"Of all the somewhat "off the wall" latest and greatest oddball revolver cartridges to be marketed in recent years with often mixed sales to say the least one wonders why the .41 special was never marketed in a revolver chambered for .41 special only or be made available for those 41 mag shooters that are older and want a lower recoiling cartridge without having to handload for it. Perhaps this concept is too far advanced for the marketing geniuses in the gun industry or maybe not odd enough to be classed as the latest and greatest."
Gun owners are a funny bunch.
The .44 Spl was around BEFORE the .44 magnum. So,, those that always seek more power,, got what they wanted & it has become a mainstay. As such,, the .44 spl has taken a far backseat to it.
The .41 magnum is a reverse of that. It was created as a "perfect LEO caliber" long ago. Bigger & better than the .38 spl & .357 magnum,, w/o the recoil of the .44 mag. However,, to make it work,, the gun is heavier to carry than a .38/.357. LEO's didn't like that. Recoil was bigger than the .38/.357 and since only about 15% of LEO's are gun people,, another strike against it. So the .41 mag has for a LONG time been a slower seller & less accepted by the masses because it wasn't a popular LEO caliber. (If you don't think a lot of the regular market doesn't follow LEO's choices,, just look at how the 9mm is now the caliber. Or how after the FBI adopted the 10mm, then the .40 S&W followed it because of the recoil & weight issues.)
The LEO market, as well as the military choices drive a lot of the reasoning behind consumer sales & marketing. That's just a fact.
Now,, the .41 mag has survived because of the smaller group of real gun folks who actually shoot a lot,, understand it's abilities, AND at a better feeling shooter to many over the .44 mag.
So now within the .41 mag aficionado's along comes the .41 spl. While they are a very small group,, they are not likely to see a gun built just as a .41 spl by a manufacturer. It would be easy to use a mid-framed Ruger SA and build it,, but I think the marketing people look at the numbers of actual sales of the .41 Mag guns,, and figure that many of those people may not buy one. Yes,, collectors would snap up a limited production run,, but for field purposes,, it'd not be a good seller to the public at large.
Now throw in the (sad) fact that the more modern gun buyers lean heavily towards the semi-auto handgun design. You have the 10mm,, and the .40 S&W. The .40 succeeded where the 10mm failed the first time around because of LEO's not capable of handling the recoil of the 10mm, and the weight of the guns. Plus,, the initial expense of the few 10mm handguns kept a lot of people from buying them. The .40 S&W came along,, and LEO's all over adopted it,, and sang it's praises. But now,, it's a much slower seller in favor of the 9mm. Ammo expenses,, firearm weight,, felt recoil, all are considerations a LEO budget has to face. Throw in the fact that our military went to the 9mm in favor of the tried & proven .45 acp also makes the market follow that trend.
And the new calibers that seem odd,, if you study them,, they are catering to the "power" crowd as well as the "AR-15 lovers" crowd.
In short,, I don't see any gun maker building a production .41 spl for a very small portion of an already competitive market. Except for the potential of a limited special run by a distributor.
As for factory ammo,, we MIGHT see a maker eventually decide to offer it,, if the sales by brass makers point to the potential for brisk sales. But for now,, it's a handloaders only option.