Smith and Wesson .41 Magnum

Many claim that the gun Eastwood uses in Dirty Harry is actually a .41 Magnum, although the difference isn't noticeable onscreen.  Considering that the Magnums were created from parts for the film, it's quite possible.

Introduced in 1964 in the Smith & Wesson Model 57 revolver, the .41 Magnum was originally conceived as the ideal cartridge for law enforcement use. Two factory loadings were developed by Remington, one for general police duty, the other for use by state troopers who needed more power and greater penetration. The police load consisted of a 210 grain lead bullet at 1150 fps while the high velocity load featured a jacketed soft point bullet of the same weight at 1500 fps.

In law enforcement circles, the .41 Magnum proved to be less than successful, but as hunting cartridges designed by a major manufacturer to be used in revolvers go, it is second only in power and popularity to .44 Magnum. In addition to the Smith & Wesson revolver, the .41 Magnum chambering is available in the Ruger Blackhawk and Redhawk, and in the Desert Eagle gas operated autoloader.

As a big game cartridge, the .41 Magnum has always played second fiddle to the slightly more powerful .44 Magnum, but when both are used on deer size game, the difference in their performance is not great enough to write home about. This probably does not hold true when larger game, such as moose and elk at woods ranges, is on the agenda which is a moot point since only a few hunters use revolvers on game that size.

A number of excellent jacketed and cast bullets weighing from 170 to 210 grains are available for the .41 Magnum. Full throttle hunting loads call for the use of H110, but for plinking and paper punching with reduced velocity loads, HS6 and HS7 are the correct propellants.