.41 Mag for Deer Hunting

Uncle Duke said:

I am jealous of your Henry .41 magnum carbine. I'm going to guess that you may have one of the last ones to be made in that chambering. Remind me to hate you!

I have not used that specific bullet, and my .41 mag hunting use has been handgun. But I certainly wouldn't hesitate to use your mentioned combination on deer. I would expect some expansion, with likely through and through penetration with a JSP out of that carbine.

Good luck! Let us know how that combo performs if you're able. There are a handful of .41 fans here.

Click to expand...

kmittleman said:

I just checked their website - looks like it’s still being offered (?)

Click to expand...

pre64hunter said:

My brother and I both shot big wild boar with the 41 magnum using handguns, his a Ruger Blackhawk and mine a S&W 57. I was with him watching, both were about 200 pounds about 35 yards. Boars are tough and it was like shooting into a bag of sand. He hit his four or five times, the first couple through the snout, then the shoulders, he emptied his gun and I handed him mine for a final kill shot. Mine I hit square through the shoulder, he turned to run and the guide said you missed, I hit him again through the opposite shoulder, then hit a front leg where he fell and died. We were using Speer bullets, I think 210 gr. My other brother and cousin used 44 magnum handguns with Sierra bullet. The half jacket Speers lost their nose and stuck under the hide far side. The Sierras mushroomed perfectly. My other cousin shot his with a 45 caliber Ruger Old Army cap and ball revolver, four or five shots stopped it and killed it.
Your 41 magnum in a carbine should be fine, it won't ruin much meat but you'd better hit him square and not too far.

Click to expand...

kmittleman said:

Hi all,

I have a Henry carbine in .41 mag and since I actually have ammo for it, I was thinking about using it on deer next month. I plan on using the Remington 210 gr JSP HTP’s.

Have any of you used these or anything similar on deer? If so, how did they perform ?

Thanks!

K

Click to expand...

Bisleyfan44 said:

I've used the Rem 210 JSPs from a 6.5" Blackhawk to take a few deer and they worked well. I assume from a carbine barrel they'd do fine. Prior to the WuFlu, TargetSportsUSA had 99+ boxes of this load in stock for $19.99/50. Ah, the good 'ol days....

Click to expand...

kmittleman said:

Cool! Yes I bought one of the last cases from them. Did you get through and through penetration? How was the blood trail?

K

Click to expand...

Bisleyfan44 said:

All of them penetrated fully. I wasn't necessarily impressed by the exit holes, almost like very little expansion. But then I didn't really hit significant bones either.

The blood trails were better from those I shot from a treestand, but that's to be expected when the exit hole is low on the body. But none were too hard to find or follow. All my shots were under 30 yards, farthest run was maybe 75 yards or so.

This may seem weird, but in my experience I havent noticed a whole lot of difference in "killing power" between the 45 Colt, 44, 41, or 357 mags on deer. Properly placed bullets of good design and construction seem to work well, regardless of caliber, weight, or velocity.

Click to expand...

kmittleman said:

Thanks so much for the response. As for the various calibers, were they all handguns or fired out of rifles ? I ask because I’ve been thinking about using a .357 revolver with Buffalo Bore ammo at some point. I figured that combo, try to stay within bow hunting limits and it should work.

Click to expand...