The .41 Remington Magnum was introduced in 1964 to fill the "gap" between the .357 Magnum and the .44 Magnum revolver cartridges. That this gap did not need to be filled appears not to have occurred to anyone except consumers. It uses actual .410" diameter bullets, unlike the old obsolete .41 Colt cartridge (which therefore cannot be used as a practice round in .41 Magnum revolvers).

The premier hunting load for the game species over 100 pounds is probably the 210 grain JHP bullet at 1300 fps with 790 ft. lbs. of ME. This load has a mid-range rise of .7" at 50 yards and 3.3" at 100 yards. At 100 yards the remaining energy is 495 ft. lbs. For the handgun hunter who can accurately put his bullet into a vital area, the .41 Mag. is about a 100 yard deer cartridge.

The .41 is an easy cartridge to reload, but there is a limited selection of bullets available from the major manufacturers. Bullets range from 170-220 grains in plain lead and jacketed styles. Use jacketed bullets for all loads approaching or exceeding 1000 fps to minimize barrel leading. The slow burning pistol powders like Hodgdon H110 and H4227, Winchester 296, and Hercules 2400 are best for maximum loads, while HS-6 and HS7 are good for midrange loads.

The Speer Reloading Manual Number 13 shows that 20.0 grains of H110 powder behind their 200 grain JHP bullet gives a MV of 1290 fps, and 22.0 grains of H110 behind the same bullet is good for a MV of 1412 fps. These loads used Winchester cases and CCI 350 primers, and were chronographed in the 6" barrel of a revolver.

Note: A complete article about the .41 Rem. Mag. can be found on the Handgun Cartridge Page.