I worked up a few loads for it and here they are. The 41 Long Colt would not be suitable for any large game hunting as it lacks the power but would be ok for small game. I also have a Colt Police Positive in 32-20 that also has a split. The second specimen didn’t suffer that ailment.
Continued shooting didn’t hurt the gun or the accuracy. We noticed that the gun has a split at the rear of the barrel. Even at 75 yards I was able to hit the iron pig as long as I did my part. Both bullets are soft which without a doubt contributed to the accuracy. At 15 they shot into a silver dollar size group which I don’t consider too bad for an old gun and shooter. Both bullets shot to the same point of impact at 10 yards. In addition, Huntington Die sells a hollow base version which shoots fine. It is the 2 diameter bullet being 386 and 401 up front. The bullets were a problem but a call to N.E Molds solved that. Anyway, happily Starline now sells quality brass at an affordable price. Not only was that labor intensive but they weren’t the best cases either. The only other way to get cases was to size down a 41 magnum and cut its rim. Since the maker is in Australia, it was hard to return it. I had a lot of problems with it from no flash holes in the primer pockets to the rim coming off when attempting to prime it. The only supplier was Bertram and unfortunately the brass was expensive and of poor quality. A few years ago brass was very hard to get. There are some 41 Colts out there so it’s worthwhile to develop some load data.
If they are off for you it would be a good time to learn Kentucky windage. They are ok and close on with factory equivalent loads in both of the revolvers shot. It has fixed sights as was common in the day. In the single action mode it is serviceable though a bit heavy. Like many of the double action revolvers of the period the trigger pull is a beast.
In recoil the 41 caliber revolver feels similar to a full size 38 with the police load which means that it’s not hard on the hand. After about 1910 popularity started to wane giving way to the 38 special which was more accurate and versatile.
It did win the 1908 Palma match so I have to believe even then they knew how to wring out good accuracy from this piece. However, I have found in a solid gun with good ammo it shoots pretty decent. Because of varying dimensions, it was not accounted very accurate. Later on they used a 386 diameter inside lubricated slug at about the same velocity. The original 41 Long Colt load was black powder propelling an outside lubricated bullet at about 730 feet per second producing 230 lbs of energy. If you shoot someone with it you better be able to whip or out run them as it will only make them angry. I have tested the 41 short and it is pathetic. It is very obscure and was underpowered and would qualify as one of the 3 most useless cartridges in existence. Just for the record there is a 41 Short Colt round which is a shortened version of the long with a lighter bullet. It was said that Billy the Kid favored it as he had small hands which made it easier to handle. Many old west characters liked it due to ease of carrying. It was brought out as a self defense round and with the relatively blunt 200 grain bullet it was considered adequate. The 41 Long Colt was brought out in 1877 for the Colt Lightning model and later introduced in the New Navy and Bisley models.