Smith & Wesson Model 41

[Rick in Oregon]

Wolf: If she was that dirty and grimy, chances are you won't even have to install any different springs, as now that she's clean, she'll probably shoot like the throughbred she is, and not need any dinking around with internals.

I trust you know how to disassemble the weapon for proper cleaning, right? Not trying to be rude or condesending, but let me know if the procedure is not familiar to you.

These pistols are not plinkers and have fairly tight tolerances, so when dirty and full of crud, just like a race car, they don't run to full potential.

Sidebar: Take the faithful Ruger MK-I's, II's, and III's for instance. Good pistols to be sure, and they'll shoot no matter how filthy they get. Massad Ayoob has an old MK-I 5.5" bull barrel that he got back in the late 60's, and he uses it for his beater and loaner pistol. To date it's had over 100K rounds through it, and HE'S NEVER CLEANED IT ONCE! The thing still shoots like a house afire. This came about by accident, then turned into an experiment to see just how long the thing would function without cleaning. Truly amazing, at least to me.

[Squatting Wolf]

Dang that is a lot of rounds without cleaning! Wow that is amazing indeed. My buddy has a MKII competition which I got to shoot a few weeks ago. That got me thinking I needed a new .22 rimfire. I had a MKIII Competition in my right hand while my left was reaching for my wallet but for some reason I held off. Two weeks later this 41 came about! With all due respect to Ruger and the Mark I, II and III series pistols, this S&W model 41 is on a whole new level.

As far as disassembling and reassembing the 41, I downloaded the manual from S&W and found a couple exploded views online. If you have an additional documentation or pointers that you would like to share, that would be great! I am always open to advice.

I have a feeling you are right about the spring kit, now that she's cleaned and oiled up, I have a feeling she'll perform much better. Either way for 17 bucks I have it if I need it.

[Squatting Wolf]

Here's a couple pictures of the 41...













I'm taking her out this weekend, I can't wait. I also worked up some loads with 35 grain Bergers and Benchmark so i'll be taking the LRPV with my as well!

[Squatting Wolf]

A good cleaning was all she needed. I fired off 300 rounds without an issue. I also tried some different ammo (Federal Auto Match). It seemed to work very well. The next time out I'll be trying some Power Points to see how they perform.