.41 Rem Mag loads

[daveg.inkc]

Any reloaders here have a favorite load for .41 Mag? I do know bullets are hard to find. Bass Pro had zero bullets. I ordered a sample pack from Missouri Bullets $45.00 for 500. I called Sierra and they are not making any .41's. Said to check back in 6 months.

 

[427mach1]

You didn't say what type of loads, plinking, hunting, etc. so I'll give you all of mine. As always, verify with your reloading manual, work loads up from starting loads, and don't take anyone's word for anything on the internet.....

Plinking loads, 210 grain plated bullets in front of 9 - 9.5 grains of Unique.

Medium-heavy loads - 210 grain XTP with 20 grains of H110 or W296

Bear repellent - 265 grain Cast Performance LWFNGC with 21.2 grains of 'Lil Gun, chronos at 1400 fps out of my 5.5" Redhawk

 

[daveg.inkc]

Thanks ! I ordered 600 rds of Starline. All I could find from Natchez. I have loaded 500 so far. I have the Unique at 9 grs. Titegroup, IMR 4227. ,2400,HS6. Herco ,,H110. Speaking of 2400. There is none to be found. Blue Dot. I loaded. And Red Dot. Looking forward to shooting this new BlackHawk.

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

Thanks ! I ordered 600 rds of Starline. All I could find from Natchez. I have loaded 500 so far. I have the Unique at 9 grs. Titegroup, IMR 4227. ,2400,HS6. Herco ,,H110. Speaking of 2400. There is none to be found. Blue Dot. I loaded. And Red Dot. Looking forward to shooting this new BlackHawk.

Are you saying you loaded 500 rounds and HAVE NOT shot it YET ?? What if you don't like those loads ? Load development usually means load a few test loads to find out what your gun likes before loading a whole bunch of any one load. Good luck with that!

 

[daveg.inkc]

It's under control Chuck. Not my first time. I loaded 10 and 20 at a time. Different weight. I just got it today. Factory rounds are not available Bass pro had none. Sierra makes 2 ,,, 170. 210. I have a large variety to try. I had major surgery August 3rd. So I'm moving slow. I had back surgery. Cant lift over 10 lbs for about 3 months. Hard put is loading ammo in truck

 

[daveg.inkc]

.44Mag and .45 Colt both like IMR 4227, so, I'm betting .41 does also.

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

Thats good. Sorry I misunderstood how you arrived at your load.
I found and bought a bunch (500+)of sierra 210 gr. Jacketed a couple years back.
That said, I cast almost every handgun bullet I shoot and the RCBS 210 gr. Keith type
Is my favorite and a great shooter.

 

[jsh]

Longshot

 

[daveg.inkc]

Thanks! That's one I haven't tried.

 

[daveg.inkc]

I'm surprised at lack of components. Natchez had only Starline. I was wanting Remington brass. Sierra makes no bullets. Hornady has one, 210 XTP. Missouri Bullets has 4. One has HiTech hard coating. I know from past , that these are accurate Blackhawks.

 

[woodperson]

The Hornady XTP 210 grain is a very good bullet. Maybe they do not really need to make much else. Bayou Bullets has a good selection of coated bullets in .41. I just ordered some. Ranier, Berrys, Xtreme all have copper plated in .41 mag. Looked at them but went with the polymer coated. There is factory ammo here but it is $75 at Gander Mountain and that does not interest me a whole lot. My heavy powder is LilGun. But only because they pulled the Blue Dot loads and recommend against using it in .41 now. My current project is Trail Boss and the coated bullets. Have not shot them yet though. Since I have a good supply of .210 jacketed I have been shooting them with Tite Group or Universal for most of my shooting.

 

[daveg.inkc]

You are right, XTP is all I need. 240 in .44. .250 in .45. That's all I shoot in my 77/50's. The 300 gr to deer hunt So I'm buying 210's and a few cast

 

[daveg.inkc]

Who said not to use Blue Dot? I bought Blue Dot because 2400 was not on shelf

 

[Cheesewhiz]

Who said not to use Blue Dot? I bought Blue Dot because 2400 was not on shelf

That would be Alliant, the guys that market Blue Dot.

http://www.alliantpowder.com/getting_started/safety/safety_notices.aspx

 

[daveg.inkc]

Well, I'll be darned. I have 12 and 13 grs with 210's all ready to be touched off. Old Lyman book, early 80's. goes up to 15 grs. That was Hercules name then.

 

[daveg.inkc]

The Hornady XTP 210 grain is a very good bullet. Maybe they do not really need to make much else. Bayou Bullets has a good selection of coated bullets in .41. I just ordered some. Ranier, Berrys, Xtreme all have copper plated in .41 mag. Looked at them but went with the polymer coated. There is factory ammo here but it is $75 at Gander Mountain and that does not interest me a whole lot. My heavy powder is LilGun. But only because they pulled the Blue Dot loads and recommend against using it in .41 now. My current project is Trail Boss and the coated bullets. Have not shot them yet though. Since I have a good supply of .210 jacketed I have been shooting them with Tite Group or Universal for most of my shooting.

XTP is an excellent bullet. I just meant different weights I'd like to have 170 upto 250 's. Or as heavy as made.

 

[sixshot]

Dave, its been mentioned for quite a while about pressure issues with Blue Dot, especially in the 41 magnum. You should be fine with the loads you mentioned. Also, don't worry about Starline brass, probably the best brass you can get & you can buy it direct.
Really there are no bad powders for the 41 magnum, the issue that's usually mentioned has been bullets, most people like them a bit heavier than 210 grs.
I've owned at least one 41 magnum since 1967 & taken a lot of game with them including 2 elk & its a great caliber, probably my second favorite. The Hornady 210's have a great reputation but I never use jacketed ammo on anything. My favored bullet for almost 50 years has been a 230 gr. Keith slug from an old Saeco mould. I also like a 250 gr. LBT WFN & took my last elk with it. That bullet broke both front shoulders of a very large cow & exited, she dropped at the shot. With the 230 gr. cast I've always used 17 grs of 2400 & the same amount with the 250 gr. cast. Accuracy trumps recoil & velocity always.
I've always got complete penetration with both, even on elk & large mule deer. 9.2 grs. of Unique also works well with the 250 gr. LBT & gives over 1150 fps in my 5 1/2" Bisley. Universal will work, as does Power Pistol, H110 , AA9 , 4227 & 231 for a midrange load.
Some might ask, why only 17 grs. of 2400 with the 230 gr. cast, the reason is accuracy & penetration. I've always got both so why ask for more recoil if you're shooting clear through the animals.

Dick

 

[daveg.inkc]

Thank you Dick! Very good info. I hope 2400 becomes available soon. I know the .41 is a good round. Looking forward to shooting this 4 5/8 BH. I'm looking for a longer barrel one now. I never bought Blue Dot before , thought Id try it Question is, if it works in 357 & 44 cases, why the problem in 41's?

 

[sixshot]

Dave, not sure but the warning came from one or more manufacturers & also from Freedom Arms. Something to do with pressure spikes. I've never shot a kernel of Blue Dot in over 50 years of shooting, many hand loaders love it.

Dick

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

Dave, its been mentioned for quite a while about pressure issues with Blue Dot, especially in the 41 magnum. You should be fine with the loads you mentioned. Also, don't worry about Starline brass, probably the best brass you can get & you can buy it direct.
Really there are no bad powders for the 41 magnum, the issue that's usually mentioned has been bullets, most people like them a bit heavier than 210 grs.
I've owned at least one 41 magnum since 1967 & taken a lot of game with them including 2 elk & its a great caliber, probably my second favorite. The Hornady 210's have a great reputation but I never use jacketed ammo on anything. My favored bullet for almost 50 years has been a 230 gr. Keith slug from an old Saeco mould. I also like a 250 gr. LBT WFN & took my last elk with it. That bullet broke both front shoulders of a very large cow & exited, she dropped at the shot. With the 230 gr. cast I've always used 17 grs of 2400 & the same amount with the 250 gr. cast.


Accuracy trumps recoil & velocity always.
I've always got complete penetration with both, even on elk & large mule deer. 9.2 grs. of Unique also works well with the 250 gr. LBT & gives over 1150 fps in my 5 1/2" Bisley. Universal will work, as does Power Pistol, H110 , AA9 , 4227 & 231 for a midrange load.
Some might ask, why only 17 grs. of 2400 with the 230 gr. cast, the reason is accuracy & penetration. I've always got both so why ask for more recoil if you're shooting clear through the animals.

Dick

+1

 

[daveg.inkc]

You know, we shooters owe a great deal to Elmer Keith. If I could go back in time, Mr Keith is one who I like to go on a hunt with. Pick out a story from "Hell, I was there!" Id like to have seen Elmer bring in a live coyote, on a bronc There's a front cover picture on American Rifleman, 1930's with that coyote. Sitting on the front porch

 

[daveg.inkc]

That is one reason I wanted a .41. Elmer's influence

 

[sixshot]

Wish I would have ask him to go shooting but was always afraid I would be putting him out so I was afraid to ask.

Dick

 

[leemar28]

I have shot a good bit of "Blue Dot" with the Speer 200 JHP in my S&W 57, and never had any problems. I did have pressure issues with a .357 mag and Blue Dot with 158 JHP's.
I have 4 loading manuals with .41 mag & "Blue Dot" loads. Granted they date back a few years. Like every thing else use common sense and caution when reloading and keep your vision and fingers.........

 

[snakeeyes4445]

Sixshot...thanks for sharing. My report is on the lower end of recoil only at this time. I have an Iowa State Patrol Smith M 58 that shoots about all lods to the same point of impact at fifty feet. It wears the Magna grips which must not fit my hand well, because I cannot take a lot of recoil with them. 8.0 grains of Unique is an established accuracy load, but I went down from there and found my best accuracy and recoil comfort with that gun at 5.5 grains of Unique. I would not shoot that load at anything live in cold weather but it was as accurate as the great 6.0 gr of Unique load that my five inch second model hand ejector Smith likes as well all of my other 44's.

My 6.5 BH liked 6.5 grains of Unique. All using Keith type flat based 220 gr lead at 13 BH

My new 6 inch FA 83 will wear a scope here pretty soon, and that will be fun to work up hotter jacketed loads. I will work with around 20.0 grains of IMR 4227, 17 to 18 gr. of 2400 and stiff amounts of AA#9 and XTP 210. Most of my reading has pointed me to these powders, and it save me time at the range to work with classic loads.

I had ignition problems in cooler but not cold weather with published Blue Dot 12 guage goose loads and cannot overcome my predjudice against it since.

 

[daveg.inkc]

Thanks Snakeeyes ,, that load you have there of 4227. 2400 is an accurate load in .45 Colt. I'm going to give AA9 a good workout.

 

[jn 41]

I second what sixshot says. I bought my 1st 41 in 1987, still shoot it. Mostly with 220gr cast swc, I been having real good results with POWER PISTOL over the last few years. Also used alot of 2400 AND BLUEDOT in the past. When the bluedot warning came out I called ALLIANT. I was told that it had to do with the new cleaner version. Was told if the powder can read Hercules to use it up. But NOT use the new can reading ALLIANT.