Tooling up for .41 Magnum

I have fooled with a lot of handguns over the years, from a .327 Federal snubby to an X-frame Smith in .500. My out-and-about trail gun is a Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special, with a CCI snake load up first as we have a lot of diamondbacks in this section. As I have gotten older and my hands more arthritic, the big magnums have lost their appeal, so I am giving the .41 Magnum another change in a Blackhawk with 6 1/2-inch barrel. Have dies, a bag of Starline brass and just received my Arsenal mold no. 41-220RF, which gets great review for performance and accuracy, especially when loaded over Accurate No. 9. Hope to get this outfit going here soon.

Interesting Bill, do you a lubricate traditionally or use powder coat? I have found my 41 to have noticably snappier recoil than my 44.

I do it both ways, some with Liquid Alox and some powder coat, although I gave my powder coating supplies away before a recent move, so I'll need another $20 toaster oven from Walmart and powder from the guy at Castboolits.com.
Here are some .41 loads from several years back, with powder-coated slugs in the colors of my alma mater, the University of Oregon.

Nice! I use the powder coat from smoke as well, though I have found that the black doesn't cover so uniformly and tends to be a little brittle. I have seen you in the AR forums and purchased some flying pencils from you. Anyhow, I'm glad you made it into Grant county, I hope it is treating you well.

I have often thought the .41 Magnum is an excellent cartridge, but was prevented from becoming more appreciated because of timing. It was introduced in 1963 with a magnum round advertised at 1,500 fps, and a lead semiwadcutter "police" round advertised at 1,150 fps. At the time it was introduced the "Magnum Craze" was in full swing, and the .44 Magnum cartridge (1955) dominated the handgun news. Ruger had introduced a .44 Mag semiauto carbine in 1959 & Marlin presented a .44 Mag lever rifle in 1963...plus many of the major police departments were still using the .38 Special revolver, and considered the "police" load as overpowered, AND American handgun people had not seen a .41 caliber revolver cartridge since the .41 Long Colt (unfamiliar caliber). Then In 1971 the movie, Dirty Harry, sent the .44 Magnum into orbit, and S&W had a backlog of orders to the effect that if you wanted a .44 Mag it would be at least a 7 month wait if not longer. I have known several shooters who were .41 Magnum fans who have had excellent results with their rounds, but they had to tinker around a bit to find their load & lead bullet hardness. I wish you well, and I suspect that we will receive reports of your success.