The fabulous Model 41

There's a lot of history under the bridge with S&W's Model 41 .22 pistol. It was prototyped around 1947, with the first real factory models rolling out in late 1957. It is, in my opinion, the finest match-grade rimfire pistol on the market today. Selling for a retail price of just under $1,000, both the heavy barrel 5 1/2" model and the long barreled 7" are among the best values in the firearms industry.

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The 41 was designed to be ergonomically perfect for the discriminating precision shooter. The 105 degree grip angle matches the 1911 so a shooter can shoot his Government model till he drops and not have to switch grip angle when crawling to the rimfire line. The 41 comes with adjustable sights, is drilled and tapped for scope mounts, has beautifully checkered hardwood grips with a modified thumb rest adaptable to either right or left hand shooters, and arrives with a couple of ten round magazines. The front sight is an undercut partridge. The 7" model weighs in at 43 ounces and the "heavy barreled" model tips the scales at 44 1/2 ounces with the extra weight concentrated at the muzzle. The popularity of this 50 year old, high quality pistol is unmatched by anything produced today for the competition market.

FILING & SAWING

There's not a lot of gunsmithing to be done to this fine American rimfire. The basic pistol is dern-near perfect fight out of the box, but there are a few things you might want to do to personalize. First, you want to pull down the trigger guard to expose the over-travel screw and adjust it to the point where the trigger will not release the sear--and then back off approximately one quarter turn.

Another adjustment many shooters and gunsmiths do not know about is the fact the trigger is adjustable for weight of pull. With the barrel removed and looking down at the trigger, you will see a trigger return spring resting on a stepped bar. You can push the trigger pin out just enough to release the stepped bar and move the bar to the front of the pistol to reduce the weight of pull. There is not a lot of latitude here, but it helps. If there is rare "creep" in the trigger a gunsmith must take that out.

We sit around a lot today and no longer develop the forearm muscle tone required to shoot heavy pistols for long periods of time, or, as in my case, we are just too old to hold the bloomin' thing up, so weight reduction is in order. You have a couple of choices here. First you can buy a 7" barrel and cut it off to 6" which lightens it up and changes the balance back toward you hand. Don't worry about losing accuracy because the long barrel was not cut long for superior accuracy, but to give shooters a longer sight radius for finer sighting.

The heavy 5" barrel can be lightened at the muzzle by drilling the underlug or making ornamental, concave cuts down the side using a ball end mill. Making these cuts looks snazzy and will lighten the muzzle considerably for around $85.

"Out of the box" accuracy with the magnificent 41 is usually excellent, but if you are in search of that 1.5" group at 50 yards you might have to spend a little extra money. What I do is turn down a tight bore, European .22 caliber barrel and cut a Bentz match chamber. Your Model 41 will then shoot as good as any $2,500 overpriced Swiss, German or French Olympic pistol. That work runs between $175 and $225 depending on the length of the barrel.

The grips on S&W's masterpiece are beautiful and more than adequate, but if you are looking for something special, a talented man by the name of Dick Horton can make a set of custom 41 grips just for you that will make your eyes dance with pleasure. You can call Dick in Mt. Vernon, Ilinois at (618) 244-3389.

ELVIS SAYS

For 50 years Smith & Wesson has been making what I believe is one of the finest hand fitted production .22's. The fabulous 41 is the best value on the rimfire match pistol market today and is well worth your money. Gil Hebard Guns in Knoxville, Illinois usually has plenty in stock at good prices. Hebard's number is (309) 289-2700. But check your local dealer first to give him a crack at the business!

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In the infamous words of Elvis Presley, "In a pinch a .22-caliber pistol makes an excellent remote control, but you can only use it once."

For more info: www.smith-wesson.com.

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning