So it seems that a .357 isn't quite enough, and a .44 seems to be just a bit too much...so the .41 is supposed to be the median correct?

I'm interested in a deer/pig pistol, and a .41 mag seems like the ticket. Handloading seems to be easy enough, would only need two loads, one for hunting, another for targets.

Anyone have positive experience with this caliber?

IMO the 44 is mot a bit much !

That said I have taken several deer with my 41 mag Ruger Redhawlk.

I only use the 44 mag due to the fact I can find better bullets for the 44 mag.
There are several real good cast bullets out there now that were not when I quit using the 41 .

But there is still a low number of jacketed bullets .
I am hording the last boxs of 170 gr Hornady HP , these produced the best groups for me.

Johnch

The 41 Remington Magnum with factory 210 gr SP projectiles works GREAT on whitetails!

I have hunted with an scoped 6" M57 S&W for a number of years ... pull trigger, take deer home to freezer. I recommend it.

I have the Ruger Blackhawk in 41 Mag with the 6 1/2" barrel. I have only taken one deer with it and was using 210 grain jacketed soft points by Remington over 20.5 grains of H110 with a WLP primer. This is an accurae load for my pistol. I had the revolver sighted in at 75 yards and took a shot at another target that was 300 yds away, only missed it by about 30 in. and the wind was blowing like crazy that day.

The 41 is an excelent caliber. I do not have any experience with the 41 rem mag but I have a 41 GNR contender and I would nt hesitate taking elk or caribou. I think it will make an excellent deer ang pig caliber. I would start out handloading wih the Hornady 210gr XTP. Hope this helps, Shane

I own nine .41s, and only two .44s. I also cast, and can load anything from a 160-grain SWC all the way up to a 295-grain bullet in the .41s. If held to one bullet, it would probably be a hard cast 210-grain SWC. Cast right and loaded with the right powder, that weight bullet is capable of an honest 1500fps from a 6" revolver, or it can be loaded down to ~1000 for comfortable practice, to maintain proficiency. Also, it will shoot through anything you hit with it if loaded to full tilt, and you won't ever wear out the barrel with lead. I personally won't hunt with a jacketed bullet; they are swaged, and rely on the jacket to maintain the soft lead in one piece.

The 41 is much closer to the 44 than the 357, and this is reflected in recoil and power. A good 41 like a Bisley Hunter, RH, 57, or 657 with a decent scope and 255 cast performance bullet and you've got everything you need to take deer-sized game out to 125-150 yds or so.

The S&W has a new 657 PC out this year - 8.375" barrel, take a look if you've got the $.

quote:

Originally posted by Doubless:
I own nine .41s, and only two .44s. I also cast, and can load anything from a 160-grain SWC all the way up to a 295-grain bullet in the .41s. If held to one bullet, it would probably be a hard cast 210-grain SWC. Cast right and loaded with the right powder, that weight bullet is capable of an honest 1500fps from a 6" revolver, or it can be loaded down to ~1000 for comfortable practice, to maintain proficiency. Also, it will shoot through anything you hit with it if loaded to full tilt, and you won't ever wear out the barrel with lead. I personally won't hunt with a jacketed bullet; they are swaged, and rely on the jacket to maintain the soft lead in one piece.

I'd be interested in some of your favorite loads. Right now I have a surplus of 250 gr bullets gas check which I would like to shoot around 1100 fps.

I have yet to hunt with my Ruger Blackhawk in .41 caliber but shooting it at the range demonstrates the awsome power of this round.

I sold my 44 and 45's and just decided to stay with the 41 Cal,and when I wanted a bigger caliber, then up to 475 Cal.
I shoot the SBH Hunter 41 Mag,SBH Hunter 41 GNR and a TC Encore 410GNR,the 41 GNR is a 44 mag necked down to 41,the 410 GNR is a 454Casull necked down to 41.
For comparison, my SBH 41 Mag will do 1450 fps w/255gr WFNGC,SBH 41 GNR will do 1525 fps,TC 410 GNR will do 2000 fps
I cast my own bullets: weights -255gr WFNGC,
305gr WFNGC,325gr WFNGC w/.460 noselength.
The 325gr mould I got Thursday from Dan at mountainmolds.com ,I shoot it in the TC Encore 410 GNR velocities so far go up to 1600 fps in the TC 12" bll using H110 and WC680 powders.

Sean

Sean,
How do you like the 410. I hope to have mine by this fall to try out on deer. I am just concerned with the recoil in the redhawk. I'm thinking of having Gary round off the top of the grip frame to give it more roll.

Hi ,
I like it a lot,accuracy with 210 XTP at 1900 fps is very good 1" at 50 yds,have not tried 100 yds yet.With the heavier cast bullets 305 and 325gr it shoots 2" at 50 ,though I am still working on loads.I will be taking the 410 GNR to Africa in Mar/Apr-06 with Gary.
Considering the weight of the Redhawk ,IMO you should have no problem with recoil.If you put a scope on the redhawk that will add weight and tame recoil even more.
I did notice the Vampyre Slayer as your avatar

Sean

Looks like S&W knows that we are still interested! Blued model 57 Mounatin Gun and a new Scandium frame 4" that is not rediculously light at 28.5 ounces and loaded with the 170 gr. Sierra JHP, might make the defense load the .41 needs, to make a bigger splash. If you want a true Heavyweight, the Hornady 300 gr. .411 bullet designed for the .405 Winchester can be used for those that can make the appropriate loads. That's a pretty good range and if we help make it more popular, we will get even more guns and bullets for the cartridge I started handloading with!

As someone already said , the .41 magnum is much closer in power and performance to the .44 Magnum that the .357 Magnum is to the .41. I've shot .41s and .44s since the early 1970s and now only have .41s left. The recoil to me is just much more pleasant.

If you are a reloader than there is basically no limit to what you can do with the .41 Magnum. Jacketed and cast bullets can be had from 170-300 grains. My favorite loads have been narrowed not so much in the bullet range but the powder used. Unique will do everything from target to fairly warm loads. H110/WW296 takes over from there. H110 is the only powder that one seems to run out of room before one runs into to much pressure, especially in S&W guns. The following loads have been found to be safe in my guns but work up from a few grains below and use a chronograph:

Any 200-230 grain cast or jacketed bulet/8.0 grains of Unique. 925-975 fps from a 4" gun depending on the bullet used.

Any 200-220 grain jacketed or cast bullet/23 grains of H110/WW296. Velocity runs from 1320-1375 from a 5.5" barrel. If one has a TC or a rifle this load also gives 100-250 fps more than factory loads that start out about the same in a short barrel due to the slow burning powder.

Any 220-265 grain cast bulet/22 grains of H110/WW296. Gives mid 1300s with a 5.5" barrel. My favorite is the Cast Performance Bullet Company 255 grain LBT WFNGC. Has the largest meplat of any .41 caliber bullet.

Favorite bullets:

Speer 200 grain JSWCHP. Will do anything well. Not a great expander but can be shot at target velocities and very high velocity. Penetrates like a solid once the nose "burns" off. Cuts a perfectly round hole in target paper like a Keith bullet does.

200 grain Speer Gold Dot HP: Seems to expand well in a wide range of velocity without ever loosing it's jacket. Shot one round out of a .405 Winchester M95 at about 2000 fps and the bullet turned totally inside out when it hit a water jug and the plated on jacket was still there.

170 grain Sierra JHC: Expands very rapily but is an excellent bullet for lung shots on deer.

220-230 Keith bullet: What can one say...

255 grain Cast Performance Bullet Company WFNGC: High quality bullet that will penetrate through most anything. Gary Reeder's favorite bullet for the .41 Magnum.

Bob

RJM, Sounds great, especially the 300 grain .405 Winchester bullet experince. I have also used AA#9 as an alternative to the slower H110 and W-296. results have been very favorable. I started loading the .41 Magnum with Blue Dot and I keep it around, but it see's more use in .357 Magnum these days. I am going to try a new powder that should be beneficial to .41 for loads slightly less than full throttle and that is Ramshot True Blue, which is about in the speed range of VV3N37, IMR 800-X and AA#7. It is a fairly dense ball powder @ 935 grams per liter and the main use will be for high intensity autoloader cartridges, although I do plan to use it in .45 ACP for +P type loads. Ramshot Enforcer is nearly identical to AA#9 in burn rate and should make an excellent .41 Magnum powder!

KLN...I am not sure how the 300 grain Hornady will work from a .41 Magnum....and since it probably will not expand and the pressures will be much higher than a cast bullet of equal weight I wonder if it will be worth reloading especially in a revolver. Since I shoot the .405 Winchester I have a supply of these bullets and one day may try them.

If you want a 300 grain bullet I believe it is either Penn Bullets or Leadhead makes a very nice SSK 300 grain penetrator. Have not tried them in a .41 Magnum yet but have shot them in a TC Contender that was rechambered by Belhm to .41/.445 SuperMag. The round is just like the .41 GNR #2 but has a slightly longer neck and more freebore. Have run this bullet up to 2000 fps...and yes it HURTS to shoot.

As to powders I am just trying to get them down to the minimum number possible so I can buy in bulk and have one lot of powder for a long time. I shoot mainly 9mm, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .38 Super and .41 Magnum. Unique works well in target and midrange loads for the .41 and .357. In the 9mm and .38 Super it works well for high velocity loads also. H110 is excellent for the .41 and .357 HV loads but you are correct in saying that Blue Dot works better in the .357 Magnum.

Bob

Guys, if you are reading this, you are obviously fans of the .41. Having said that, I have a mould from Walt Melander that casts a bullet of ~290 grains, using my alloy. It is the SSK design, and weight is supposed to be 275 grains of pure linotype. (Haven't cast with lino...) I have shot this bullet with 18 grains of H110, and it gave mid-1200s with acceptable pressures. I will send some to try if any of you guys are interested. Send me a private message with email address, and we will talk.

Doubless, Sounds great. SSK has had some heavyweights around for awhile and there is another, but the name doesn't come to mind (NEG?), with weights that went up to 265 grains back in the mid to late 80's.

RJM, I am trying to consolidate powder as well and have been looking at Ramshot True Blue for several years now. BTW, Western Powder Co, who owns Ramshot, also owns Accurate Powders now. In all calibers that True Blue is recommended for, it yields single digit standard deviations with almost all of the bullet weights in each caliber. Now, that won't guarantee accuracy, but when the calibers range from 9mm to .454 Casull, well, it got my attention. I got 4 lbs. delivered last evening and the physical size of the grains is very small like the Accurate powders. Bulk density is high at .935 and it does meter exceptionally. I am going to try it in a number of calibers and starting with .45 ACP, 9mm and .357 Magnum. It is shown to give factory velocity level in the .44 Magnum and although they haven't worked up data, I believe it will work great for .41 as well for mid velocity, up to factory magnum velocity, or the point where you really want the highest velocity. I have been using AA#9 recently for that. Since I am getting on something of a Ramshot kick, I also have X-Terminator to try in .30-30 loads, my next powder may be Enforcer which has about the same burn Rate as AA#9. I think the slightly faster speed is a plus with the slighlty smaller capacity of the .41 vs. the .44 Magnum where H110/W-296, or Lil Gun are still probably the best choices. AA#9 has been very accurate as well. The problem I see with Lil Gun in the .41, is that there may not be enough case capacity to maximize it.

Obviously the 300 grain .405 Winchester bullet (Actual diameter is .411) would not be an everyday load, but with your description of performance at rifle velocity. I think it would penetrate exceptionally and might still provide some expansion and the only reason I would look at it vs. a very heavy cast bullet. The .411 diameter is not a problem unless someone had an overly tight bore, but the cannelure would probably make the load too long for S&W revolvers, unless you trimmed the case appropriately to get an acceptable OAL. I haven't tried it, but in the Ruger Redhawk or Super Blackhawk Hunter, you might be able to roll crimp in the cannelure, if not, shortening the case to get a suitable OAL and working up loads cautiously could be a great option. Of course the heavy cast bullets are great as well.

Something I have done for years that a number of other .41 Magnum reloaders have done is to use the 220 gr. Tournament master from Sierra. Even though it was designed for Silhouette shooting, it will still provide some expansion at magnum velocity.

quote:

SSK has had some heavyweights around for awhile and there is another, but the name doesn't come to mind (NEG?), with weights that went up to 265 grains back in the mid to late 80's.

KLN, I think you and I are on the same page... Are you thinking of NEI? That is the name of the mould company that Walt Melander owns, and it is his mould I talked about earlier.

Thanks Buddy, I was off by two letters, but thought it might be much worse! NEI bullets were the first I ever saw in really heavy weights for the .41. They were not extremely hard like the Oregon Trail, but I think you covered all that already. Not only are we on the same page, we're in the same state! .41 Magnum was the round I started reloading with and while I shoot many different rounds, if I could only have one magnum, it would be the .41!

KLN...you may have taken what I said wrong. The bullet that I shot from the .405 Winchester that turned inside-out in the water jug was the 210 grain Speer Gold Dot HP. The 300 grain Hornady will probably need at least 1500 fps IMPACT velocity to expand at all....and a muzzle velocity like that from a revolver is unlikely.
If you want a jacketed bullet that heavy that will be a correct .410 and the crimping groove in the right place and is a 100% lead bonded to the jacket then there is a company that makes them....I just have to remember who it is. There is also a company Shell Reloading http://www.obsoleteammo.com that makes specialty bullets and ammo. I just got some 400 grain bullets for the .405 Winchester and they look beautiful. He may also have jacketed bullets in .41 Magnum much heavier than when is available.
Another reason I am using Unique is cost. By buying in case lots I can still get Unique for just over $10.00 a pound. I shoot 1000+- rounds of just .38 Super a month and just have to use 7 grains per round/1000 rounds to the pound. And that is for top end loads. Unique can also be used in shotgun loads and reduced rifle loads. That is probably why they called it "Unique"...it will do most anything and do it well.

Bob

Thanks RJM, yeah, I did think that you were referring to the 300 grain .405 Winchester, but no matter, if the .411 bullet could be pushed to a very possible 1250 FPS, possibly higher, I believe there would be a small amount of expansion after contact with bone. The .411 diameter is not that big a deterrent from an actual .410 bore, but a load like this would require strict attention to detail. A cannelure tool would set things right for any brand of handgun with a proper bore, without trimming, it would however make life easier, for Ruger shooters anyway, if the load would still be acceptable length without any modification and crimping in the cannelure. I have not tried it, but it looks like that method would still make for an overlength cartridge. Hence, the trimming modification. This is not a load I would shoot often, because of cost. If it did however show even slight expansion, it could be worthwile for hunting in the .41 Mag. Until we actually try it, everything is mostly speculation anyway.

The True Blue cost $50.99 for four ponds from Graf and that makes it $12.75 a pound. Of course there is Haz-Mat on top of that, but not at sufficient quantity, four pounds is enough for me to really wring it out and ordering primers with the powder makes the Haz-Mat a little easier to swallow.

I understand your satisfaction with Unique. I am using True Blue for handguns only. I used to use Alliant/Hercules powders much more than I do today, but I got into defenseive ammo loading and night testing and found that the denser ball powders can reduce muzzle flash when they are near the same burn rate and there are a few that excell at both low flash and high velocity. Up until now, we have never really had a ball powder option that would load cartridges across the board and be so effective potentially in all of them. True Blue is also a high density powder that is very fine grained. I won't say it will flow like sand, because it is finer than some forms of granular sand. If we're talking about an hourglass though, I'd say they're comporable. Another advantage of some ball powders in autoloading pistol cartridges is that 100% or slightly compressed loads will prevent bullet setback from occuring because the bullet literally has no place to go. I know that this may not be a concern for you because of experience, but for newer handloaders among us, it is a worthwile consideration. I recommend high density loads to newer shooters also because of the lower probablilty for double-charging, especially with progressive equipment and such. I still load on a REDDING single stage, so I have the ability to inspect cases individually, as well as being able to do other things during the process that many don't feel a need to. So, what I am looking for, is a Ball powder that will cover the requirements I have and True Blue looks very promising and if it does load all my handgun cartridges as well as it is supposed to with accuracy and single digit standard deviation in all of them, well that's why they named it True Blue!

True Blue sounds pretty good and all your reasons for using it are sound.

Look over on the AuctionArms.com site. Punch in .41 magnum and you will find a guy selling 305 grain bullets made for the .41 Magnum. I am going to order some next week.


These have a very large meplat unline the 300 grain SSK bullets I now have. These should breal bones rather than expand....

Bob

Unique sure is some dirty burning powder...

Everyone keeps saying that Unique is "dirty" but I guess I just don't understand it. I've use at least 10 different handgun powders over the years and don't find it any dirtier than anything else. Also they just changed the fomula last year to make it "less" dirty so you might give it another try.

To me the dirtiest powder going is 2400 which seems to be the classic darling...It leave lots of unburned powder in the cylinder and barrel....

Bob

Sorry I'm off topic but...

RJM,

I do not shoot many pistols. I generally shoot centerfire rifles loaded with Varget powder which in my opinion burns comparatively clean to most of the other powders I have tried. As I just went out and put 60+ rounds through my .357 which was loaded with Unique and which left a black sooty residue all over my hands, the revolver forward of the cylinder, and the sand bag I was using to aid my load work-ups, I'm inclined to believe Unique burns dirty. It could be a clean burning pistol powder; I wouldn't know as I again, I don't shoot pistols much.

Now, having said that, this powder was old and I do have a pound of Unique on the way so I'll give it a whirl and see how it shoots. Clean or dirty, it shoots well in my Model 19 so I think I'm going to stick with it. I'm just not to used to that black sooty reside...

Reading this post has led me to add a S&W .41 Mag to the want list. It may take a while, but I'll get one sooner or later.

Thanks all,

Tex

Having great success with the True Blue. To data I have loaded a 9mm +P type load. Flash is very low at about the size of a baseball in the dark. I also trim .357 Magnum brass to .38 Sp. length for very high velocity Snub and 7 shooter loads to enhance speedloading and decrease extraction problems with the thinner cylinder walls. I have now loaded 6 different .45 ACP loads with it as well, from 185 gr. wadcutters to +P 185 gr loads with the Rem. Golden Saber. This powder is unbelievable. I got some Oregon Trail 200 gr. SWCs recently and my first load with 7.0 grs. of True Blue, got me several cloverleaf groups.

The reason I am mentioning it here is because I plan to use it for the magnum revolvers when velocities will be lower than factory magnum level. There is already some good data for .357 and .44 Magnum. When Western Powder Co. purchased Accurate Powder Co. they also got Accurate's ballistician and he is now in the process of reworking all of the Ramshot data and I expect we will see .41 Magnum data up to the 1400 FPS level.

I don't know if this powder will ever be used for shotgun loads, but short of that, it is a slower ball type powder that does some things that many use Unique for. The difference being, you can achieve higher velocities at lower pressure. I checked with Ramshot and confirmed that this is a Target grade powder from Belgium and is actually sold under several different labels in other parts of Europe. In my Short Magnum .357 loads, I had pretty much settled in with AA#7 and VV 3N37 for short barreled revolvers like my wifes 3" model 65 Ladysmith and my 3" Ruger SP-101. I will now go to True Blue and lower charge weight loads are still outstanding. In .45 ACP it behaves like a faster burning propellant and so far, accuracy has been amazing.

I now have visions of a tackdriving .41 magnum load at 1200-1250 FPS with a good 210 gr. SWC and if I decide to drop them down to 1000 FPS, or up to say 1350 FPS, I believe I have found the perfect powder for it. Did I mention it is also very clean burning?

Okay, Okay, I'll stop now with a final comment. I really believe that this is the powder that will reduce my inventory from the 8 or 9, I now have to 2 or 3 depending on which magnum powder you need for the ultimate power loads. Right now AA#9 is working pretty well for me in .41 Magnum, but Ramshot has another Belgian powder called Enforcer that is almost identical in burn rate and both are just a bit quicker than W296/H110 burn rate and I think ideal for the .41 Magnum. Btw, I have tried another Ramshot powder for .30-30 loads my shooting partner uses for what we in Texas call a "truck Gun". I had been using the old standby W748 and got a pound of Ramshot X-Terminator and my first loads with the same 150 gr. Rem Core-Lokt were more accurate than the 748 loads at around 2100 FPS. Take a look guys!

For those out there using south African Powders
W-W brass, CCI magnum large pistol primers, S&W M58 revolver.

220grn TMJ 18.5grns S265 = 1161fps
220grn TMJ 19.5grns S265 = 1220fps
220grn SWC 18.5grns S241 = 1220fps nb 19grns gives same performance so top load with this powder.
170grn JHP 21grns S241 = 1440fps

S251 was a disaster- got odd pressure spikes and case head seperation at velocities of 1100fps with cast 220grn bullets.

W-W cases, CCI standard large pistol primers. M58 Revolver
170grn JHP 10.5grns MP200 = 1220fps with little muzzel flash.
220grn SWC 9grns MP200 = 1100fps
172grn SWC 7.8grns MS200 = 960 fps (clean burn IPSC load)

I love my 6" S&W Model 57. I've fed it reloads for 30 years. It's dumped whitetail, mule deer, javelina, jackrabbits, turkey, axis, sika, etc.

My success has been like mstarling..bang..dead.

My favorite .41 memory was my first a mule deer buck with a pistol back in the late 60s with a Ruger Blackhawk.

My next favorite .41 experience was three goblers out of a flock of five, in three shots with the Model 57.

I scoped it a few years ago and it's more deadly than ever.

Just got back from two weeks away and awaiting me on return was some 230 grain Keith bullets from Leadhead Bullets and some real cast for a .41 Magnum 305 grain bullets. Had a chance to load some of the 230s tonight with 8 grains of Unique and will try them tomorrow. Hope to try some of the 305 grain bullets later in the week. These have the LBT designed nose that has a .32 meplat and should hit harder than the SSK design. I also ordered some 305 grain bullets from another guy on AuctionArms.com and there is another guy who has 350 grain .41 bullets that I plan on trying...If these can be run to at least 1000 fps nothing should stop them...

Bob

RJM, please post your results with the 350s. I have a hunch the twist in the .41 is going to be too slow to stabilize that heavy a bullet, but I may be very wrong... My own experience is that even the 290 that I cast leaves something to be desired for accuracy. Close enough, say 40 yards or so, it is fine, but much past that it is going to open up. The twist just isn't fast enough, unless you are shooting a FA. Their 1 in 14 will take care of any of them....

When I order the 350s I will post something.... Did shoot the 230 grain Keiths style bullets today. With a load of 8 grains of Unique they were very accurate. One three shot group kneeling went 1.5" at 50 yards from a S&W Mountain Gun.

Hope to do some loading of the 305 grain bulets tonight.

Bob

Reloaded 3 different 305 grain .41 bullets last night. Two were LBT designs that were just slightly different and both were gaschecked. That last was some of the older SSK designed bullets. The SSK is more a TC style and much smaller meplat than the LBT designs...all three were loaded behind 19 grains of H110 and will be initially fired from a FAs 5 shot...then maybe one of the rifles.
Will hopefully get to the range to shoot and chronograph the loads.

Bob

Sorry not to have any new loads to offer. I used 10 grains of Unique and a good hard cast bullet at 1300 fps nominal. I also shoot "small game" like deer with Winchester 170 grain Silvertips. I'd think a soft point or hollow point with Lil'Gun might be a modern choice, along with Blue Dot and of course 2400. The 170 to 210 grain stuff seemed to be perfectly OK, but with the super-heavy weights out there now, check the bullet manufacture's load data.

Raining and cloudy today so no chronographing....Bob

I took a real nice 8 point whitetail with my 8 3/8" Smith & Wesson 57 with a Weaver 2x scope using Hornady 210 XTP bullets. 1 shot was all that was needed.Love the gun but currently fascinated with a .480 Ruger Super Redhawk but the .41 will always go .

K...could you tell us a little more about the shot. How far, where the deer was hit, penetration/expansion and how far did the deer go.

Thanks...Bob

It happened so quickly I couldn't use the range finder but my estimate was 60-65 yards. He was standing somewhat quartering broadside. I aimed for the heart , lung area and that's were I was lucky enough to hit him. He went down real hard but got up quickly and ran about 45 yards into some heavy cover and I gave him 20 minuets and he died. When I opened him up the he was full of blood in his chest cavity. Bullet performance was great.I will try to add a picture if I can figure out how.

Well I went out...and there was a problem because I didn't bother to check something before I reloaded the bullets. Turns out the diameter of the area ahead of the crip groove on both bullets was .4115-.412"....they wouldn't fit in the FA M83, Gary Reeder Custom, a Ruger Bisley or even a S&W M58. There were two different LBT style bullets from two different casters. I was able to find 3 of the one style with the longer nose that fit in the FAs chambers.

With 19 grains of H110 from a 6" barrel they ran: 1343/1345/1345. Three SSk 305 grain rounds (that ran in everything just fine) were 1388/1387/1392. Those six rounds made a 1/2" circle at 50'. 2 fps spread! 5 fps spread!

In the 16.5" Marlin LTD barrel they ran:
Short nose LBT: 1445/1445/1446
Long nose LBT: 1525/1488/1471
SSK: 1575/1541/1574

Although not a "very heavy" I also shot the Cast Performance Bullet Co. 255 grain gas check that is one of my favotite bullets.
22 grains of H110/WW Case/WW LP primer:
5.5" gary Reeder Custom: 1350/1347/1361
M58 4": 1363/1367/1373
Bisley 7.5": 1417/1433/1420
FA83 6" MagnaPort: 1346/1377/1344
Marlin LTD 16.5":1454/1433/1460/1437/1445
(DO NOT ASK ME WHY A S&W M58 WITH A 4" BARREL OUT SHOT THE FA83. I just bought the M58 a few weeks ago and whoever made this one made it right...)

In the notebook that I wrote this information in there was a chrono session from several years ago with the Reeder Custom and the same 255 load, but a different batch... 1344/1352/1346/1346/1385....so I know at least that the Competition Electronics chronograph is still as accurate/consistant as it gets.

One last bullet I had was the Penn Bullet Company 230 grain Keith. This was a new batch that was .4105 and will fit in everything but the FA83. With 22 grains of H110 5 rounds averaged 1380 fps but I didn't write down each round on that one. Spread was about 40 fps as I recall and this was from the 5.5" Reeder Custom.

There were no pressure sighs at all from any of the loads and extraction was easy, even with 6 at a time from the M58.

Bob

PS...just got an email from the one caster who's buulets would only shoot in the Marlin. He has two dies...one for .410-.4105 and the other is .411-.4115"..guess which ones I got. Only bought one box so next time I will get the smaller bullet.

RJM, I cast for the .41, and have for almost 20 years. I am always perplexed by these guys that offer commercial hard cast at .411" diameter. In my experience, that is .001" too large. Everything I cast for the .41 goes through a .410" Star sizer, and I have yet to have a problem with loading them in anything, even up to and including the Model 654 FA.

If you want to try some of my bullets, PM me... I have a 220-grain H&G mould that is the authentic Keith style, including the square grease groove.