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Recently went to my FFL to start the DROS (and 10 day wait) on a 41 magnum python (conversion done by Jack Huntington) I picked up recently.
I talked to Huntington on the phone today and he asserted that I can 1000 fps loads down it all day long without doing any damage. We're about ready to test that theory: Bullets, dies, brass, and the 650 caliber convesion all arived this week. Only thing left is the end of the 10 day wait.
The additional good news is that (1) it is indeed 41 mag and (2) the seller did send it.
The bad news is that the guy seemed to have stored it in his glove box for an extended off road rally race (perhaps a decade long one). There are numerous scratches. It's extremely extremely irritating. I can perhaps sympathize with a single scratch (e.g., the gun rack breaks and the python falls) but so 5 or 10 is symptomatic of a serious problem. The guy is going through a divorce so perhaps his wife dragged it through the mud. Also the grips have silver medallions.
In any case, here's some quick photos. Lightings not that great. The scratches are actually less bad in person. But still!
Hopefully the thing will hold up under modest loads. From the shell plate doesn't look like the guy fired it much. (He claimed 6 rounds, which I can believe.)
For those that don't know, dfariswheel has an excellent post on (paraphrasing) why a colt python in 41 magnum is stupid:
http://forums.1911forum.com/showpost.php?p=1975569&postcount=2
But, I just couldn't help myself and bought one anyway and currently it's at my FFL. However, there are extenuating circumstances!
It's a conversion done by Jack Hungtington:
http://www.jrhgunmaker.com/
He does a lot of work on freedom arms and according to the people I've talked to is very highly regarded. I called him on the phone about this and his view is that 1,000 fps 41 mag loads will be fine in it. He stated he worked at colt for a few years before starting his own shop and that he's worked on around 2,000 pythons. I am taking him at his word. He runs his own shop with 5 guys, so sounds like he is relatively respectable.
So, excuse #1: He lives close enough to me so that if the gun breaks I can drive over and throw it at his shop.
Excuse #2: he did action work on it, and I'd like to take it apart and see what he did. He's supposedly very good, though Grant C does not know who he is, which is a bit worrying.
We shall see how things go. I'm not very proud of being so frivolous with money, but it will be an interesting gun and hopefully educational. I also have an extra NOS barrel and cylinder so in theory I can just convert it back to .357 as a "rescue" operation if need be. (Assuming shooting doesn't quickly damage the frame or kill the shooter, of course)
In any case I'll be: (1) running light loads, (2) measuring measure the barrel / cylinder gap every trip, (3) keeping an eye out for peening, forcing cone issues , or cracks in the frame.
I don't even push my 357 pythons. They don't make frames no more and that steel seems pretty soft. It's always midrange loads and I've switched to lead bullets to be easier on the barrel.
Funny enough on the day I paid for it, Grant Cunningham was talking about the 41 special in his blog:
http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_files/f57f295a776fd50568d342158a004b7d-530.html
He references this article, which looks like it may come in handy:
http://www.reloadingroom.com/index_files/41%20Special.htm
Must be fate!
So it's about $160 for a dillon 650 caliber conversion + dies, about $70 for 500 starline cases, around $117 for 1000 lasercast 215gr bullets. Adds up pretty quick! Now I remember why I was reluctant to have too many calibers in the past...
Just won an amazing looking officer's model special (OMS). It was not cheap. But has Roy Fishpaw grips (which I very rarely see for sale) and a Sherman roller bearing action, which I've been wanting to dissect. In my weirdo world it's well worth what it cost; I'm more excited about this gun than any in a long time.
Hasn't even been shipped to my FFL yet, so no inspection, but the seller has good ratings. Expectations are high...
I recently went a bit overboard buying OMSes ("officer model specials") off of random forums, sometimes GB, and once a mislabeled auction arms auction (a typo of "OMT" versus "OMS" probably cost the guy a couple hundred dollars).
These are mostly shooter grade, which is good. Two .22lrs, the other 5 are 38spl. The one with the jeweled hammer has a un-$*&#@&7!!$-believable action. Unfortunately the guy who built it died a decade ago, otherwise I would send the rest to him. Easily beats almost all of my pythons.
If you haven't got an OMS I'd recommend it! It may be the placebo effect but to me they feel much silkier than officer model matches (which shouldn't be the cscase), more like weird looking pythons. They are also all C&R for those of you with such FFLs.
Unfortunately, after this initial run I've seen very few for sale. And, oddly, most were 22lr rather than 38spl, despite the big difference in quantity produced.
