqueros in the 41 Long Colt caliber. I loaded them with 197 grain hollow base. At least all it says on the box. I found the bullets but are still looking for the brass. The tag on the box says they're .196, at least it looks like that is what it says on the box, I will pass along photos etc when I find them.

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you can tell by the bullets and the quality of the soft lead bullets they have bounced around a bit. I had a couple hundred cases but they probably went with the customer that we built the guns for. The customers (3 buddies if I remember right) each ordered duplicate guns based on the early Vaquero. The box says 200 grains but I weighed them earlier tonight and by my scale they were closer to 196 grains, not that it means anything.
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It's listed as a 195/200 gr. bullet. It's for loading inside the case in a normal manner. The original bullet was a heel bullet. They changed it to the standard loading and did away with the heel bullet.

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I was fortunate enough to correspond and trade with Harry O on Leverguns. His articles and your comments, work on Heel bullets, is timeless, and a boon for anyone trying to explore these obsolete but interesting type cartridges. I too really have been interested in the .41. Both my guns I used as platforms were the 1892 and 1895 Colt New Army Navy DA guns. Not a very good firearm actually, a transition piece. The cylinder locking leaves a lot to be desired. Complex lockwork.

Heaven help anyone trying to sort an old Lightning or Thunderer. I don't think there is but a handful of guys in the world left to manage that. Very quickly the cartridge makes you decide if you are going to use heel or hollow base bullets. By far the consensus is the hollow base are easier to manage. But a .386" bullet rattling down a .403" bore is daunting. But it seems to work at least a little. (Brains exploding of modern reloaders.) To think some fret over cylinder throats and sizing down to the exact thousandth. You GOT to do that.

Making a .41 Long Colt gun would be relatively easy. Re-bore a .357 cylinder and fit a 10mm barrel. I never could sort out the making brass from .38 Specials! Mine all split. Harry O was quite bemused at me shooting 10mm truncated and SWC bullets "upside down" out of the .41 Long Colt since I didn't have a proper heel bullet mould. I finally got 3-4" groups at 30 yds. and he said that was quite good! You are right, Colt SAA are astronomical, even .41 Colts. But I might dive back down that hole one day. A GP100 would be a very naughty project, now that Ruger has the 10mm barrels for them. Nothing to be gained by that, just to confound shooting buddies, and have the only one.

I have been blessed with some nice sixguns.

Excellent choice! I understand the “too tight”!

Did`ent Billy the Kid use a 41 Long Colt??

It is reported that he did at least part of the time.

Eons ago in the early days of cowboy shoots

Here is the box of 41 Long Colt bullets

I think that would work better then the .38

Yes .. that is the Lyman bullet #386178

I too have tumbled down that .41 Colt rabbit hole

I think a hollow base heel bullet would be best.