I don't think anyone is actually badmouthing the 41 maggie, those who have used it very much knows very well that it doesn't take a back seat to some of the bigger calibers, that is with correct bullets, 250-265 gr, etc. Some don't have any experience with a 41 yet they down play what it can do.
I've used it a great deal on big game & although I know in my head that a bigger caliber should work better I've never actually seen it work that way in the field. I've taken a couple of cow elk that were extremely large & my friends bull moose would certainly be bigger than a large bull elk.
While its never a disadvantage to use a bigger caliber it can work against the shooter if he over guns himself & starts to lose accuracy. Heavy bullets don't need maximum velocity to work, the large mass gets the job done if the shooter makes correct hits & that will never change.
Back in the days before most of us had access to chronographs I thought my loads were going faster than they actually were. Along the way what I discovered was, my loads at 1100-1200 fps were passing through everything I shot, deer, elk, bears, antelope, lion, moose & African game & everything in between. So a little light came on in my head, if 1100-1200 fps is working & my 41 maggies are killing everything in sight.......why do I need more horsepower, answer is, I don't, what I need is accuracy every time, without fail. Give me any angle & I'll hit the vitals. Will a 250 gr 44 slug out perform a 250 gr 41 slug, of course not. We can discuss "marginal" but .019" probably fits that discription quite well.
Dick
Again Dick is spot on!!!! The 41 Mag loaded with a proper bullet is not marginal for Elk, put the bullet in the correct location and game over. I have seen this done on multiple occasions.
A close friend dropped a charging moose at the shot with a 41 mag. The moose fell with its head between the legs of the person that the moose charged, whom had fallen down.
Generally as caliber size goes up the larger caliber penetrates deeper, but the 41 mag routinely out penetrates the 44 mag assuming good bullets in each
As to the poster that posted about a deer running 125 yards and leaving no blood trail after taking a hit from a 41 mag, well I have seen the same exact thing happen with rifles. In other words things out of the ordinary happens at time
I would wager a hefty some that a 230 grain semi wad cutter with a wide meplat would exit on any sane angle on an Elk and if placed in the vi tails would kill quite well indeed
The 41 mmag properly loaded is no "pip squeak"
