Should I hold out for a S&W model 41

mudbug

mudbug

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I just recently got my restricted and am now looking at purchasing my first handgun. I'm going to get a 22 cal because I want to make sure I like this type of shooting with out spending a bunch of cash on bullets or spending hours in the reloading room until I know I like shooting pistols.
My question is ...I haven't handled many pistols. The ones I have handled were a ruger mark II, a ruger single six , S&W model 41 and a drulov 75. All are fairly different and the one I like most is the S&W. Thing is they are quite a bit more $$ than a ruger (being my second option). Seeing I don't know enough about these things I'm asking what would you do? I can afford to get a ruger or somthing around the $500 range right now or I would have to wait for a couple months to embezzle some more cash from the account to be able to get the S&W. Kids, school trips out of country, Shingles on the roof, have not allowed me to keep my gun fund growing fast enough...
I want somthing that is going to be able to hit what I'm aiming at rather than just a noise maker so if you give me any other options to help this get more confusing keep that in mind..
Thanks for your info
 
Not saying they are better, but also take a look at some of the High Standards; Trophy, Citation etc. You might like them. I used to lust for a 41 but I got over that. It seems like the price of 41's is all over the place (so is High Standard) and I can't recall but I think they have some notorious bug... How's that for vague and useless info?
 
As much as I like my Rugers if I had to choose it would be the
S&W Model 41 over a bull barreled Ruger. They are quite a gun and I shot one for many years in Silhouette handgun. If there was a bug in them, I never found it. I wish all S&W's were built like that gun.
 
I personally dont think they are worth the money.
In my exsperiance they shot no better than my Ruger MKII.
 
I had one SW 41 - bought it unfired in new condition - pistol was very accurate, but unfortunately working ONLY with expensive ammo !!!
I've tried this "super pistol" with cheap bulk Federal/Winchester and have plenty of FTL + FTE + FTF ....so I sold it faster then light.
now I'm a happy 22 shooter with my Ruger MKIII SS bull bbl... and this one after more then 10K rounds of every mix ammo you can find on market, Ruger still has NO feeding problems....eat everything with no hick-ups at all !
 
Wolfstrack said:
I had one SW 41 - bought it unfired in new condition - pistol was very accurate, but unfortunately working ONLY with expensive ammo !!!
I've tried this "super pistol" with cheap bulk Federal/Winchester and have plenty of FTL + FTE + FTF ....so I sold it faster then light.
now I'm a happy 22 shooter with my Ruger MKIII SS bull bbl... and this one after more then 10K rounds of every mix ammo you can find on market, Ruger still has NO feeding problems....eat everything with no hick-ups at all !
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There is something to this...mine was quite finicky about .22 fodder as well. Probably tighter than "usual" tolerances. :)
 
mine has a big problem with extracting a fired brass from the chamber at least once per mag (all mags were original SW 41 also scarce to find and of course expensive)
I used a brass wire to push it out most of the time and I was realy fed up after how much I have to pay for a "super pistol" like this one and still have FTE + FTL
 
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I've found every one of them to be a bit finicky.However, I would pick the 41 over every other option. The High standards can have ejection problems.The ruger's have awful triggers.Good luck with your search.
 
I have a Ruger Mk II bull barrel, a High Standard Supermatic Citation, a Colt Woodsman Match Target and used to have a 41 (gave it to a friend for a favor he did me). The HS was the most accurate of the bunch on average with varied ammo, but you had to keep it clean. With certain ammo the Colt shot better, but that was spendy Eley, so it didn't get used as much. The Ruger works well, not as accurate as the other two, but certainly still an accurate pistol out to 25 meters. As for the FTE/FTL, I have NEVER seen a 22 pistol that would not exhibit these symptoms under one condition or another. Buy what feels best in your hand, and what makes you happy when you handle it. - dan
 
I loved my 41. Great grips, great sights, great finish, and the trigger was beyond great! Picky about ammo - not so great. Once I figured out what it liked it ran like a champ. I traded it for a Colt series 70.
 
You can often find a good used S&W Model 41 for not much more than a new Ruger. I think you will not regret holding out for one if it is what you want. The ones that are least likely to have issues are the older ones with the cocking indicator at the back of the frame.

Mine cycles reliably with any ammo I have tried in it with the exception of Federal 525 round bulk packs. I find that it is fairly important to keep the breech face clean to prevent light strikes.

I would stay away from High Standard pistols unless you plan on shooting only (more expensive) standard velocity ammo, as the frames tend to crack if fed a steady diet of high velocity ammo. My S&W Model 41 has seen thousands of rounds of bulk HV ammo without incident.
 
mudbug said:
I just recently got my restricted and am now looking at purchasing my first handgun. I'm going to get a 22 cal because I want to make sure I like this type of shooting with out spending a bunch of cash on bullets or spending hours in the reloading room until I know I like shooting pistols.
My question is ...I haven't handled many pistols. The ones I have handled were a ruger mark II, a ruger single six , S&W model 41 and a drulov 75. All are fairly different and the one I like most is the S&W. Thing is they are quite a bit more $$ than a ruger (being my second option). Seeing I don't know enough about these things I'm asking what would you do? I can afford to get a ruger or somthing around the $500 range right now or I would have to wait for a couple months to embezzle some more cash from the account to be able to get the S&W. Kids, school trips out of country, Shingles on the roof, have not allowed me to keep my gun fund growing fast enough...
I want somthing that is going to be able to hit what I'm aiming at rather than just a noise maker so if you give me any other options to help this get more confusing keep that in mind..
Thanks for your info
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Since you have quite a bit of budget issue so as I do, I cannot see a model 41 can give you more fun than the others. All .22 can give you the same fun but at different price range. 41 does look better but the for price range, a good used still cost you more than seven or eight hundred, I do save up a little more for a good used CZ 75B and a .22 convertion kit.

Trigun
 
I'm partial to the 41's myself. PM me if you're still looking, I know of a super clean one with both barrels for sale. There's been a few good deals on the EE lately as well. I have had no issues with feeding as long as the gun is kept reasonably clean and you avoid cheap ammo like 333. I shoot Winchester Expert HV, and CCI standard velocity with very few if any few issues.
 
Have you considered buying a .22 revolver instead? That would be my first choice if you're just getting into the handgun shooting sports.A very nice 6 inch S&W 617 won't steer you wrong.With a revolver you'll have no worries with using cheap ammo, dealing with finicky semi auto guns and mags, etc.
 
I have had no issues with feeding as long as the gun is kept reasonably clean and you avoid cheap ammo like 333
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Winchester 333 is what I mostly use in my 41 and it feeds just fine. It just goes to show that every .22 is a law unto itself as to what ammo it prefers.
 
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