rsimes Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 I'm ready to purchase a lighter barrel for my 41. I've been considering either the Clark or EKW (bully) barrel. I've read some posts, that were several years old, concerning feeding/extraction issues with the Clark due to a very tight chamber. There's just not much info out there that I've been able to find. What is the current thought on these barrels regarding reliability, weight, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 (edited) At my club, the only 41s that run flawlessly for competition other than bullseye have been tuned by Clark Custom. I don't know how much lighter the Clark barrel is, but the ones I've seen are super accurate. You should be feeding your 41 good quality standard velocity ammo. If you do, you will not have any issues with a Match chamber. You can always ask Clark's to open it up for you if you like. BTW, you want the mags tuned also. If you want to stay away from the hard wax lubed bullets, try SK Standard +, the Lapua or Wolf equivalent (identical rounds) or Norma. Aguila Match always runs great in all my pistols. Edited February 1, 2016 by zzt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsimes Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 Thanks zzt. My main concern is having a barrel that will lighten the gun for better transitions AND be reliable. With the current ammo shortage, one can't choose ammo that works like in the past. Does average ammo like Automatch, Fed Champion, Minimags run in these barrels? I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 The Federal stuff is junk, especially the Champion. I got 8-10 misfires per 100 rounds. It wasn't very accurate either. The Federal Automatch (AM-22) is much better, but I still get about 2% misfires. It is 1200fps ammo and should not be used in your gun. You will also have extraction issues with both; more so with the Champion. The CCI MiniMags go bang every time, but at 1235fps of higher for the HP, it is too hot for the 41. You could change out the recoil spring for a heavier one, but you still risk cracking the frame. You can find Aguila Match Pistol and Rifle online. They always work great. CCI standard is around and priced fairly. The others I mentioned are available online, but pricey at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Hello: You can lighten the stock barrel. I have done this on a couple of Model 41 barrels. You should also have the chamber reamed a little larger for steel challenge so it feeds better. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsimes Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 I called Clark Custom and talked to a girl in the shop. She said she shoots Steel Challange extensively, and that you have to oil the top round in each mag to have reliable function. She also said that she usually lays out all her ammo and oils each round prior to loading. Wow! Does anybody else have to oil their ammo to get good results with these barrels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 One of the guys running a Clark Custom 41 in our games uses CCI standard velocity and has zero problems. CCI ammo is .010" longer than others and the bullet is lubed with a hard wax coating. If you are worried about it, have Clark's ream the chamber out a smidge, or use SK Standard+ ammo, or the same marketed as Lapua or Wolf. They are lubed with a liquid wax coating. Just handling them while loading will ensure some of the lube gets on the casing. My custom High Standard barrel had a Match chamber so tight it would not feed CCI because the wax was too thick. The barrel shot 10 rounds into the same hole at 25 yards, so I didn't want to mess with the chamber. However, it fed the SK ammo and Aguila Match Pistol and Rifle ammo flawlessly. BTW, many of the bullseye shooters I know routinely put a line of oil on the top round in every mag, need it or not. The guys using Federal ammo have to. For the rest, I think it is just insurance against alibis in Timed and Rapid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 ...You should also have the chamber reamed... +1 I've reamed the chamber in several finicky 41's with a SAAMI spec ("sport") finish reamer. It really improves how they function. There are recoil buffers: http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/recoil-parts/recoil-buffers/smith-wesson-model-41-buffer-sku071000011-302-1410.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 ...You should also have the chamber reamed...+1I've reamed the chamber in several finicky 41's with a SAAMI spec ("sport") finish reamer. It really improves how they function. There are recoil buffers: http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/recoil-parts/recoil-buffers/smith-wesson-model-41-buffer-sku071000011-302-1410.aspx It says to change it every 1,000 rds ... Yikes, I'd need to buy a new one every 2 weeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsimes Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 Aircooled, do you have any pics of your lightened barrels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogiebb Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I use a clark barrel because I love the way it looks and I use an RTS2 on it and its just sweet. I oil the first round of every mag to make sure it feeds well after a few k you wont need to anymore. huge help in accuracy with this barrel but its steel challenge and I don't think it calls for an extremely accuracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 ...You should also have the chamber reamed...+1I've reamed the chamber in several finicky 41's with a SAAMI spec ("sport") finish reamer. It really improves how they function. There are recoil buffers: http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/recoil-parts/recoil-buffers/smith-wesson-model-41-buffer-sku071000011-302-1410.aspx It says to change it every 1,000 rds ... Yikes, I'd need to buy a new one every 2 weeks! Once you figure out what recoil spring you need they hold up pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Hello: Let me take a pic or two tonight of the lightened barrels I machined. One is for open and the other has iron sights. I did a couple of others but I can't find the pics right now. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Hello: Here are the pics of the two extra barrels I have left. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsimes Posted February 13, 2016 Author Share Posted February 13, 2016 Cool, thanks Aircooled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 ogiebb, if your barrel/ammo combo is only capable of 2" accuracy at 25 yards, you only have a 1" aiming margin of error. If your combo groups to .25" at 25, you have a 2" margin for error. As long as your gun/ammo combo runs flawlessly, it is never a mistake to go for accuracy. The more, the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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