41 rimfire ammo for Remington Derringers

[Taw Jackson]

I am considering buying a 41 Rimfire Remington Derringer or my collection. Does anyone know if they still make ammuntion for this pistol? Looks like its a 41 imfire Short. So far I cant tell if that caliber ammo is still available?


Thanks

Taw

[St. George]

Navy Arms made 'some' - awhile back - and I bought what my dealers had.

The price was high at the time, and it's a lot higher now, so buying it to shoot will be an expensive proposition.

No idea if any can still be found, but I'd be looking at the gun shows for a box.

Good Luck!

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Pettifogger]

American manufacturers stopped making .41 rimfire in te 1930s.  As noted, Navy Arms had a batch made in Brazil about 20 years ago.  It is more powerful than the original BP load so you need to make sure your Remington is in good shape and preferably one of the later ones if you intend to shoot it with the smokeless Navy Arms rounds.  They were made from 1866 up until the early early 1930s.  Obviously, the old ones are made from poorer quality steel.  If you want a derringer for CAS shooting, you are far better off with a newly made one in a centerfire round.

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[Mogorilla]

I believe Dixie Gunworks sells a "reloading" setup  that allows you to use 22 cases and load some of the other sized rimfire cartridges.

[Trailrider]

American manufacturers stopped making .41 rimfire in te 1930s.  As noted, Navy Arms had a batch made in Brazil about 20 years ago.  It is more powerful than the original BP load so you need to make sure your Remington is in good shape and preferably one of the later ones if you intend to shoot it with the smokeless Navy Arms rounds.  They were made from 1866 up until the early early 1930s.  Obviously, the old ones are made from poorer quality steel.  If you want a derringer for CAS shooting, you are far better off with a newly made one in a centerfire round.

Pard,
I ABSOLUTELY AGREE!  The ONLY Rem O/U Double Dee's I would attempt to fire MIGHT be a LATE 4th Model (L75XXX or L76XXX) with a FULLY BEEFED hinge...where the bottom of the hinge on the frame is tangent to the round part...NOT UNDERCUT OR PARTIALLY UNDERCUT... and CAREFULLY INSPECTED for cracks!  BUT...and in life there is always a "but"...I would NOT shoot the Navy Arms ammo in it!  We ran tests on the Brazilian stuff versus some 1950's vintage Remington-made .41 RF Short, using a Remington Single Shot Pocket Pistol (a rolling block action), and concluded the Brazilian stuff was TOO HOT for the O/U guns!

Most of these guns were CARRIED rather than shot!  In addition, though they are interesting little pieces, and quite popular back in the day, I haven't figured out how you could SAFELY carry one with both barrels loaded!  The only "safety" is the half-cock notch, and drop the gun and it lands on the hammer spur, and BANG!  A deputy sherrif down to Arizona had one drop out of his pocket and it went off striking him in the leg.  The leg had to be amputated!    Of course that was in the days before antibiotics, etc.  Still...

RIDE CAREFUL, PARD!

[Taw Jackson]

I solved the problem. I ended up buying a Cobra 38 special revolver new iin the box. Now I can do the side matches and not worry about the pistol ammo, or pistol blowing up. Thanks everyone.

Taw.

[Taw Jackson]

I meant to say I bought a 38 Cobra DERRINGER.

Taw

[Lightning Buck McGraw]

i've found some of those at the local gun shows.
The price is usually nuff ta kill ya, though.

[Montana Slim]

I believe Dixie Gunworks sells a "reloading" setup  that allows you to use 22 cases and load some of the other sized rimfire cartridges.

Ive used those cases to load 32 RF, 41 RF & 44 RF....seem to work ok & last a looong time.

Regards,
Slim

[Smokin Gun]

Most of these guns were CARRIED rather than shot!  In addition, though they are interesting little pieces, and quite popular back in the day, I haven't figured out how you could SAFELY carry one with both barrels loaded!  The only "safety" is the half-cock notch, and drop the gun and it lands on the hammer spur, and BANG!  A deputy sherrif down to Arizona had one drop out of his pocket and it went off striking him in the leg.  The leg had to be amputated!    Of course that was in the days before antibiotics, etc.  Still...

There's not a dang thing wrong with that Navy Arms .41short RF ammo I have the last 4 boxes in existace athat i know of and it works just great in this Remington Derriger...it ain't for si=ure too hot at all for mine.
And you don't have to carry a rem .41 Short RF derringer at the half cock as it's a derringer and there is only Sae & fully cocked on it and it's been fully drop tested and works great  ... also an alternative is to make a set of .22short RF inserts for them mine work just fine.
Pics below...

[bill45colt]

Ive one also, nickle plated, with pearl grips and 5 boxes of rem umc ammo and 5 of the newer ammo. However, Id like to buy more if there is a reproduction, and also have two rifles that shoot 32 rim fire long and short. Thanks

[Trailrider]

Could you post a photo of the top of the barrel? That way I could tell which model you have.  I LIKE the idea of the .22 rf inserts. But I'll stand by my statement that the Navy Arms ammo is too hot for these guns, and I'd recommend not shooting the .41 rf ammo in them. Gun looks like one of the 3rd Models, but I'd need to see the toprib stamping to tell for sure.

I love shooting old guns as much as the next guy. But I hate to see folks take a chance on hurting themselves or someone standing nearby, plus destroying an irreplaceable piece of history, no matter how common. I saw a rare S&W New Model #3 in .44-40 (only several thousand made with the longer cylinder) blown by a gent at a SASS match, using somebody's reloads that were UNDERloaded!  Aside from the issue of what was being shot in the gun, the shooter took a chance with a rare piece...and lost! Fortunately, he wasn't hurt!

Ride careful, Pards!

[reno]

There are three or four adds on Gunbrokers, look under NAVY ARMS. It is not cheap. $140.00 to $175.00 for 50 round boxes. I had many boxes of them years ago and the most I paid was $35.00 to $50.00. The ammo is just like the Remington 95 it's an antique and in the collector class. I have had 7 of them over the years and only had 3 that did not have a cracked hinge, usually on the left side.
Reno

[Trailrider]

There are three or four adds on Gunbrokers, look under NAVY ARMS. It is not cheap. $140.00 to $175.00 for 50 round boxes. I had many boxes of them years ago and the most I paid was $35.00 to $50.00. The ammo is just like the Remington 95 it's an antique and in the collector class. I have had 7 of them over the years and only had 3 that did not have a cracked hinge, usually on the left side.
Reno

WOW! $140-$175 a box for the Navy Arms .41 Short Rimfires?!  Wish I'da bought a bunch of boxes years ago. Of course that also applies to 2nd Model Colt's SA, when they were $225 in 1972 or so.

As far as the cracked hinges on the Remington O/U DD's, that comes from flipping the barrels back hard on opening. The left hinge is weaker because it is counterbored for the head of the hinge screw. They can be fixed if you know someone who is an artist with a pencil TIG welder, but I would still not shoot them with the Navy Arms ammo! Keep in mind that these guns were pretty much made of wrought iron, except for the Fourth Model (Rem-UMC with the L95XXX and L75XXX and L76XXX serial numbers, which were the last ones made c. 1934. And I still haven't found one that is safe to carry with both chambers loaded. The half-cock notch is the only way to keep the firing pin off of one round or the other! An Arizona sheriff's deputy dropped one once and the resulting shot caused him to have his leg amputated!