I’ve e-mailed the “Big Five” - Remington, Winchester, Federal, CCI, and Nosler - to ask if anyone will finally take the .41 Special to SAAMI to have it standardized. Starline makes brass for it, but what about us wheelgunners who don’t handload? I’m speculating, but in the 170 - 200-grain bullet range, and with intelligently-designed ammo in strong revolvers, the .41 can be all the one-shot stopping power you really need. Nosler “scooped” Remington and the others with the .280 AI - that creaking sound may be another case of hardening arteries - time will tell. FYI
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I think you need to start rolling your own.
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Kurt, Remington is in Chapter 11.
How many people do you think shoot the .41? How would a company make any profit on this? I think MIke’s right. Time to reload.
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My argument is based on CHOICE - I don’t handload - never had the $$ or space. Although I’m not recoil-sensitive, the .44 Special - and certainly the .45 Colt - can be a real handful to manage. One consolation is that all three Specials use the same-length case, and from looking at loading and ballistic data, the .41 appears to be the optimum in power, recoil, and accuracy in the 170- 200-grain bullet range. Remington took a back-asswards approach - police were never given a chance to adapt to and evaluate the caliber, much less the cartridge - and the civilian market suffered as a result.
I knew a gunsmith that claimed he could use a 41 magnum and do everything anyone else could do with a 44 magnum. For whatever reason 41s just aren’t as popular as the cartridges that bracket them. I’m not one to gamble but I bet the big five will never make 41 special a legitimate chambering.
If you are determined to not try handloading, I suggest contacting the smaller specialty ammunition manufacturers. Since there are no 41 special chambered firearms, they could produce a mild 41 special cartridge without needing saami approval and the 41 magnums would have no trouble with them.
I doubt that they will take on the task just because of the low demand for 41 anything but it won’t hurt to ask.
Mag tech makes a 38 special short that is more mild than standard 38 special, so they may be open to the idea.
I have seen factory ammunition for sale in 460 Rowland and 45 super as well as 9x25 Dillon and other cartridges that aren’t mainstream. Underwood May be who makes those. Try contacting them.
I prefer to stick with standard calibers - the .41 is the only magnum I have any use for - I wouldn’t hesitate to take it if I were a hiker, camper, or hunted in dangerous territory - but for hobby-shooting and SD, I’m damned if I’ll buy a magnum and force myself into handloading just to shoot the Special. For me, the law of diminishing returns applies here. Nosler’s approach to the .280 AI was a true surprise in 2005, and now even Savage, Browning, and Weatherby offers it. Give the Special a chance, and fill THAT niche, as well. FYI