Ammo Brief: The Underrated .41 Remington Magnum

While it has yet to achieve widespread acceptance, the .41 Remington Magnum is a sharp all-around hunting cartridge that is more manageable than the .44 Magnum.

• The .41 Remington Magnum is a true .410-inch diameter cartridge.
• This is as opposed to the .401-inch diameter of the .41 Long Colt.
• The round is a more practical hunting cartridge than the .44 Magnum.
• And it's more potent than the .357 Magnum.
• The .41 Magnum has substantial recoil and muzzle blast, but less than the .44 Mag.

The .41 Remington Magnum revolver cartridge was introduced in June 1964 along with the S&W Model 57 revolver. Bore diameter of the .41 Magnum is a true .410-inch, rather than the .401-inch of the .41 Long Colt.

The new round was a more practical all-round hunting cartridge than was the .44 Magnum. The .357 is not entirely adequate for big game, except in the hands of an experienced handgun hunter. The .44 Magnum is overpowered for anything but big game, and most people do not shoot well with it. The .41 Magnum covers the small-game, medium-game, and varmint-through-deer classes quite adequately. Its effectiveness on anything heavier than deer would depend upon who was using it and under what conditions.

Recoil and muzzle blast of the .41 Remington Magnum are slightly less than the .44 Magnum, but still heavy. For the average shooter, mastering either will require about the same amount of training and practice. The .41 Remington Magnum is not quite as powerful as the .44 Magnum, but it is all the gun the average handgun hunter needs. All major domestic commercial ammunition makers have offered this cartridge, but, as of this writing, it has yet to find truly widespread popularity.

Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from Cartridges of the World 15th Edition.