Anything to worry about buying a used s&w 41?

Also is there a hard lockable case you would recommend for the 41 and 2 mags. I was looking at pelican p1075 or 1170 but I don't know how much they cost or how well they would fit. The bullseye boxes are nice but way to big for my limited space.
 
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Thanks. The gun is pretty old but I don't know how old. It's the 5" barrel version with walnut grips.

Is it the 5" or 5.5" barrel?

If you got a 5", you could probably sell the barrel only... buy another <new> 5.5 barrel, and have your gun mostly paid off.
Those 5" <lightweight> barrel are getting quite scares, and collectors will (have paid) stupid price for them.

-

As for gun case... If you're a city dweller and don't want to draw attention... Put some foam and you're good to go.
k
toolbox.jpg


If you want something like a Pelican... I'd suggest you look at the Nanuk

I've lost track of how many latches broke on my Pelican cases... and while they will replace it, it's still an annoyance.

If you want to save some $$, go to your local milsurp store and ask from a ANPVS case. They should be about $25, and are as sturdy.

mD5zprfJj4wIR5Gs68W2zpg.jpg
 
Is it the 5" or 5.5" barrel?

If you got a 5", you could probably sell the barrel only... buy another <new> 5.5 barrel, and have your gun mostly paid off.
Those 5" <lightweight> barrel are getting quite scares, and collectors will (have paid) stupid price for them.

-

As for gun case... If you're a city dweller and don't want to draw attention... Put some foam and you're good to go.
k
toolbox.jpg


If you want something like a Pelican... I'd suggest you look at the Nanuk

I've lost track of how many latches broke on my Pelican cases... and while they will replace it, it's still an annoyance.

If you want to save some $$, go to your local milsurp store and ask from a ANPVS case. They should be about $25, and are as sturdy.

mD5zprfJj4wIR5Gs68W2zpg.jpg
Thanks for the info. It's the standard 5.5" heavy barrel I believe. Same as the other shooters at my club. I'll check out the cases you mentioned. Do you have a preferred retailer for the Nanak case?
 
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I had a chance to run the 41 last night. It ran much better with the excess oil removed. Overall condition seems god and I told him I'll take it. Now for the fun government paper work :(
 
you will love it. Mine is a late 60's gun, most accurate 22 i currently own. When i purchased mine it came with a broken ejector from someone feeding it a steady diet of minimags; I was able to purchase a new part through brownells but it took a good bit of fitting, and the new parts aren't nearly as nicely made as the old ones where :( You seem to know to only feed it target velocity ammo, so your off to a flying start. They are finicky, and like to be clean. Mine eats T-22 winchester or remington target velocity interchangeably..i've also tried lapua and federal target ammo with good luck as well.
 
you will love it. Mine is a late 60's gun, most accurate 22 i currently own. When i purchased mine it came with a broken ejector from someone feeding it a steady diet of minimags; I was able to purchase a new part through brownells but it took a good bit of fitting, and the new parts aren't nearly as nicely made as the old ones where :( You seem to know to only feed it target velocity ammo, so your off to a flying start. They are finicky, and like to be clean. Mine eats T-22 winchester or remington target velocity interchangeably..i've also tried lapua and federal target ammo with good luck as well.

Yeah. I bought 5 bricks of Cci standard and 1 brick of fiocci standard so I'm set for a little while. I'll check out the other options you mentioned if my stash runs out ;). I think my 41 is really old because looking at the serial number there is only numbers and no letters. It was quite a bit shorter than another serial number at the club. Maybe between 1958 and 1960? It also has a cocking indicator pin if that makes a difference.

The 25 yard accuracy isn't great but better than other pistols I've tried. I think they're May be some operator error involved ;) I seem to shoot an average of low 60's out of 100. Even trying with two hands it's not much better. Scary when I look at veteran shooters targets and every shot all night is in the black :eek:

Bullseye is quite an eye opener. It's almost comical to see SD type shooting afterward. Shooting at human size targets 5 yards away.
 
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Yeah, I really did not like the "oil oozing out of it". You should not shoot any pistol with an oily chamber, because the cartridge case expands against the chamber wall to hold itself in place during firing and form the gas seal; if the chamber is oily you're almost guaranteed problems.

My ("HER") 41 doesn't like Win SV or Remington Bucket o' Bullets - lot of misfires. It loves Remington Thunderbolt - I was shooting as close to X-pos as I ever get - but "HER" Buckmark leaded-up bad with the stuff. It's never given trouble with Federal or CCI ammo; I'll feed it CCI Pistol Match until we run-out of it, S&B SV seems to be good stuff too and it's the only .22 ammo that Cr@ppy has in stock at the moment.
 
Yeah, I really did not like the "oil oozing out of it". You should not shoot any pistol with an oily chamber, because the cartridge case expands against the chamber wall to hold itself in place during firing and form the gas seal; if the chamber is oily you're almost guaranteed problems.

My ("HER") 41 doesn't like Win SV or Remington Bucket o' Bullets - lot of misfires. It loves Remington Thunderbolt - I was shooting as close to X-pos as I ever get - but "HER" Buckmark leaded-up bad with the stuff. It's never given trouble with Federal or CCI ammo; I'll feed it CCI Pistol Match until we run-out of it, S&B SV seems to be good stuff too and it's the only .22 ammo that Cr@ppy has in stock at the moment.

I almost past on the 41 due to the ammo fussy thing. I was seriously considering buying a buckmark UDX but I do shoot better with the 41 and I would have had to buy the buckmark without actually firing it. I tried the ruger mark 2 but I'm not really a fan. By the time I "fixed" a mark 3 enough to be like the 41 I may as well just buy the 41. I scored half a case of cci standard so hopefully that will carry me through the drought.
 
Well I've been waiting for 2 weeks now and still no deal with the transfer. Seems I'm in government limbo :( it blows me away that you even have to wait for a transfer. If I bought a car it would be same day

I'll call again today and try to figure out what's happening
 
Well I've been waiting for 2 weeks now and still no deal with the transfer. Seems I'm in government limbo :( it blows me away that you even have to wait for a transfer. If I bought a car it would be same day

I'll call again today and try to figure out what's happening

That is a bit strange. I started one on Dec. 29 and it was approved on Dec 30 the very next day.

Graydog
 
I had same issues with my 41 and I did the following;

-Contacted Smith & Wesson replaced all the springs,
-removed all carbon from chamber, cannot always see it but you can feel it. Brass lead removers work and tornado cleaning brushes for regular cleaning.
-Ensure there are no burrs or rough spots on the contact points on the slide. Smooth and Polish by hand do not use any power tools such as a Dremel tool. I also had a gunsmith lighten the slide by removing some metal as the slide appears to be a little on the heavy side. This will ensure the slide has the maximum energy to remove the spent case without resorting to high velocity rounds.

You can check the extractor tension by removing the slide from the frame and barrel. Place a live round against the breach face as it would normal fit, the extractor should hold the round with enough tension so it doesn't fall out on its own. inspect extractor for any obvious wear or missing metal.

Standard velocity rounds give the best accuracy, Federal Gold Medal Match and Mexican Agulia gave me best results but 41's can be fussy. I have only used the 5 1/2 inch barrel and have no experance with the 7 1/2 inch barrel.

I hope this helps
 
I had same issues with my 41 and I did the following;

-Contacted Smith & Wesson replaced all the springs,
-removed all carbon from chamber, cannot always see it but you can feel it. Brass lead removers work and tornado cleaning brushes for regular cleaning.
-Ensure there are no burrs or rough spots on the contact points on the slide. Smooth and Polish by hand do not use any power tools such as a Dremel tool. I also had a gunsmith lighten the slide by removing some metal as the slide appears to be a little on the heavy side. This will ensure the slide has the maximum energy to remove the spent case without resorting to high velocity rounds.

You can check the extractor tension by removing the slide from the frame and barrel. Place a live round against the breach face as it would normal fit, the extractor should hold the round with enough tension so it doesn't fall out on its own. inspect extractor for any obvious wear or missing metal.

Standard velocity rounds give the best accuracy, Federal Gold Medal Match and Mexican Agulia gave me best results but 41's can be fussy. I have only used the 5 1/2 inch barrel and have no experance with the 7 1/2 inch barrel.

I hope this helps
Thanks for all the tips. I'll have to see how it runs through when I get it. It seemed to improve just removing some of the excess oil so I don't think it'll need anything major
 
That is a bit strange. I started one on Dec. 29 and it was approved on Dec 30 the very next day.

Graydog

So I phoned the CFO and they transfered me to the registry in Ottawa. Turns out that serial number is on another registered gun in Canada, so that's why the holdup. Turns out old guns with short numbers have it happen all the time. It wasn't a 41 the number was on. 2 second problem that takes a month to confirm. Now I have to wait 10-14 days for them to snail Mail the info before I can apply for the TATT :(. As a side note the guy at the registry told me he's seen #'s with 30 different guns attached to it.
 
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So I phoned the CFO and they transfered me to the registry in Ottawa. Turns out that serial number is on another registered gun in Canada, so that's why the holdup. Turns out old guns with short numbers have it happen all the time. It wasn't a 41 the number was on. 2 second problem that takes a month to confirm. Now I have to wait 10-14 days for them to snail Mail the info before I can apply for the TATT :(. As a side note the guy at the registry told me he's seen #'s with 30 different guns attached to it.
It'll be worth it once you get it. S&W 41 is one of the best .22 pistols ever made. As others have said, shoot CCI SV and you shouldn't have any feeding issues.
 
It'll be worth it once you get it. S&W 41 is one of the best .22 pistols ever made. As others have said, shoot CCI SV and you shouldn't have any feeding issues.

Thanks for encouragement. I got four bricks left of cci sv so I should be good for a little while. I still can't believe how convoluted the system is. You take a course, pass government inspection and it still seems like you get put through the ringer when you try to follow the rules. If I was a drug dealer I could have a gun the same day and I would probably have more rights and privacy to boot!

Sorry rant over ;) hopefully the common sense gun legislation comes in and makes life slightly easier at some point
 
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