41 SPECIAL

The 41 Special is a shortened version of the 41 Magnum, in the same vein as the 44 Special is a lighter version of the 44 Magnum. With the development of the 41 Magnum in 1964, the idea was to have two different strength loadings for law enforcement and civilian use but, unlike the 38 Special and 44 Special, the lighter police loading was loaded in full length 41 Magnum cases. The 41 Magnum never caught on with law enforcement agencies and the loads were dropped from production. The idea was resurrected in the late 1980’s by custom pistolsmith Hamilton Bowen for a custom built Ruger Speed-Six revolver.