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The Smith & Wesson Model 41 has been on my bucket list for years. Whenever there's a discussion about what the best rimfire semi-auto pistol is, the Model 41 never fails to get a mention. It has a reputation for accuracy, high quality craftsmanship, pride of ownership, easy fieldstrip, but also high cost and for being finicky with certain ammo. The two downsides caused me to hesitate. Even used ones on Calguns marketplace go for $1100-$1300, basically the same cost as a new pistol. And the thought of such an expensive gun being picky with ammo seemed like a rip off. But you know what, oh what the hell, let's stop hemming and hawing and just get the dang thing. 
I bought one new, paroled it yesterday and took it for a spin. Usually, I fieldstrip and clean it before shooting it for the first time, but you know what, life is too short. I ran a bore snake through it three times, put some oil on the rail and commenced fire. Here are my first impressions after one day of shooting.
Reliability: This was my biggest worry, so I started testing this first.
My conclusion is that it's inconclusive. It's too early to tell.
1st mag was CCI round nose 40gr high velocity. My 4th shot didn't get extracted. it got stuck in the ejection port and caused the 5th round to not chamber. After I cleared the jam, the rest of the mag loaded no problem.
2nd mag was the same ammo and same results. 4th shot again caused a malfunction. Cleared it and the rest ran fine.
I also fired Ammscor standard velocity, CCI standard velocity, Blazers high velocity, Golden Bullets high velocity, and Federal AutoMatch high velocity. Each of those ammo had at least one fail to extract.
But towards the end of the session, all the ammo ran fine without a malfunction. I'm calling it inconclusive, because I think the gun was going through a break-in period. What's pretty cool is that it cycled standard velocity rounds.
Accuracy: This thing made holes in the paper where I aimed it. It's amazing. They had it sighted in from the factory just like how I like it - at six O'clock. Noticeably more recoil from firing HV compared to SV, even though 22LR is inherently low recoil. Couldn't tell which was more accurate, but I liked running SV. Very low muzzle fip from both HV and SV - easy to rapid fire and stay on target.
Ergonomics: The target grip melded in my hand when I picked it up. Then I put my left support hand using a typical semi-auto grip. Awkward... The grip is meant for one-handed target shooting. Using a revolver grip (left hand over the right hand) felt much better. I haven't shot the 7 inch barrel before, but the 5.5 inch felt really comfortable for me. Loading the magazine by hand is painful. It has strong spring tension so pulling down on the nub leads to a painful thumb. The solution to that was Baby Lula, that I keep in my range bag. Quick and painless.
Craftmanship: The thick heavy milled slide is awesome. And the mirrored bluing is quite a sight. It's so easy to fieldstrip, unlike the neanderthal Ruger MK series and the hokey Buckmark that requires a hex key. But what caused me to raise an eyebrow is the sharp edges on the back of the slide. Gotta be careful not to get cut when charging the slide.
Parting Thoughts: This gun was a pleasure to shoot. Rimfire is my favorite type of gun to shoot in general, but this was particularly pleasurable. I can see this going with me every time to the range. Hopefully, by then it'll be fully broken-in.
Would appreciate your thoughts and experience on your S&W Model 41, particularly your experience with the break-in period and ammo reliability/accuracy. I haven't experimented with the trigger travel adjustment yet, but would be interested in reading about that. What else should I know about the Model 41?
I bought one new, paroled it yesterday and took it for a spin. Usually, I fieldstrip and clean it before shooting it for the first time, but you know what, life is too short. I ran a bore snake through it three times, put some oil on the rail and commenced fire. Here are my first impressions after one day of shooting.
Reliability: This was my biggest worry, so I started testing this first.
My conclusion is that it's inconclusive. It's too early to tell.
1st mag was CCI round nose 40gr high velocity. My 4th shot didn't get extracted. it got stuck in the ejection port and caused the 5th round to not chamber. After I cleared the jam, the rest of the mag loaded no problem.
2nd mag was the same ammo and same results. 4th shot again caused a malfunction. Cleared it and the rest ran fine.
I also fired Ammscor standard velocity, CCI standard velocity, Blazers high velocity, Golden Bullets high velocity, and Federal AutoMatch high velocity. Each of those ammo had at least one fail to extract.
But towards the end of the session, all the ammo ran fine without a malfunction. I'm calling it inconclusive, because I think the gun was going through a break-in period. What's pretty cool is that it cycled standard velocity rounds.
Accuracy: This thing made holes in the paper where I aimed it. It's amazing. They had it sighted in from the factory just like how I like it - at six O'clock. Noticeably more recoil from firing HV compared to SV, even though 22LR is inherently low recoil. Couldn't tell which was more accurate, but I liked running SV. Very low muzzle fip from both HV and SV - easy to rapid fire and stay on target.
Ergonomics: The target grip melded in my hand when I picked it up. Then I put my left support hand using a typical semi-auto grip. Awkward... The grip is meant for one-handed target shooting. Using a revolver grip (left hand over the right hand) felt much better. I haven't shot the 7 inch barrel before, but the 5.5 inch felt really comfortable for me. Loading the magazine by hand is painful. It has strong spring tension so pulling down on the nub leads to a painful thumb. The solution to that was Baby Lula, that I keep in my range bag. Quick and painless.
Craftmanship: The thick heavy milled slide is awesome. And the mirrored bluing is quite a sight. It's so easy to fieldstrip, unlike the neanderthal Ruger MK series and the hokey Buckmark that requires a hex key. But what caused me to raise an eyebrow is the sharp edges on the back of the slide. Gotta be careful not to get cut when charging the slide.
Parting Thoughts: This gun was a pleasure to shoot. Rimfire is my favorite type of gun to shoot in general, but this was particularly pleasurable. I can see this going with me every time to the range. Hopefully, by then it'll be fully broken-in.
Would appreciate your thoughts and experience on your S&W Model 41, particularly your experience with the break-in period and ammo reliability/accuracy. I haven't experimented with the trigger travel adjustment yet, but would be interested in reading about that. What else should I know about the Model 41?
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