My New (To Me) S&W 41

[johnnywitt]

Well, I got a 41 for X-mas. It's a 7" A prefix pistol with one 10rd metal follower mag. Interesting thing is, this gun and mag have been HARD CHROMED.
I paid 625.00 shipped (no tax) plus 20 for the FFL on my end.
I think I got it for kinda cheap because it was jamming like a mother when I got it and some wingnut had jacked around with the overtravel screw and the gun wouldn't shot till you jerked the trigger a couple of times.
Anyhow, thanks to Bullseye and this Forum I completely stripped it and cleaned it real good. I adj. the trigger OT screw and locktited it. Now, the pistol runs like a champ. It will shoot about anything I try in it. I've shot all the Target stuff, subsonics, and even Blazers, bulk Fed 550, it just runs and runs. It won't cycle Dynapoints though (it wouldn't because this would be too convenient for me since I shoot full auto and suppressed with Dynapoints and have a buttload of them lying around), or Winchester 333 . Remington Bulk it will eat, not that I would necessarily want to feed it that.
Couple of questions. Should I get a buffer (and what make) to take advantage of the fact this thing shoots Blazer and Fed 550 Bulk well. I don't want to crack my slide or damage my pistol. It actually shoots the Fed 550 BETTER than CCI SV!!! I about crapped my pants when I saw this.

Also, Obviously I'm going to need some more mags. The new mags are 10 & 12 rds. Are the new mags any good? Are they hard to clean? I think I would like to get the 12rd over the 10. I mean if I'm squirrel hunting with 3 mags that's 6 extra shots and the way I shoot some days, I might need them.

One other interesting fact: my coated dewey rods in .22 caliber won't go all the way down the bore without getting stuck. This is with or without an attachment, patch, ect. Just the bare coated rod. I have lots of .22 and I've never seen a .22 bore that a Dewey Rod wouldn't go right through. I've just been using patches on weedwacker line.

Anyhow, now I'm looking for a 5" field barrel with some rust to have Hard Chromed. Know any around that maybe got a little rusted/beat up that somebody wants to let go for a fair price. Old Granddaddy left one out in the garage or something.

[stork]

If you want to shoot high velocity ammo through your 41 I would suggest you install a heavier recoil spring.
Check out Wolf springs. I run a heavier spring in one of my High Standards for just this reason.

http://www.gunsprings.com/1ndex.html


FWIW

[KAZ]

CONGRATS on the 41 johnny! Nice find for sure,and you(with the great help from Bullseye) did a good job of making it run. I like the buffer and got mine from midway. I bought 12 round mags and stuck my originals in my safe. The 5" Field barrels are rare and expensive no matter condition. Take a look at BULLY barrels. Ray makes a threaded 41 barrel that ROCKS.

[johnnywitt]

Thanks Fellas. They have the 12rd orange follower S&W Mags @ CDNN. They Lady at Gil Hebard Guns told me that S&W doesn't make any more 12rd mags to fit the 41,422,622 ect. She said they haven't been made since the '94 AWB.
I went ahead and got 10 from CDNN. It pays with those guys to load up on whatever junk you need because shipping is 14.99 flat.
Is this true that Smith no longer makes the 12rd orange follower magazines? They aren't in the catalog that I can see either. I like that Bully Barrel with the H-1. I'm conflicted whether to put a Docter 3.5, or an H-1. I was just thinking about a 5" field for open sight usage.
Hey Bullseye, how hard wopuld it be to cut down a 7" barrel into a 5". Isn't this what Smith did originally?

[Bullseye]

A barrel cut down for a 7" 41 barrel wouldn't be any more difficult than cutting any other brand. Some items to be considered: new front sight positioning and mounting, crown (I'd recommend a recessed crown like the 5.5 bull barrels have), type of finish (post cut). Smith did take a bunch of their 7" barrels and cut them down into 5 inch versions. The profile of the 5" barrel is the same as the 7" versions - thinner width than the 5.5 heavy bull barrels. As KAZ mentioned the Bully Barrels are already available on the market in various sizes and some come in threaded versions. http://bullybarrel.ray-vin.com/frbarrels.htm

R,
Bullseye

[johnnywitt]

Thanks Bullseye. Who would you recommend to cut down a Factory 7" barrel? I know that they came with a Patridge and ramp front sight. I wondering if I get a 7" with a bad finish and cut it down if I wouldn't just be better off trying to find a 5" with a bad finish as I intend to hard chrome the barrel to match my slide and frame. I just shot a bunch of Blazer and tried some Auto Match today. Gun runs like a top. Too busy drilling spinners and tin cans to sit down a bench it. Had to bring the sight up a little. The thing is a precision machine. I think I'm starting to even like it more than my Pac lite Mk. I ordered the Wolff Spring Kit and the Buffer Tech Buffer for shooting the HV. This thing really seems to like Blazer. I guess this makes sense because dimensionally it has to be pretty close to it's brethren CCI SV. Anybody else have a 41 that eats all the bulk pack HV?

One last Q. Is it advisable to close the bolt with the slide release on these 41's or should I "slingshot" it closed.

Thanks again for all the help with Both my Ruger and my Smith. I would've been up the creek without this website.

[Bullseye]

Johnny,

I hesitate to recommend another for this cut down. A barrel cut down and re crowning is a basic procedure. Your job is even easier since you really do not need the entire barrel refinished due to your plans for HC. You should be able to locate a good smith in your area that can do this job for you.

R,
Bullseye

[johnnywitt]

Thanks Bullseye.
These 41's are nice. At first I didn't think I cared for it after shooting my MkIII/II for thousands of rounds. Now, I pretty much am just shooting the 41 exept when its nappy time for the Bambinos- then out comes the Ruger with the suppressor.

[Bullseye]

I got turned on to the 41 about 30+ years ago and loved them ever since. It is a sweet shooter, even though they can be a little cranky at times. With the right amount of TLC they run very well when needed.

R,
Bullseye

[johnnywitt]

Yeah, it's my favorite pistol. Grip angle is pretty close to my 945PC .45. Not that I'd know because I can't afford to shoot it.
Bullseye, My overtravel screw has walked on me twice now. So, I have blue locktited it for a third time. This time I unscrewed it quite aways out, popped a big drop of locktight on it and screwed it back in. I counted the revolution and got it where it needs to be. Ishot it to makes sure after about 15-20 min. to let the locktight set. I am going to let it dry another day in my safe to let the locktight set REAL good and shoot it tomorrow. kinda frustrating. It was running so good, then it started the deal where you would have to pull the trigger 3-4 times to get it to fire. It only was doing this with a full 10rds in the mag on this first shot. The second and subsequent rounds all went down range just fine. I would pull the trigger and nothing, then I would hear a clunk (mainspring???) then if I hit it again it might go off. Once it did go off it would eject and chamber anoth round and it was off to the races for the rest of that mag. When I first got this pistol it was doing this every shot Bullseye. So, I completely stripped it and adj the overtravel screw, which was obviously too far out.
I remember setting my pretravel and over travel screws on my Ruger and getting this kind of a deal for awhile befor I finally dialed it in.
Oh well, hopefully I got it this time. I think that I just didn't get the right amount of locktight on the threads, or maybe locktight doesn't like adhering to chrome? Dunno.

[Bullseye]

Some oil or grease may have found its way into your overtravel screw hole and is causing the sealant to break loose. If it comes loose again, try degreasing the screw and hole before reapplying any more Locktite.

R,
Bullseye

[johnnywitt]

I unscrewed the OT Screw almost all the way out and sprayed some non chrorinated Brake cleaner on screw and hole. Now, I think I need to unscrew the OT Screw all the way out (remove) and hit the hole again plus the Screw itself. Its still giving me issues and rotating and I have to keep adj. it every 250-300 rounds.
So, how do I get the residual Locktighte out of the screw hole and off the OT Screw itself? I want to fix this nagging problem. Plus, its not the safest of issue to have. Thanks for the help. Living and learning.

[Bullseye]

You will need to take the screw all the way out of the hole and clean both out with degreasing cleaner. I will apply some to a cotton swab and twist it down into the hole to clean out any oily residue. The residual sealant can be cleaned out by twisting in/out a little #0000 steel wool. Use the wool on the screw to clean it too. Once the screw and screw hole are dry, apply some sealant to the screw and re insert it into the trigger guard. Allow the sealant to cure for 24 hours and it should hold fast for you.

R,
Bullseye

[johnnywitt]

I don't think the problem is the OT Screw; I think its the trigger. Even with the OT screw all the way in when I pull the trigger it feels like it will partially release and move the disconnector but it won't release the sear. It seems to do this more on the first shot on a full magazine. It doesn't matter which mag either. I've taken the pistol down numerous times and sprayed it out good (trigger assembly) with brake cleaner and relubed with Eezox. Not helping. I think I'm gonna have to send this one in to S&W. I suspect that the discinnector/trigger bar wire spring is having something to do with this. Aggravating. Anyhow the good news is that the pistol cycles most anything. CCI SV can get kind of expensive when shot in quantity. Blazer and Auto Match are a heck of a lot cheaper.

[KAZ]

johnny, you said:"I adj. the trigger OT screw and locktited it. Now, the pistol runs like a champ. It will shoot about anything I try in it." Now, it has gone from that to you having to jerk the trigger or have to pull the trigger several times to get it to fire. I don't blame you as it has returned to the same malfunction it had when you first got it that seemed to be resolved. It must be some little thing that is hard to find. Wishing you good luck! Regards