??'s for crawfish and Joe Mack!

[De41mag]

OK fellas here is the questions for you;

Do either one of you two own a FA 41mag. in either the Model 83 or 97?
I've just bought a FA 44 Spl. w/ a 5-1/2" barrel and love the heck out of it.
And my plans are to get another one by years end.
Now Joe Mack (Brian) chewed me out for not buying a 41mag. Which he had good reason to with a name like De41mag, and buying a 44 Spl.
But when a friend of mine bought a Mod. 83 at the same time I bought mine, with the help of Greybeard if I might add. His factory group was just over the bullet dia. for five shots. His was a 44mag.
So I'm leaning toward a 44 mag. but also a 41 in a Mod 97 would be nice also. Same barrel length and same size or go for the Mod 83 in a 7-1/2" barrel and put a scope on it.
How do you two feel, espacially if you have a 41 in a Freedom Arms.
Thanks.

Dennis  

[JOE MACK]

As a matter of fact, I do. I have an 83 with a 6 inch barrel in .41Magnum and a 97 with a 5.5 inch barrel in .41Magnum. They are both just accurate as heck. I only scope T/Cs and my Ruger Redhawks that have integral ring cuts on the 7.5 inch barrel. To me, scopes that are frame mounted sit up high and are a real PITA. Just my opinion, YMMV.

[crawfish]

I have a two that live in my arms room but nether belongs to me. My son#2 has a 97 5.5” in .41RemMag and there is a NIB 83 field 6” in .41RemMag that is a birthday gift for my granddaughter’s 17th in April. I shoot my son’s 97 a bit but since it is naked I don’t do that very often. I really need to have glass on my guns because of my eyesight. My granddaughter used the 97 last season for a few pigs and liked the iron sights and said that she would maybe like to hunt that way for a while. Her 657 and Ruger BH both are scoped so I got her this 83. As for a scope I just couldn’t bring myself to consider a scope for a FA so that leaves me out as having one. I like the feel, carry, and operation of the 97 and the 83 fits my hand to a “T” but…..  I won’t even suggest which caliber, as I’m very biased toward the .41RemMag augh what the heck GET THE .41.

[De41mag]

Brian and crawfish;

Thank you very much on your opinions.  
And what you've said about mounting a scope on the frame where the rear sight is, makes a lot of sense.
Now I'm begining to lean toward the 97 in the 41 for the simple fact that having another FA with the same size as my 44 Spl. only in a 41 sounds very appealing and at $300.00 less than a 83 also looks very good.
Another question is what bullets are you shooting out of your 97's? To me I think I would like to shoot 210 jacketed or maybe the 215gr. cast is the max bullet weight I want to go. Jumping up to the 250 grainers or the 270 grainers seems a little steep for that size of handgun.
What do ya'll think???
Thanks for the replys.

Dennis  

[JOE MACK]

Brian and crawfish;

Thank you very much on your opinions.  
And what you've said about mounting a scope on the frame where the rear sight is, makes a lot of sense.
Now I'm begining to lean toward the 97 in the 41 for the simple fact that having another FA with the same size as my 44 Spl. only in a 41 sounds very appealing and at $300.00 less than a 83 also looks very good.
Another question is what bullets are you shooting out of your 97's? To me I think I would like to shoot 210 jacketed or maybe the 215gr. cast is the max bullet weight I want to go. Jumping up to the 250 grainers or the 270 grainers seems a little steep for that size of handgun.
What do ya'll think???
Thanks for the replys.

Dennis  

Dennis,
I use a 215grSWC that I cast myself so it's pretty hard. The 97 doesn't have a real long cylinder. Can't remember OAL and don't have my database at work. LAH makes a real nice 230gr. Keith bullet that shoots real well in my 97. I don't shoot many jacketed .41 bullets out of my revolvers.  :wink:

[crawfish]

There are a bunch of very good 210g jacketed bullets out there. I mostly shoot a Sierra, but I also load Speer and Hornady bullets. If all you plan on doing is fun shooting and deer the 210g JHP, GD, or XTP is really all you need. I load a 251g lead Keith style bullet made by STAR Bullets. I like that one as a carry load and also use it with very light loads of BullsEye to introduce new shooters to handguns. As for the 250g+ bullets; that 97 will eat them all day and ask for more. Heck my BHs’ do alright shooting them and that 5 shooter FA won’t have a problem. But truthfully unless you are going to hunt big big game like elk, moose, buffalo or really big 350lbs+ piggies you don’t need those 250s’. Gary Reeder routinely kills elk with a .41 caliber wildcat (.41GNR) loaded with the Sierra 170g bullet.

[De41mag]

Brian and crawfish;

Yup, the smaller 97 is going to be the ticket in the 41. I heard the 41 has a 1 in 14" twist. So larger bullets will stabilize in the gun. But I keep a good supply of the Sierra 170's and I've got about 1500 to 1600 of the 215gr SWC from Leadheads around here also. Also have several boxes of the Speer 210 GDHP.
I'm not recoil sensitive, but after twenty years + of shootiing the magnums, I just want ot tone it down a bit. As we know, the 41 will do anything we need it to.
Again, it sounds good not putting a scope on the gun. The smaller frame and not having to buy a scope.
You know... I find myself shooting my Marlins more and more and niether one of them have a scope on them. Just ruins the handling quality of the rifles.
So THANKS a bunch for your help, both of you. Your knowlage has been well taken.

Dennis