S&w Model 57 - On Wednesday on Wheelgun this week, we reminisce about a handgun with a common shape but a very rare chambering. The gun we're talking about is the Smith & Wesson Model 57 .41 Magnum, and the example we'll be looking at is from 1984. I don't have much love for the forgotten .41 Magnum, but it's special and the reason I bought one for myself nearly a decade ago.
Many people know the .357 Magnum and the .44 Magnum. Because it is still popular in handgun circles today. A forgotten cartridge from the past is the .41 Magnum, the result of a unique collaboration between Remington and Smith & Wesson. This “Lyman 50th Edition Reloading Handbook” details how the .41 Remington Magnum cartridge was born.
S&w Model 57
Remington and Smith & Wesson introduced the .41 Magnum for their Model 57 revolver in 1964. Original factory ammunition came in two performance levels. The first was a full power rod with 210-grain soft-jacket lead, and the second was a 210-grain “police” rod. However, the police market was not really developed for the cartridges. The private market was better but it wasn't really that great. Pistol hunting is the area most followed by the 41 Magnum. Hunters have found it to be as effective as the 44 Magnum with a slightly flatter trajectory.
Model 57 .41 Mag Satin Nickle Finish
So, while the Smith & Wesson Model 57 may not be the most popular or sought after handgun with collectors, it has earned a reputation for being the first revolver to load the .41 Remington Magnum. A particular gun from my collection hit the market 20 years after it originated in a Minnesota gun store called Burger Brothers. It looks like a great place for milkshakes and cheese, but it was actually a famous gunsmith in MN (but that's for another day).
Most of us today are familiar with the plastic crates that house Smith & Wesson revolvers. In the old days, rifles were placed in blue cardboard boxes with corrugated metal edges for reinforcement. I'm a 33-year-old young handgun shooter, but some of you may remember or own the same box (or remember that reloading bullets are packaged the same way, but smaller). Inside this wrinkled cardboard box is still the original owner's manual (not a full manual, which was simpler back then). Here are the specs listed in the brochure on the original box from 1984:
It's fun reading this booklet to remember the nouns and verbs used at the time. Stocks are like knobs... Shot count is a long way of saying barrel capacity... It actually describes the sparsions on the barrel and sight ribs (for those who don't know why modern revolvers also have serrations for them). .
If so, the question remains, why? Why are these cartridges there? Why? ... Lyman did a good job of explaining his origins and how miserable his attempts to conquer the police market in the 1960s were. I also heard another story from an old man who had a much larger collection of revolvers than mine. Take it with a grain of salt. But I found it interesting.
Anyone Shoot 41 Remington Magnum?
In the early 1960s, the collector said, the .357 Magnum was popular as a recreational sport because of its speed to carry and versatility for shooting even .38 Special loads. Then there was the .44 Magnum that plowed like a truck and kicked like a mule. A middle ground was needed. So the .41 magnum split the difference. You have the flat, lively track of a .357 Magnum with a powerful .44 Magnum in your hand. Then, with twinkling eyes, a smile and a soft voice, he said, “The .41 Magnum is a gentleman’s cartridge.”
Was this the thought process that Remington and Smith & Wesson had for their .41 Magnum? So, did the Smith & Wesson Model 57 come to life? The world may not know, but if there is anyone in the world who loves a .41 Magnum more than me, it must be the old collector who told me the story.
The .41 Magnum round is one of those uncommon cartridges that you can find regularly in gun stores because it is out of place in today's world. Combine that with the fact that you can still reload your own ammo like I do sometimes or look for it cheap at the local gun show, and it's not too bad to get it. It may not look like the 9mm round you want to shoot in every year’s issue, but it shot accurately, powerfully and suspiciously fun, giving it a place to earn its nickname as a gentleman’s cartridge.
I've done over 200 shots on my own and successfully hunted wild boar. It was a one knockout chase and a few years later I tried the 10mm and it took 3 well placed rounds instead of 1 to take down a hog. This gun walks and talks like a Model 586, but it outsmarts its targets and animals just like Dirty Harry wants it to.
Post Two Of Your Basic No Frills Classic S&w Revolvers
There are fewer and fewer original used revolvers like this every day, but you can always recreate that old charm with new replicas from Smith & Wesson. Part of their Smith & Wesson Classics series, they make this pistol in all of its old-school glory. The MSRP for the brand new is currently set at $1018.
My love for handguns was not born out of what today's handgun manufacturers make. Quite the opposite, it started with old dogs like this one. Learn about their history, how to use it, and see how well they were made back then. I now appreciate the new and the old, but it's exotic things like this Model 57 that excite me. What do you and the girls in your reading audience think? Are you too far out of left field? Do you own a .41 Magnum? Are you ready to get one? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments below! We always value your feedback.
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