OP, glad you got a replacement barrel from S&W repair shop. I had issues with both of my 41's. One was made in 86, traded that for one made in 2019, what a POS.

My thoughts might be a mute point since you are getting a new barrel.

After reading all 4 pages, which had tons of great info, I learned quite a bit, but didn't see anyone post about breaking in the barrel. Yes, use different ammo, but not breaking in the barrel.

When you get your new barrel, put the 41 back to factory. (factory springs, etc). Run 100 rds or so of CCI mini-mags. Then try the CCI SV. The feed ramp on the new barrel will probably be blued, so might want to use some Flitz.

Do the plop test to make sure everything is chambering correctly.

The newer 41 still had issues (stovepipes mainly) after the breaking-in, ended up sending the barrel to my Brother who's a gunsmith, and now it runs like a raped ape. YMMV.

Just my .02

Best of luck on the Championship.

 

Thumb Hole

In the past 8 years I have purchased two new Model 41's (one a Performance Center) The both key holed with CCI Standard velocity ammo. I replaced both barrels with Clark models and there was no problem. The key hole problem may be in poorly machined barrels esp. the crown.

 

In the past 8 years I have purchased two new Model 41's (one a Performance Center) The both key holed with CCI Standard velocity ammo. I replaced both barrels with Clark models and there was no problem. The key hole problem may be in poorly machined barrels esp. the crown.[/QUOT

Did the OEM barrel keyhole with other brands of ammo? I really think my keyholing is from bullets being damaged entering the chamber...

 

So I cycled 5 Club manually and got some damage at the top of the round on 3 of them, that is it I thought. So I cycled 5 CCI sv and got the same slight damage. Maybe its the velocity of the Club is not enough to stabilize the bullet. Shooting a 10 shot group of the Club, 5 or so will be on target and 5 will be 4 or 5 inches low consistanly low on the flyers.

 

https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=280235&stc=1&d=1639934232

 

Is someone currently having a bullet tumbling problem, I just noticed that this thread is six years old..

 

I noticed that too... One thing that was repeatedly mentioned early in this thread was cleaning, cleaning, cleaning... I'd venture that a lot of guns were ruined in the cleaning process.

My 41 is 40 years old (I bought it new as my first handgun) and it had a lot of use the first 7-8 years I had it... then life got in the way for a while. Still, it's got 100K+ rounds through it. It wears the factory iron sights only, never had optics of any kind on it. I shot a lot of Remington Target ammo in the early days but it seemingly disappeared from the market and I stopped looking for it.

Mine shoots well... I shot bullseye the first year I had it in a club near my college. The reigning state pistol champion was in the club. Almost everybody had High Standards... one guy had a Ruger. Me... I wasn't from there and showed up with a S&W... they still let me in. I used to regularly plink soda cans with it at 100-130 yards. Hitting aspirin or empty .22 LR cases at about 7 yards was common.

Probably the best $280 I ever spent in terms of enjoyment.

 

Reply

I tried Federal target grade performance long rifle and mini mag CCI (using a recoil buffer) and still had problems. On this site many years ago it was suggested that the crown of the barrel was not machined correctly and detailed advice about how to correct the problem. I am elderly and shoot to help balance problems and did not have the skills to correct the problem.

 

I just looked at my model 41 barrel, (not a good shooter), which I bought new shortly after the 2020 election, I used a magnifying glass. Then I looked at my Clark barrel. The S&W crown is pretty sloppy.

Just e-mailed a repair facility in TX to see if they can re-crown it for me.

 

I bought my 41 new in 1982.

If too much oil or wax works it way inside of the bolt you will have ejection problems.

It will hold spent powder and will restrict extractor SPRING movement.

I never use oil near my 41 bolt. I use Otis dry lube on the bolt face.

The bolt should be removed and cleaned at least every 1,000 rounds. You wouldn't believe how much crud you'll get out of the spring area of the extractor and firing pin.

https://guntalk-online.com/Model41maintenance.htm

 

When a pistol starts shooting keyholes it is almost always leading. Leading can come on in a half dozen shots and sometimes you don't see it well. I've found that a hard paper patch pushed through will remove the lead. it will come out in pieces. If it doesn't you havened removed it and a few more shots and it is back screwing up your shots.22 bullets are swaged from very soft lead and the wax serves a purpose, keeping the lead out of the bore. You can brush a bore to death trying to remove the lead.

 

First off, bullets don't tumble, they yaw. They will also spiral in flight. You will never see one hit base first. The keyhole is caused by the tip hitting the target in different area than the base. The bullet acts like a gyroscope to keep it on target.
Now lets look at the OP's problem. It won't shoot CCI standard velocity and the bullets keyhole.
What the Op needs to do, is to examine a round that is chambered from the magazine and see if the bullet is damaged when being chambered. The mouth of the chamber or even the magazine, might be removing lead from the bullet. It might be due to the bullet design. I know that CCI standard fits tight in match rifle chambers. So the OP needs to chamber and extract a full magazine and see if there is any damage to the bullets. DO THIS IN A SAFE AREA. Don't want holes in the wife's house!!!!

I had the same problem with a 41. CcI bullets were getting shaved when chambered . The. Gun would not pass the plop test with CcI . polishing the chamber with a bore mop and JB paste chucked to a drill helped a lot . I took out very little so the rounds would freely drop out of the barrel . Problem solved .

 

Tumbling, or keyholing, is caused by there being insufficient spin on the bullet; and as there is pretty short list of possible cause, figuring out the problem should be fairly manageable.

Once you''ve eliminated worn lands, lead build-up, and bullet 'shaving,' about all that is left is a defective crown. Check for deformations left by poor machining and/or mechanical abuse. A bore scope might help firm-up a diagnosis if you've got one.