Model 41 for rimfire steel challenge

[jripper]

Does anyone shoot a model 41 smith and Wesson for steel challenge?  How do you like it.  Any issues?

[atbarr]

The 41 is beautiful, accurate, and heavy. IMO, too heavy. 46 ounces will make transitions slow. A Ruger 22/45 weighs 23 ounces, a huge difference. You will handicap yourself.

 

[s2000red]

My dad has a performance center model 41 that he shot in steel challenge.  He shot it for about a year but now shoots a Ruger 22/45 lite.  Some items to note, aftermarket parts are not as readily available with the S&W and the wooden grips tended to be slippery in summer matches, even with ProGrip.  

 

If you have one, shoot it.  Unless the pros are beating you by a few tenths of a second, it will not hurt you.  If not, for about the same price of a stock model 41, you can have a fully tricked out  Ruger, Browning, or similar.  

[zzt]

Most of the 41s at my club have feeding/extraction issues when fired quickly.  That can be fixed.  If you already own one, shoot it.

[GrumpyOne]

2 hours ago, atbarr said:

The 41 is beautiful, accurate, and heavy. IMO, too heavy. 46 ounces will make transitions slow. A Ruger 22/45 weighs 23 ounces, a huge difference. You will handicap yourself.

 

Agree. The 41 is a fantastic Bullseye gun.

[jripper]

I was looking for an excuse to buy one :)

[quiller]

58 minutes ago, jripper said:

I was looking for an excuse to buy one

You should buy one but not for Steel Challenge. I picked up a really nice used one about 6 years ago and shot Bullseye for 4 seasons. The 41 is a great Bullseye gun but way to heavy for Steel. Also, and as mentioned already, by the time you got to the second stage you would have to clean it! A Bulleye match is 30 rounds and I cleaned my gun after every match, if not it would fail to do something during the next match. Picky eaters don't even come close to describing them, however, its a great gun and I can easily hit clay pigeons at 100 yards, just have to hold over about a foot or so. Buy one and shoot Bulleye. 

[jripper]

I found an optic ready model available new.  I hadn't seen them for a while.  I'm just trying to justify buying it.  Is it OK to shoot high velocity ammo through them, or standard only?

 

[Jmo2011]

If you’re going to shoot hv ammo, consider changing the recoil spring to a heavier poundage. 

[IHAVEGAS]

27 minutes ago, jripper said:

I found an optic ready model available new.  I hadn't seen them for a while.  I'm just trying to justify buying it.  Is it OK to shoot high velocity ammo through them, or standard only?

 

 

I think the manual will tell you standard velocity and a model 41 guru can strip the gun down and tell if somebody has been shooting high velocity, at least that is what I was told by a guy that owns several of them. 

 

Didn't ask him about changing springs first.

 

Maybe somebody has a manual handy?

[jripper]

I think that's what I've heard too.  My brother has one, and I think he only runs standard.  But,  I don't trust his opinion

[zzt]

Even if you change the springs to heavier, you still risk cracking the frame by using HV ammo.  It happened to two at my club.  If you buy a 41, used standard velocity in it.

 

I shoot SC with two 1911 guns.  The first has a CWA custom upper on it that only works with hi-speed ammo.  The second has a Marvel Unit One conversion on it.  I have it set to shoot standard ammo, because I use it for bullseye.  I have the springs required to shoot HS, but it doesn't make any difference in my times.  About the only difference I can tell is it is not quite as loud when hitting steel.  You should be calling your shots, not waiting to hear a hit, so that doesn't matter to me.  

[Jim Watson]

I bought one many years ago, not for any specific use, just that it was one of those things to have.  A deluxe plinker for a long time.

I now shoot SC with it, CCI SV in a clean gun is good.  It may be heavy for the real speedsters, but I haven't been fast with anything for a decade or two.

I have only had two problems with it since I started SC a couple of years ago.  One day I gave it a good cleaning and it would not cycle reliably. A couple of magazines in pump mode and suddenly something seated into the proper position and it was fine thereafter.

I had a short recoil the other day, ejected the empty but did not pick up the next round.  Did not shoot to call on the paper target, either.  Did normally afterwards.  I have no doubt it was a bad round. 

 

Talk about heavy, I splurged on some extra magazines for my High Standard with scope rail.  The old Tasco really ballasts it.  The red dot is good for accuracy, we will see how it swings on the plates in a couple of weeks. 

[jripper]

I'm used to shooting a Shadow 2 in USPSA, so I don't know if a 41 ounce 22 is going to be a huge problem for me.

 

[zzt]

J, it won't be.  I shoot with a 43 oz pistol, for no other reason than it is 100% reliable.  That being said, I am faster in transitions with my custom Buckmark with Tacsol barrel.  It is significantly lighter.