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[357survival]

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[JWRobinson]

I'm a .41 Mag nut and as much as I'd like the .41 Ruger I'd be concerned about the thinner chamber walls after that modification if reboring/chambering a .357. You could probably get a .41 barrel made but it would be pricey. I have a couple IMI Timberwolf Carbines and if I win the lottery I'll have the .44 converted to .41. Have you considered a Marlin lever action? They made a few in .41 mag and you can probably still find one for a lot less then it would cost you to buy/convert another rifle.

 

[daizee]

I think the .357 will be a better rifle than the .41 due to the relative powder to bore volume.
You'll get way more velocity from the .357, and a rifle is for longer ranges which means you want velocity. Also, a smaller diameter tends to mean better aerodynamics. You can push 180gr .357 handloads pretty fast out of a rifle, or go with 158's or the leverevolution's for longer range... Keep the .41 as a pistol round - it's awesome for that. That's my opinion.

Would a .41 rifle be cool? hells yeah. Better than other options? eh.
Might as well have one gun of your pair at hand that takes easily found factory ammo...

 

[357survival]

I would think that the .357 and the .44 that ruger makes are both milled from the same size blank. if that is the case, the barrel should be fine for .41 mag if it can handle .44 mag.
I'm not a fan of lever action, from what I have heard, bolt action is always more accurate (the shooter is the bigger issue I am sure).

I'm a .41 Mag nut and as much as I'd like the .41 Ruger I'd be concerned about the thinner chamber walls after that modification if reboring/chambering a .357. You could probably get a .41 barrel made but it would be pricey. I have a couple IMI Timberwolf Carbines and if I win the lottery I'll have the .44 converted to .41. Have you considered a Marlin lever action? They made a few in .41 mag and you can probably still find one for a lot less then it would cost you to buy/convert another rifle.

 

[357survival]

I probably would not shoot a 357 or 41 much farther out of a rifle than i would out of the revolver, but here in KY you can't hunt elk with any handgun that has less than 700 ft/lbs of energy at 100 yards. and the 357 in a handgun doesn't. a 41 would probably get closer.

I'd say it's more about having rifles that match my revolvers for the sake of fun.
Shooting is just all about fun right?

I've got a load of reloading stuff from midway & cabelas coming in the next couple of weeks (a full setup), and my dad's bringing the reloading stuff (dies, etc) he has for his .41. I can't wait to dig into reloading.

I think the .357 will be a better rifle than the .41 due to the relative powder to bore volume.
You'll get way more velocity from the .357, and a rifle is for longer ranges which means you want velocity. Also, a smaller diameter tends to mean better aerodynamics. You can push 180gr .357 handloads pretty fast out of a rifle, or go with 158's or the leverevolution's for longer range... Keep the .41 as a pistol round - it's awesome for that. That's my opinion.

Would a .41 rifle be cool? hells yeah. Better than other options? eh.
Might as well have one gun of your pair at hand that takes easily found factory ammo...

 

[daizee]

I would think that the .357 and the .44 that ruger makes are both milled from the same size blank. if that is the case, the barrel should be fine for .41 mag if it can handle .44 mag.
I'm not a fan of lever action, from what I have heard, bolt action is always more accurate (the shooter is the bigger issue I am sure).

The issue with Lever-actions is how the magazine and separate forestock are hung off the barrel. There are accurizing techniques, but it's more work to tune than a bolt gun.
However at pistol carbine distances the difference is probably negligible. Also, I suspect pistol bullets are not made to the same precision spec as high-velocity rifle bullets, so YMMV. Get the action you most enjoy for this application. A .357 or .41 with a 16-20" barrel will hit like a freight train to 100yd out of proportion to the numbers due to the heavy, wide flat bullet. Should be an *excellent* brush hunting tool.

I'd say it's more about having rifles that match my revolvers for the sake of fun.

In THAT case, I say: do it! do it! do it! and post many pix.
I suspect as pointed out earlier, that the .44 and the .357 ruger are built on the same action, which means you'll have plenty of chamber strength at .41. Also, these pistol rounds run at low pressures compared to normal rifles (the .30-30 runs about the same as the .357, incidentally, just has more powder to burn in a long barrel). Look at the chamber thickness of your .41 revolver when you get it....

 

[CWL]

.41 mag is a pistol caliber, and while there are services which will rebore from .357mag to .41mag for pistols, I'm not sure if they will have a long-enough reamer to rebore a rifle for you. You will need to ask around.

Also, doesn't the 77 use a rotary magazines? Won't you have problems trying to convert a .357 magazine to fit .41mag and have it work reliably (or .44mag down to .41mag)?

Also, it will probably cost you ~$400 to rebore (if you can find someone with the right length reamer), but you can probably buy a used Marlin levergun in .41mag for almost that much.

 

[ac700wildcat]

The accuracy difference between a lever gun and a bolt action won't make a bit of difference at the distances you should be shooting 357, 41, or even 44mag. Boring out the barrel, while possible, will cost as much or more than just getting a new barrel installed and then you will need a new bolt or bolt head if that is even possible. The big question is how you think you are going to get 41 to feed through a 357 magazine? My guess is there's no way its gonna fit, so you will have a single shot rifle.

 

[daizee]

yeah, sounds tricky. FWIW, I think a .357 conversion on a mini-30 would be the shizzle. and I don't even like semi-autos.

 

[K9-Handler]

You talk about reboring, but what about re-rifling? Unless you want a smooth bore rifle!

It certainly is not worth the effort, no matter how much fun it is to have your rifle match your revolver. And what is the point? The revolver is your short range weapon, the rifle is your long range. If you're carrying a rifle ANYWAY, why not have a potent round in it that can actually do something long range? What you are suggesting is to carry two short range weapons -- one long one and one short one.

The proper way to change calibers is to rebarrel, not "bore out". But barrels for that rifle and caliber are not available. I have to agree with JWRobinson -- if you really want a .41 rifle, try to find the Marlin. IF the caliber change can be done I'll bet you're talking $1200 in parts and labor to accomplish it, for a rifle what would have squat for resale value.

 

[oic0]

I have a marlin never action in .357 magnum (they made the same gun in .41 mag also). It is a very well made, solid, beautiful gun. It is also very accurate when fed the bullet weights it likes. Accurate beyond the practical range of its poor ballistic coefficient rounds, hence I see no reason to go with a bolt gun unless I were doing bench-rest competitions, but then I would be picking a different caliber lol.
Besides, they are darn sexy!
Also, for anyone who does not know, the old magnum pistol rounds that have roots in the black powder days (big case volume) pick up a lot of power from a rifle if loaded with their favorite powders (H110,W296, or Lilgun). Several hundred fps, up to 500fps in some cases compared to a 4 inch barrel. Act like completely different rounds.

 

[ron_m80]

I think you will hear, No, and No, everywhere you ask. When you meet the guy that just says yes, run like h3!!and make sure you don't leave your rifle.

 

[stalbot]

Additionally, work will be required to open up the bolt face since the rim diameter of the 41 is larger than the 357. This will be a major undertaking. It would be really cool. It's going to be expensive, though. Don't know anything about the ruger bolts or how tough it would be to do that on the ruger bolt. Going 44 to 41 (think someone's already mentioned this) would be the better approach because there would be plenty of metal to work with.

 

[trailbum]

Great idea if you have an unlimited budget.
Marlin makes a great rifle for the 41 mag.
Lever actions are plenty accurate out to 100 yards and fun to shoot.
Let us know what you do.

 

[1SHOT1KILL]

The cost to rebore, rerifle and rechamber is cost prohibitive from a users standpoint. You'd be better served replacing the barrel and putting the saved money to better use elsewhere. If you have it stuck in your head to do it...Contact Dick Nickel at Ridgetop Sporting goods about the services he offers. I have had quite a few rifle barrels rebored/rerifled/rechambered with great success...bear in mind...mine were bolt guns. G/L

 

[bdmicarta]

People have been rechambering rifles for about as long as there have been rifles, so it can be done. There are not many people who can rebore and rifle the old barrel but any decent gunsmith could make a new barrel from a .41 blank. You also have to modify the bolt face and extractor. The problem is that this can be relatively expensive for what you end up with. You would be better off to buy a rifle already chambered in this caliber and it would probably cost less than the conversion cost.

If I had a Ruger revolver in .41mag I would sell it for a Ruger in .44mag or .45Colt and then get the companion rifle in that caliber. I understand that .41mag is a good caliber but IMO .44mag is just that much better and if you reload appropriate ammo the .45Colt is the best of all. If you had a S&W revolver I would say stick with .41mag but the Ruger revolvers are so much stronger that it takes a larger caliber to get the best of them.

 

[357survival]

I will eventually be purchasing a S&W stainless .41 mag if i can find one for sale somewhere. Everything I see online is OLD auctions.

People have been rechambering rifles for about as long as there have been rifles, so it can be done. There are not many people who can rebore and rifle the old barrel but any decent gunsmith could make a new barrel from a .41 blank. You also have to modify the bolt face and extractor. The problem is that this can be relatively expensive for what you end up with. You would be better off to buy a rifle already chambered in this caliber and it would probably cost less than the conversion cost.

If I had a Ruger revolver in .41mag I would sell it for a Ruger in .44mag or .45Colt and then get the companion rifle in that caliber. I understand that .41mag is a good caliber but IMO .44mag is just that much better and if you reload appropriate ammo the .45Colt is the best of all. If you had a S&W revolver I would say stick with .41mag but the Ruger revolvers are so much stronger that it takes a larger caliber to get the best of them.

 

[Bladite]

i want to see a Becker bayonet for that