The .41 Remington Magnum holds a place all its own in handgun lore, yet it seems strangely overlooked as the middle sibling to the .357 and .44 Magnums. In 1963, some ballistically gifted individuals developed the .41 Magnum: Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan, and Skeeter Skelton. Their vision was that of a “middle magnum” cartridge, one to bridge the gap between the .357- and .44 Magnum-based cartridges. This is of a caliber developed to provide superior ballistic performance to law enforcement, considering the inadequacies of several then-available ammunition.
In the early 1960s, police officers usually carried .38 Special revolvers loaded with 158-grain round-nose lead bullets or .357 Magnum revolvers loaded with full-power lead semi-wadcutter bullets. However, through the years, questions were raised as to their actual effectiveness. This was even more so before the introduction of hollow-point ammunition in 1965. Keith and Jordan had a solution ready, use a larger diameter bullet “pre-expanded” from .35 to .40 caliber, which would supplant the need for expanding projectiles, something that was considered controversial in those days.
Keith developed his ideas for the .41 Magnum into two different power levels: a heavy “hunting” load with a 210-grain jacketed hollow point at 1300-1400 fps, and a milder police load with a 200-grain semi-wadcutter at about 900 fps. This dual-purpose cartridge was thus baptized the “41 Police” and was projected for use in a smaller and lighter revolver than the .357 and .44 models currently in production.
The problem was, that this project met resistance from marketing departments. Smith & Wesson declared any new handgun cartridge had to have the “Magnum” label on it to sell, and Remington bumped the ballistics of the police load to 1135 fps and the hunting load to 1600 fps. Smith & Wesson developed the .41 Magnum on the larger N-frame, and the product was the Model 58 with a 4-inch barrel and fixed sights, and the adjustable sighted Model 57 with various barrel lengths.
However, the .41 Magnum failed to gain much ground with any law enforcement agency due to poor design. These revolvers were too big and heavy, and officers did not qualify with them very well. Further diminishing the use of the .41 Magnum for police work was the development of semi-automatic pistols that held more rounds.
However, civilian shooters and handgun hunters did find a place for the .41 Magnum. It gave a unique balance between power and recoil that made the cartridge useful for anyone wanting a powerful but not excessively wicked cartridge. The .41 Magnum produces 25 percent more energy than the .357 Magnum with its wider, heavier bullet, which gives it deeper penetration and a larger wound cavity than the former. Such performance lends itself very well to medium-to-large game hunting of deer-sized game and black bear.
Although the .41 Magnum never gained the legendary status of the .357 and .44 Magnums, it is still a cartridge to command respect and be considered powerful in its own right. One authority opined that the .41 Magnum is “one of our most underappreciated calibers.” It has a unique combination of power, accuracy, and flexibility that makes it a true “diamond in the rough” to those who appreciate its qualities.