I know in certain corners the S&W M41 is a cherished and hallowed rimfire pistol. I also know that the gun can be rather picky when it comes to ammunition that actually runs through its pipe. I've held examples on several occasions and in the past have been smitten by its feel and solid heft in hand. But then I think about a former colleague and how his 41 would only feed CCI standard velocity and nothing else. And I already own a long barreled Buck Mark that is very good at punching holes into a small confined area on a paper target.

The thing is that a 7" Model 41 has come into the shop. And perhaps with no suprise that whole "smitten" thingy has happened again. Being a 2018 build, its polished bluing isn't perfect but it's not too bad. Plus I can have it at a pretty good price. Yet for the same money I build myself one sweetheard of a 22LR starting with a Buck Mark or Mark IV. And still I keep thinking about my old friend's single-diet example. I have a so-so supply of CCI SV that I stockpiled for my Trailside pistols; do I need to add a gun that has the possibility of eating only that?

Or is the experience of ownership make it a worthy endeavor regardless? Opinions offered are much appreciated.

Yeah, I think it's worthy of being a bucket list gun. I don't know about your friend's pistol, but mine has fed all kinds of stuff, including tons of the cheapshit Remington Thunderbolt stuff in the 90's and early 2000's.

There's only one way to get over it, and thankfully, if you do, and decide you're over it, they re-sell. But you would know more about that than I do.

If you have to ask, you don't deserve the chance to get a new one at a great price. Do it anyway, you can sell it used for more than you will probably pay.

I owned and regularly shot a 41 back in the mid-70s. At one time I had all three barrel lengths offered. It was a nice pistol, but it was no grail gun, IMO. I moved to a High Standard Victor and my scores improved greatly. YMMV.

Here’s a couple of posts from a thread in rimfirecentral:

www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=204578

Post #7, smartypants2, 12/17/2007
I sold my 41 due to its incessant unreliability, even after a number of
trips back to S&W. I found it to be a heavy gun, unnecessarily so. Its
fit and finish was ok, but not great. It had a very good trigger though.
But if you pull the trigger and get weak hits (that don't fire the
cartridge) or stovepipes, you get disgusted. Trigger pull is irrelevant
if the thing doesn't fire! … [more by smartypants2 follows.]

Post #13, LDBennett, 12/18/2007
You need to read the Geiger book to understand the limits of this
testing but heres the results for the absolute best groups for the
pistols he tested under the condition he set up. Its several groups of
10 shots averaged, shot at 50 ft., best results of several ammo choices,
best guns at the top of the list:

GUN GROUP AMMO
--------------------------- ----- --------------------
HAMMERLI 208S 0.51 AGUILA SUBSONIC
S&W MODEL 17 0.53 AGUILA SUBSONIC
RUGER MKII 678G 0.62 AGUILA STANDARD VEL
BROWNING BUCKMARK PLUS 0.65 AGUILA SUBSONIC
COLT OFFICERS MODEL MATCH 0.65 ELEY STANDARD
S&W MODEL 41 0.66 AGUILA STANDARD VEL
BROWNING CHALLENGER BULL 0.68 ELEY STANDARD
BROWNING MEDALIST 0.70 ELEY STANDARD
BROWNING CHALLENGER 0.72 ELEY STANDARD
BERETTA 87T 0.75 AGUILA STANDARD VEL
HIGH STANDARD SUPERMATIC 101 0.75 AGUILA STANDARD VEL
COLT CADET 4.4 0.80 AGUILA SUBSONIC
BROWNING BUCKMARK FIELD 5.5 0.83 ELEY STANDARD
COLT WOODSMAN 0.84 AGUILA SUBSONIC
HIGH STANDARD H-D MILITARY 0.90 AGUILA SUBSONIC
COLT CHALLENGER 1.00 AGUILA STANDARD VEL
RUGER 22/45 KP-4 1.13 REMINGTON SUBSONIC
RUGER VAQUERO 1.18 AGUILA STANDARD VEL
S&W MODEL 63 1.27 CCI MINI-MAGS
S&W 2213 1.37 AGUILA STANDARD VEL
HAMMERLI TRAILSIDE 4.5 1.41 AGUILA STANDARD VEL
COLT ACE 1.71 CCI MINI-MAGS
S&W MODEL622 1.95 CCI MINI-MAGS

I think it interesting and revealing but these are results for only the
guns and ammo he tested with and your results may vary. I will say the
Trailside results (disappointing!) match my results. The Buckmark did
appear at the top of the list (sorry about that!). A revolver was second
best! Why can't I shoot a 22LR revolver as well as I can a semi-auto
pistol?? I even sold a S&W 17 because it wouldn't shoot for me(??).

Have fun with this info!

LDBennett
________________

While the 41 has excellent accuracy, other .22LR pistols do too, and some of them have a good reputation for broad reliability. Some folks find that their 41 is broadly reliable, but others find that it’s reliable only with certain ammo.

P. S. See post #12 in this thread too – some background for post #13.

P. P. S. Geiger really likes the Aguila ammo. I do too. I shoot Aguila Pistol Match. At a stated MV of 925 FPS, it’s at the low end of standard velocity.

It is a very nice gun, but it is no Hammerli 208. That is my grail .22 pistol.

If you can get it at a good price I would buy it.

The CCI SV is the ammo of choice for them. It is plentiful now so stock up especially if you can get it through your store.

I am surprised S&W still makes the pistol.

You get what you pay for when it comes to this pistol. You can disassemble really easy to clean and the trigger is adjustable for pull weight.

When they quit making it and the prices go even higher you will regret not buying it.

I don't think it is a bucket list pistol but they're very nice.

I enjoyed mine, then I sold it for something more practical. I had the 5 1/2 and 7 inch barrels.

For the limited application of conventional bullseye pistol shooting ( which I still rather enjoy) it is still one of the best pistols ever made, and certainly the best American made pistol.
As the chart above indicates, my personal choice for a bullseye competition handgun is a model 17 revolver. I have had a 41 high standards and even shot some high end euro pistols but I personally am just as accurate with the 17.
Bought mine about 20 years ago for $225 used

My grail .22lr is the Volquartsen Scorpion, based completely on the Ruger Mk3, however, every bit of it is Volquartsen made from scratch.

Buttery trigger, laser accurate and comes in 22/45 variety to boot. The price is painful, so you may need a hunk of leather to chew on as your credit card gets swiped.

quote:

It is a very nice gun, but it is no Hammerli 208. That is my grail .22 pistol.

That may be your grail pistol and nothing at all against the 208. But I can tell you with complete confidence that you will want a 41 if you want to actually keep it running.

I had a worthy post typed and again the wifi shut me down.

quote:

My grail .22lr is the Volquartsen Scorpion,

The price is painful
OK have you looked at 41 prices or the 208 suggested above.

I just put a new S&W Model 41 Performance Center on layaway. I had a 41 back in the early 90s and liked it a lot. Back then money was tight so I traded it off on something else. Nowadays I can have what I want so a brand new Model 41 is on the way.

Is there any tricks to magazines for them? I see that they are readily available for at or just over $25 a piece.

Nope. factory mags are fine. I get mine from Greg Cote.

I love mine. Our relationship was getting stale until I reinvigorated it with a set Herrett palm-rest grips. Wow, what a difference! Instant gain of 10+ points per target. I shot a 96 in timed-fire the other day, which is a personal best for me.

You could always buy a Ruger MK IV and sink a bunch of money into Volquartsen parts. Or you could buy the 41, take it out of the box, and go shoot it. Either way, you'll have a great pistol.

Mine's from the 70's. I vote yes.

quote:

If you have to ask, you don't deserve the chance to get a new one at a great price.

I didn't realize that they had such a vaunted, highfalutin stature that any grumbling and doubt would disqualify me. My bad for me being so beneath such worthiness. I guess I should pay full retail for such a transgression. :sarcasm on full-effect, in case you didn't pick up on it:

Otherwise, thanks for the opinions expressed to my query. I'm still on the fence, but the damn thing is calling to me nonetheless. Let it ferment for a bit longer and I suspect that I'll have the answer. And be a bit poorer in the ol' bank account.

That said, piecing together a Mark IV with cherrypicked aftermarket parts would be a more 'funner' project. Guess I oughta budget to do both...

I haven't seen the current production version, but my 30 year old S&W 41 one of my favorite pistols in .22 caliber. Part of its appeal is the fit and finish. Not sure how I would feel about one that did not have as much care taken during its production. The S&W 41 and Colt Match Target Woodsman are my two favorite .22s with my High Standard H-D Military a close second. The High Standard is fitted with a Douglas barrel and is very accurate with almost any ammo I run through it.

I think every serious shooter needs a good .22.
It doesn't have to be a M41. Mine is very nice but my High Standard might be better. At least I can get dependable magazines for the Smith. I have five for it, sets me up for Steel Challenge. Only two good High Standards and now even the Texas rump organization is out of business.

And I also have a Nelson Conversion on order. We shall see.